ItemClearLag [ICL]
Every server admin knows the feeling: the tick rate drops, players start rubber-banding, and the console fills with warnings. More often than not, the culprit is a mountain of dropped items littering the ground. ItemClearLag [ICL] is a lightweight Fabric mod that tackles this problem head-on by periodically sweeping away loose items before they drag your server to a crawl.
What ItemClearLag [ICL] Does
At its core, ICL runs a scheduled cleanup that removes items lying on the ground. Instead of waiting for the vanilla despawn timer, the mod clears entities on your terms, which keeps entity counts low and TPS stable even during busy farming sessions, mob grinder overflow, or chaotic PvP events. The mod is especially valuable on high-population servers where hundreds of dropped stacks can accumulate in minutes.
Unlike blunt cleanup plugins, ICL gives you fine-grained control. You decide how often clears happen, when players get warned, and what gets preserved.
Supported Versions and Loader
ItemClearLag [ICL] is built for the Fabric loader, so you will need Fabric API installed alongside it. The mod targets modern Minecraft releases, including the 1.20.x and 1.21.x branches, with builds maintained for each supported version. Always match the mod build to your exact game version to avoid startup crashes.
How to Install ItemClearLag [ICL]
- Install Fabric for your Minecraft version and confirm it launches correctly.
- Download ItemClearLag [ICL] from the official project page and grab the build matching your game version.
- Drop the downloaded .jar file into your server's mods folder.
- Restart the server and check the log for a successful load message.
If you prefer a smoother path, the foxygame.net launcher bundles ItemClearLag [ICL] in its add-on catalog, so you can add it to a Fabric profile with a single click and let the launcher handle version matching for you.
Commands and Configuration
Type /icl in chat to list every available command. The main subcommands cover day-to-day administration:
- /icl forceclean — clears all ground items immediately.
- /icl reload — reloads the mod configuration.
- /icl config set <key> [value] — changes a setting, or shows the current value when no value is given.
- /icl cancel [seconds] — cancels the next clear, or reschedules it after the given number of seconds.
Key Configuration Values
The config system is where ICL shines. Delay sets the seconds between automatic clears. NotificationDelay, NotificationStart, and NotificationTimes control when and how often players are warned. CountdownStart and doNotificationCountdown handle the visible countdown, while doNotificationSound, doLastNotificationSound, NotificationSound, and LastNotificationSound manage audio cues. You can also tune NotificationLang and NotificationColor to match your server's style.
Two preservation flags deserve attention: preserveNoDespawnItems keeps items flagged to never despawn, and preserveNoPickupItems protects items that cannot be picked up. Both prevent accidental loss of quest items or display entities.
Permissions
ICL integrates with fabric-permissions, exposing nodes like icl.forceclean, icl.reload, icl.config, and icl.cancel. If you are not using a permissions manager, the RequireOp and RequireOpCancel options restrict command access to operators instead.
Final Thoughts
ItemClearLag [ICL] solves a specific problem extremely well. It is small, configurable, and does not demand a heavy plugin framework. If your server struggles with entity-related lag, learning how to install this mod and tuning its schedule is one of the quickest performance wins available for Minecraft. Grab the right build for your version, configure your notifications, and let ICL keep the ground clean.