Signs Your Game Server Is Running Out of RAM
How to spot a game server that is short on memory: out-of-memory crashes, garbage collection freezes, swap and the log lines to look for, then what to do.
4 min read · Updated Sep 23, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
A game server that is short on memory rarely says so politely. It freezes, stutters, drops players or simply stops. This guide covers the signs to look for, the exact log lines that confirm it, the things that look like a memory problem but are not, and what to do about it.
First, what normal looks like
Open your server's memory graph in the panel. After a start, memory climbs while the world and mods load, then settles and moves gently with activity.
One thing surprises people: Java servers such as Minecraft often sit at a high, flat number. Java grows its memory as the server needs it and tends to hold on to it rather than hand it back, so a Minecraft server reading 90 percent is not necessarily in trouble. The signs below are what tell you it really is.
Sign 1: the server stops with no game error
When a server goes past its memory limit, the operating system's out-of-memory killer ends the process instantly. The game gets no chance to write an error, so the log just stops mid-stream, often right after a busy moment like a world save or a player exploring.
In a Pterodactyl panel you may then see a message from the panel saying the server process crashed, with an exit code and a note on whether it ran out of memory. The exact wording varies, but the key number is the exit code:
| Exit code | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 0 | A normal, clean stop |
| 1 | The game hit an error and quit; read the lines above it |
| 137 | The process was forcibly killed, usually for going over the memory limit |
| 139 | A native crash (a segmentation fault), sometimes memory related |
Sign 2: out-of-memory messages in the log
When the game notices first, it usually says so. Search the Console or the log files for these:
| Engine or game | What the log says |
|---|---|
| Minecraft Java and other Java servers | java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space or GC overhead limit exceeded |
| Unreal Engine games (ARK, Palworld, Dragonwilds) | Ran out of memory allocating followed by a number of bytes |
| Unity games (Rust, Valheim) | Could not allocate memory or System.OutOfMemoryException |
| Anything launched from a script | A bare line that just says Killed |
Our guide to reading logs and crash reports shows where each game keeps its logs.
Sign 3: regular freezes for everyone
Java and Unity games use a garbage collector, the part of the runtime that clears out data the game no longer needs. When memory is nearly full, it has to run constantly and each run takes longer, and on many setups the game pauses while it works. Everyone on the server freezes for a moment at the same time, every few seconds or minutes.
On Minecraft this often shows up as:
Can't keep up! Is the server overloaded? Running 2034ms or 40 ticks behind
That warning can also mean the CPU is overloaded, so check the memory graph at the same moment. If memory is at the top when the warnings cluster, it is memory. On Paper servers, the free Spark plugin's /spark health and /spark gc commands show memory use and how often garbage collection runs.
Sign 4: swap
Swap is disk space the operating system uses as overflow when RAM runs out. Disk, even a fast NVMe drive, is far slower than RAM, so a game that starts swapping stutters badly. Hosted game servers normally run inside a fixed memory limit, so you are more likely to see Signs 1 to 3 than swap. On a server you run at home, check Task Manager on Windows or run free -h on Linux; any real swap use while the game runs means it needs more memory.
Sign 5: the pattern of the problems
- It crashes while loading the world, or right after you add a mod or a modpack.
- It is fine with a few players and struggles when people spread out across the map.
- Lag builds over hours and a restart fixes it for a while.
- Creatures rubber-band or teleport, and joining players time out, in heavy games like ARK and Palworld.
Things that look like a memory problem but are not
- The memory graph has room, but TPS is low. That is the CPU. See CPU vs RAM.
- Only one player lags. That is their connection. See lag vs ping.
- It crashes on start with a clear error about a file or version. That is a config or compatibility issue. See server stuck starting.
What to do about it
- Confirm it. Match what you saw to a log line or to the graph at the moment of the problem.
- Take a backup on the Backups tab before changing anything.
- Try the quick wins. Schedule a daily restart, remove mods or plugins you do not use, lower view distance, trim the world or map size, and clear excess entities.
- On Java, check the startup flags. Your memory settings live on the Startup tab. The maximum heap should sit a little below the plan's total, because Java needs some memory outside the heap for itself.
- Add RAM if it is still tight. On GuavaHost you can raise RAM any time from guavahost.com/account. Billing is prorated and your world is untouched. See changing your server RAM.
- Check again at your next busy time to confirm the problem has gone.
For how much memory your game really needs, see how much RAM you need.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.
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- out of memory
- oom
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