Arbiter

Arbiter clears ground item entities on your Fabric server -- protecting named, enchanted, and rare items while keeping TPS stable, through a clean bossbar display.
arbiter_ingame.png

arbiter_ingame.png

Description

What is Arbiter?

Arbiter is a server-side Fabric mod that automatically clears ground item entities on a configurable schedule, keeping your server performant without deleting items that matter. No client install is required — players join and play normally while Arbiter handles cleanup in the background.

Compatibility

  • Server-side: Required
  • Client-side: Not required — players join without installing Arbiter
  • Java 21+, Fabric Loader, and Fabric API required

Features

  • Smart Item Protection — Named (anvil-renamed) and enchanted items are never cleared; rarity-based protection defaults to RARE and above (protect_rarity_minimum: "RARE").
  • TPS-Aware Emergency Clear — Monitors server TPS and triggers an accelerated sweep when TPS drops below emergency_tps_threshold (default: 15.0), with a emergency_clear_cooldown_seconds (default: 60) to prevent rapid-fire clearing.
  • Bossbar Countdown — Color-graduated bossbar (green → yellow → red) broadcasts a warning_start_seconds (default: 30) warning to all players, including late joiners, before each scheduled clear.
  • Per-Dimension Configuration — Each dimension carries independent clear_interval_seconds, item_count_threshold, and protection overrides; unset fields inherit from global config.
  • Clear, Ordered Protection Priority — Item fate is resolved by a deterministic 10-rule priority system: item_overrides BLACKLIST beats PROTECT beats protected_items list beats protected_namespaces beats rarity beats proximity. No item is cleared unexpectedly.
  • Mod Namespace Protection — Add any mod's registry ID to protected_namespaces to protect all of its items with one line; assign priority tiers (LOW / NORMAL / HIGH) via namespace_tiers.
  • Hot-Reload JSON5 Config — File changes apply within ~1 second via file-watch; /arbiter reload forces an immediate reload. Invalid values are clamped to safe ranges on load.

Quick Start Modes

Arbiter ships with three built-in presets. Apply any preset with a single command — the config is rewritten and hot-reloaded automatically.

Mode Interval Item Threshold Protection Level Command
aggressive 60 s 0 (always clear) EPIC rarity only; named/enchanted/namespace disabled /arbiter mode aggressive
warden 180 s 50 items Named, enchanted, RARE+, namespace list /arbiter mode warden
calm 600 s 200 items Named, enchanted, UNCOMMON+, namespace list, extended protected items /arbiter mode calm
custom from config from config Hand-tuned; all values from config file /arbiter mode custom

Commands

Command Effect Permission Node
/arbiter force [dimension] Force-clear all worlds or a specific dimension arbiter.force
/arbiter status Show TPS, time until next clear, item counts per world arbiter.status
/arbiter reload Reload config from disk without restarting arbiter.reload
/arbiter stats View session statistics (clears run, items removed) arbiter.stats
/arbiter dryrun [dimension] Preview what would be cleared without removing anything arbiter.dryrun
/arbiter testbar [seconds] Run a bossbar countdown test arbiter.testbar
/arbiter mode <preset> Apply a preset: aggressive / warden / calm / custom arbiter.mode

LuckPerms integration is automatic — falls back to OP level if LuckPerms is not installed.

dryrun output example: Would CLEAR: 47 items — Would protect: 12

Configuration

Arbiter works out of the box. config/arbiter.json5 is generated on first run and is fully annotated — every setting is documented inline.

Setting Default Description
clear_interval_seconds 300 Time between scheduled clears
warning_start_seconds 30 Bossbar countdown starts this many seconds before clear
item_count_threshold 100 Skip clear if fewer item entities than this exist
emergency_tps_threshold 15.0 Trigger emergency clear when TPS drops below this; 0 disables
emergency_clear_cooldown_seconds 60 Minimum seconds between emergency clears
protect_named_items true Protect anvil-renamed items
protect_enchanted_items true Protect enchanted items
protect_rarity_minimum "RARE" Minimum vanilla rarity to auto-protect (EPIC / RARE / UNCOMMON / COMMON)
player_proximity_radius 10 Protect items within N blocks of any player
protected_namespaces ["mod_namespace"] Protect all items from listed mod namespaces
protected_items ["minecraft:nether_star", ...] Exact item IDs always protected
item_overrides {"minecraft:dirt": "BLACKLIST"} Per-item PROTECT or BLACKLIST — overrides all other rules
bossbar_enabled true Show bossbar countdown
actionbar_warnings_enabled false Show countdown in actionbar alongside bossbar
broadcast_clear_results true Announce clear results to all players

Note: protect_rarity_minimum: "EPIC" protects almost nothing in vanilla — enchanted golden apple is the only EPIC item. Use "RARE" or "UNCOMMON" for meaningful protection.

See the full example config on the GitHub README.

How It Compares

Feature Arbiter ICL ClearLagg
Bossbar countdown ✅ Color-graduated ❌ Chat only ❌ Chat only
Named item protection ✅ ❌ ⚠️ Partial
Enchanted item protection ✅ ❌ ⚠️ Partial
Rarity-based protection ✅ ❌ ❌
Mod namespace protection ✅ ❌ ❌
Per-item PROTECT/BLACKLIST ✅ ❌ ⚠️ Whitelist only
TPS emergency clear ✅ With cooldown ❌ ⚠️ No cooldown
Item count threshold ✅ ❌ ❌
Per-dimension config ✅ ❌ ❌
Hot-reload config ✅ File watch + command ❌ ❌
Player proximity protection ✅ ❌ ❌
No System.gc() stutter ✅ ✅ ❌
Silent clears (no sounds) ✅ ❌ Noteblock beep ✅
Server-side only ✅ ✅ ✅ (Bukkit)

Requirements

  • Minecraft 1.21.1
  • Fabric Loader (latest)
  • Fabric API
  • Java 21+
  • LuckPerms (optional — falls back to OP levels)

FAQ

Is Arbiter server-side only? Yes. Players connect to a server running Arbiter without installing anything client-side.

Will Arbiter be backported to older Minecraft versions? No backport is currently planned. Watch the GitHub repository for future version announcements.

Does Arbiter conflict with ClearLagg, ICL, or other item-clearing mods? Running two item-clearing mods simultaneously is redundant and not recommended. Arbiter is otherwise compatible with all Fabric mods.

Can I protect items from modded dimensions or custom registries? Yes — add any mod's registry namespace to protected_namespaces. Per-item overrides via item_overrides work for any item ID regardless of mod.

GitHub Issues | MIT License

The Arbiter Team

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Konigtx
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