DropSweeper
An intelligent item-drop sweeper for Minecraft servers.
With the friendly "Sweeper Maid" (扫地姬) by your side, say goodbye to piles of cobblestone, sand, and arrows. ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
What is this?
DropSweeper is a Fabric server-side mod that automatically collects dropped items on the ground into dustbins (virtual large chests with 54 slots each), giving you:
- 🧹 Auto sweep — runs on a configurable interval (default: every 10 minutes)
- 📦 Multiple dustbins — defaults to 1, configurable up to N; FIFO eviction across bins
- 🚫 White/Black lists — whitelist items are never touched; blacklist items are removed but not stored
- 🎯 Extra entity cleanup — arrows, experience orbs, etc.
- ⚠️ Overload warning — alerts OP when a chunk has too many items piling up
- 💬 Friendly announcements — countdown before sweep (ActionBar/Chat), clickable dustbin links on completion
- 🔧 Hot-reload config — no server restart needed
- 🔐 Granular permissions — control who can open dustbins vs. who can trigger sweeps
Commands
All commands are prefixed with /dropsweeper.
Sweep
| Command | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
/dropsweeper items |
OP | Sweep current dimension |
/dropsweeper items all |
OP | Sweep all dimensions |
/dropsweeper items <world_id> |
OP | Sweep a specific dimension (Tab-completable) |
Open dustbin
| Command | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
/dropsweeper dustbin |
Everyone | Open dustbin 0 |
/dropsweeper dustbin <index> |
Everyone | Open dustbin by index |
After a sweep completes, the result message lists all non-empty dustbins as clickable links.
White/Black list management
/dropsweeper whitelist add <item_id> # Add to whitelist (never swept)
/dropsweeper whitelist remove <item_id> # Remove from whitelist
/dropsweeper whitelist list # Show whitelist
/dropsweeper blacklist add <item_id> # Add to blacklist (swept but not stored)
/dropsweeper blacklist remove <item_id> # Remove from blacklist
/dropsweeper blacklist list # Show blacklist
Wildcard
modid:*is supported, e.g.minecraft:*matches all vanilla items.
Config
/dropsweeper config reload # Hot-reload config/dropsweeper.json
Configuration
Location: config/dropsweeper.json (auto-generated on first run).
Common fields
{
"sweepIntervalSeconds": 600, // Auto-sweep interval in seconds (0 = disabled)
"dustbinCount": 1, // Number of dustbins (54 slots each)
"itemWhitelist": [ // Whitelist: never swept
"minecraft:nether_star",
"minecraft:heavy_core"
],
"itemBlacklist": [ // Blacklist: swept but not stored
"minecraft:cobblestone",
"minecraft:sand",
"minecraft:gravel"
],
"extraEntityTypes": [ // Extra entities to clean up
"minecraft:arrow",
"minecraft:spectral_arrow",
"minecraft:experience_orb"
],
"itemOverloadThreshold": 640, // Per-chunk item count to trigger warning (0 = disabled)
"permissionLevelDustbin": 0, // Min. permission to open dustbin (0 = any player)
"permissionLevelClean": 2, // Min. permission to manually sweep
"announcementChannel": { // Announcement channels
"long": "actionbar", // Long countdown (default 120/60/30s)
"short": "chat", // Short countdown (≤3s)
"complete": "chat" // Sweep completion
}
}
Announcement channels
- ActionBar — small text above the hotbar, auto-fades after 60 ticks (3 seconds), doesn't spam
- Chat — bold message in chat, doesn't auto-fade
Default: long countdown uses ActionBar (unobtrusive), short countdown and completion use Chat (visible).
How much can dustbins hold?
- Each dustbin has 54 slots (6 rows × 9 columns, equivalent to a large chest)
- Default 1 → 54 slots
- Set
dustbinCount: 8→ 8 × 54 = 432 slots - When full, the oldest item is replaced by the new one (FIFO)
Data storage
- Dustbin contents are stored in the world save:
world/data/dimensions/minecraft/overworld/data/dropsweeper/dustbin.dat - Auto-saved, no manual action needed
- Decreasing the number of dustbins will truncate the extras and may discard items in non-empty dustbins
- Increasing the number preserves existing data
FAQ
Q: Where is the dustbin? How do I open it?
A: Run /dropsweeper dustbin (any player by default), or click the links in the sweep-completion message.
Q: How do I add custom items to the white/black list?
A: Use /dropsweeper whitelist add <item_id> (e.g. minecraft:diamond). You can also edit config/dropsweeper.json directly, then run /dropsweeper config reload.
Q: Do I have to restart the server after changing the config?
A: No. Run /dropsweeper config reload to apply changes immediately.
Q: Do clients need to install the mod?
A: On a multiplayer server, no — all sweep/command/storage logic runs server-side. Clients that install it just get a stub entrypoint.
For single-player or LAN play, you can install it on the client as well without affecting gameplay.
Q: Will it conflict with other sweep mods?
A: Yes. If two mods try to clean the same drops, you may get duplicate removals. Use one or the other.