View distance and simulation distance

What should my view-distance and simulation-distance be?

For most servers view-distance 8 to 10 and simulation-distance 6 to 8 give a good balance of looks and performance.

Before you start: Quick Settings in the panel.

Step by step

1. Open your server and click Quick Settings in the sidebar.
2. Set view-distance to 8 (lower to 6 for many players or small plans).
3. Set simulation-distance to 6 (farms and redstone only work within this range).
4. Save, then restart the server from the Console tab so the new distances load.
5. On Paper, players can still see further with no-tick view distance settings in the Paper config.
6. Measure TPS and memory again at your busy time.

Check it worked: Lower memory and CPU use with TPS at 20.

Why it happens: View distance is how far players see; simulation distance is how far the world is actively ticking. Both cost memory and CPU per player.

More guides on RAM, CPU, performance, and lag:

• Find out why your server lags
• Out of memory errors
• RAM always shows high in the panel
• High CPU usage
• Too many entities, mob farms and item build-ups
• Redstone and hopper lag