/tick

Controls the server tick rate. Allows freezing, stepping through, and changing the speed of game ticks for debugging and testing.

Overview

Controls the server tick rate. Allows freezing, stepping through, and changing the speed of game ticks for debugging and testing. In vanilla Minecraft Java Edition it is one of the special commands and has been available since version 1.20.3.

It is invoked as /tick [] and accepts one required argument () and one optional argument ([value]).

Added in 1.20.3. Default tick rate is 20 ticks per second. /tick sprint runs ticks as fast as the server can process them for a specified number of ticks. /tick freeze stops entity updates, block updates, and time progression but players can still move.

Added in 1.20.3. The default rate is 20 ticks per second; 'freeze' halts block, entity and time updates while still letting players move, 'step' advances a set number of frozen ticks and 'sprint' runs ticks as fast as the hardware allows.

Syntax & Arguments

/tick <query|rate|freeze|step|unfreeze|sprint> [<value>]

The full syntax is /tick []. Angle brackets < > mark required arguments and square brackets [ ] mark optional ones; a vertical bar | between words means you pick exactly one of those literals. You must always supply . The argument [value] may be omitted, in which case the documented default applies.

action: Required, of type a literal. query = show tick info; rate = set tick rate; freeze = pause ticking; step = advance ticks while frozen; unfreeze = resume; sprint = run ticks as fast as possible.
value: Optional, of type a float|integer. For rate: ticks per second (default 20). For step: number of ticks. For sprint: number of ticks to sprint through.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
action	literal	Required	query = show tick info; rate = set tick rate; freeze = pause ticking; step = advance ticks while frozen; unfreeze = resume; sprint = run ticks as fast as possible.
value	float\|integer	Optional	For rate: ticks per second (default 20). For step: number of ticks. For sprint: number of ticks to sprint through.

Examples

The 3 examples below are ready to copy and adapt. For instance, /tick rate 40 sets the server to run at 40 ticks per second (2x normal speed). Each example varies the arguments to show a different real use of /tick; read the note under every snippet to see exactly what changes.

/tick rate 40

Sets the server to run at 40 ticks per second (2x normal speed).

/tick freeze

Freezes all game ticks, entities stop moving, time stops.

/tick step 5

While frozen, advances exactly 5 ticks then re-freezes.

Permission Level & Requirements

/tick sits at permission Level 3 - Admin, which means it needs permission level 3 (administrator).

In a single-player world you must have "Allow Cheats" turned on (or open the world to LAN with cheats) before it will run; on a multiplayer server the player needs to be an operator at the matching level.

This reference describes the Java Edition 1.21 form of the command; Bedrock Edition may use slightly different argument formats.

Common Mistakes

Setting tick rate extremely high, the server may not keep up and will lag.
Forgetting to /tick unfreeze, the world remains frozen until explicitly unfrozen.

Notes

Related Commands

If /tick is part of your toolkit, the commands below are the ones you will most often reach for alongside it: /debug, /time, and /gamerule. They cover closely related tasks, so the links above jump straight to each one.

/debug

/time

/gamerule

Frequently Asked Questions about /tick

What does the /tick command do in Minecraft?

Controls the server tick rate. Allows freezing, stepping through, and changing the speed of game ticks for debugging and testing. It belongs to the special command group and was added in Java Edition 1.20.3.

What is the correct syntax for /tick?

/tick []. The required argument is action, and the optional one is value.

What permission level does /tick need?

It requires permission Level 3 - Admin. On a server the player must be an operator at that level, or have cheats enabled in single-player.

What is a common mistake when using /tick?

Setting tick rate extremely high, the server may not keep up and will lag.

Can you give an example of /tick in use?

Yes. /tick freeze — freezes all game ticks, entities stop moving, time stops.

What does /tick freeze stop?

It pauses block updates, entity AI and movement, and the day/time cycle, but players can still walk around and look. Use /tick step to advance a few frozen ticks or /tick unfreeze to resume.

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