Server Queue

Stop turning a full server into an instant rejection.

Server Queue is a lightweight server-side Forge mod that lets a bounded number of extra connections wait in a first-in-first-out queue while the normal server player limit remains unchanged.

When max-players is full, eligible overflow players are admitted into a temporary spectator holding state instead of being kicked with Minecraft's normal server-full message. When a real slot opens, the first waiting player is automatically restored and promoted into active play.

Features

• FIFO waiting queue — first player waiting is the first promoted when capacity opens.
• Vanilla player limit preserved — server.properties max-players remains the active-player cap.
• Configurable overflow capacity — choose how many connected waiters are allowed beyond the active limit.
• Safe holding state — queued players are held as frozen spectators above overworld spawn.
• Durable recovery — original dimension, position, rotation, and game mode are saved before queueing.
• Reconnect recovery — recovery data remains available if a queued player disconnects before promotion.
• Player status command — /queue reports queue position or active status.
• Operator diagnostics — /serverqueue status and /serverqueue list show queue state.
• Narrow login behavior — only Minecraft's exact server_full denial is overridden; unrelated login denials remain vanilla.
• Server-side only — players do not need Server Queue installed on their clients.
• No dependencies beyond Forge.

Configuration

Server Queue uses a Forge common config:

• maxQueuedPlayers=50 — maximum connected waiters beyond max-players.
• holdingYOffset=64 — vertical offset above overworld shared spawn for the holding point.
• statusIntervalTicks=20 — action-bar queue-position update interval.

Requirements

• Minecraft 1.20.1
• Forge 47.4.10+
• Java 17

Install the mod on the server. Clients do not need it.

Safe removal

Before removing the mod from an existing world, make sure nobody is currently queued. The recovery data stored by Server Queue is what restores a queued player's original position and game mode.

Tested

Server Queue 1.0.0 passed the final Gradle/reobfuscation build and 4/4 required Forge GameTests. A clean Forge client without Server Queue was also verified joining normally and entering the in-world queue when the active limit was full.

Built by MantiCoreForge.