
Stay A While
Add gamerules for item despawn timers!
About this Mod
Stay A While
Have you ever thought that your items disappear too quickly? Perhaps the normal timer is just fine, but you wish you had
just a little more time to collect your items after you die. Or maybe you want your items to despawn faster to give death
that little extra stress factor. You might also hate it when you die and your items scatter everywhere.
If any of these things sound like you, Stay A While can help with that.
What does it do?
By default, Stay A While makes items dropped upon death never despawn and not scatter randomly.
Additionally, it adds 4 new gamerules to customize behavior:
maxPlayerThrownItemAgethe amount of ticks an item that was thrown by a player (usingQkey by default) takes to despawn (default:6000)maxPlayerDeathItemAgethe amount of ticks an item that was dropped by a player upon death takes to despawn (default:-1; vanilla behavior:6000)maxItemAgethe amount of ticks all other dropped items take to despawn (default:6000)scatterDeathItemswhether or not items dropped upon death scatter randomly (default:false, vanilla behavior:true)
In case you are unfamiliar with them, 20 ticks == 1 second : 1200 ticks == 1 minute : 6000 ticks == 5 minutes
Values less than 0 (i.e. negative values) on the item-age gamerules are interpreted to mean "never despawn"
Other questions you might want answers to
Does this work on servers?
Yes! Just install on the server and you're good to go. No players need to install!
What if I change the value while items are still on the ground?
If the max age is raised while the item is still alive, it will always follow the new lifespan, extending the life of the item.
If the max age is lowered while the item is still alive, the behavior currently differs between modloaders:
- On Fabric: items begin checking against the new age immediately, so the item's lifespan is reduced upon changing
the gamerule - On Neoforge: items only begin checking against the new age if they attempt to despawn, so the item's lifespan is unaffected,
continuing to follow the previous timer
Available Versions
How to Install Stay A While on Your Server
Order Server
Order a Minecraft Java server with at least 3 GB RAM (4 GB recommended).
Set fabric Loader
In the panel under "Egg", select the fabric loader and matching Minecraft version (1.21.4).
Install Mod
Open the mod browser in the dashboard and search for "Stay A While". Click "Install" – done! Alternatively, upload the .jar via SFTP to the /mods folder.
Compatibility
Mod Loaders
Minecraft Versions
1.21.4, 1.21.1, 1.20.2 (+4 more)
Server-side
✓ RequiredRecommended RAM
4 GB(min. 3 GB)Frequently Asked Questions
Stay A While server crashes on startup – what to do?
Most common cause: wrong fabric version or insufficient RAM. Check the server log (latest.log) for "OutOfMemoryError" or "Mixin" errors. With Mado Hosting: ensure at least 3 GB RAM is allocated and the loader matches the mod version (1.21.4). You can switch loaders with one click in the panel.
Is Stay A While compatible with fabric and neoforge?
Stay A While officially supports fabric, neoforge for Minecraft 1.21.4, 1.21.1, 1.20.2. The Mado dashboard automatically detects incompatible loader combinations.
Server lagging with Stay A While – how to optimize performance?
Recommended RAM: 4 GB (per 8 players). Use /spark profiler to check if Stay A While consumes the most tick time. Common fixes: reduce server view-distance to 8-10, install "performant" or "starlight" as supplementary mods on Forge. With Mado Hosting, your server runs on NVMe SSDs with dedicated CPU cores for minimal latency.
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Rent Modded Server
Install Stay A While with just one click on your server.