Cobblemon AFK Guard

Cobblemon AFK Guard is a Fabric mod for Minecraft 1.21.1 servers that tracks player presence, marks inactive players as AFK, updates their tab name, and can kick them after a configurable delay.

It is designed around Cobblemon gameplay and common server-side edge cases, so players are less likely to be kicked while they are actually using Cobblemon features.

Features

Real AFK timers with optional automatic kick.
Cobblemon-aware activity handling for battles, battle UI selections, PC usage, Pasture-related interaction, and merchant-style menus.
Extra GUI activity detection when the mod is installed on both the server and the client.
Random AFK, return, and kick messages from configurable message lists.
/afk refresh to reload the config without restarting the server.
Manual exemptions, OP bypass, and sleep vote support.
Supports $player placeholders and Minecraft style codes in messages.

How it works

Server-only install

Server-only is fully supported.

The mod tracks movement, camera changes, chat, commands, normal interactions, inventory actions, merchant actions, and server-visible Cobblemon activity. This includes battle-related packets that reach the server during Cobblemon battles. This is the recommended baseline for most servers.

Server + client install

Installing the mod on both the server and the client enables enhanced activity reporting for client-heavy screens.

This improves AFK detection in interfaces such as Cobblemon battle screens, battle request screens, Cobblemon PC screens, and supported shop screens where some actions may not naturally reach the server as normal interaction packets. This is the best option if you want clicks on Fight, move buttons, Switch, and similar battle UI actions to reset AFK reliably.

Commands

/afk toggles your own AFK state.
/afk switch <player> toggles AFK for another player.
/afk exemptions lists manually exempt players.
/afk exemptions add <player> adds a player to the exemption list.
/afk exemptions remove <player> removes a player from the exemption list.
/afk refresh reloads the config file.

Config

The config file is created at:

config/cobblemon_afk_guard.json

Important notes:

Use /afk refresh after editing the file.
idleThresholdSeconds is measured in real seconds.
kickDelayAfterAfkSeconds starts counting after the player is marked as AFK.
Message lists choose a random entry each time.
Use $player to insert the player name.
Use & style codes in the config. For example, &0 is treated the same as the vanilla section-sign code for black text.
§ style codes are also accepted for compatibility.
For the full list of Minecraft color/style codes and usage details, see the Minecraft Wiki: Formatting codes

Default config:

{
"idleThresholdSeconds": 240,
"kickDelayAfterAfkSeconds": 300,
"afkStartMessages": ["&e&o$player is now AFK.", "&e&o$player used Rest."],
"broadcastAfkStart": true,
"afkReturnMessages": [
"&a&o$player is no longer AFK.",
"&a&o$player woke up from Rest."
],
"broadcastAfkReturn": true,
"afkNameFormat": "&7[AFK] &r$player",
"afkKickMessages": [
"&fYou have been kicked for being AFK too long.",
"&fYou have been kicked for being AFK too long. Snorlax won the nap battle."
],
"countExemptPlayersInSleepVote": false
}

Installation

For Minecraft 1.21.1, required:

Fabric Loader
Fabric API
Fabric Language Kotlin
Cobblemon 1.7.3+1.21.1
Cobblemon AFK Guard

Optional compatibility:

Cobbledollars 2.0.0+Beta-5.1

Server install:

Put the mod jar in the server mods folder.
Start the server once to generate the config.
Edit config/cobblemon_afk_guard.json.
Run /afk refresh, or restart the server if you updated the mod jar itself.

Optional client install:

Put the same mod jar in the client mods folder.
Keep the mod on the server as usual.
Join normally.

Installing on the client is optional, but recommended if you want the best detection inside Cobblemon battle menus and other modded screens.

Compatibility notes

OPs are ignored by the AFK system.
Manually exempt players are ignored by the AFK system.
By default, exempt players do not count toward sleep voting.
Simply leaving a menu open does not keep a player active. Real interactions are what matter.
Some modded GUIs cannot be detected perfectly from the server alone, which is why client installation improves accuracy.

Cobblemon: AFK Guard