Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log
Running a Minecraft server means knowing what is happening when you are not looking. Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log gives server admins a lightweight, no-nonsense way to record who joined, who left, and when the server itself started or stopped. It writes everything to a plain text file, so you can review the timeline at any moment without opening a database or configuring a dashboard.
What the Mod Records
The tool captures four essential event types: server startup, server shutdown, player login, and player logout. All entries go into a file named Simple Usage Log.txt, created automatically in the server root directory. There are no configuration files to edit and no permissions to assign beyond the standard operator level. The mod works immediately after installation.
Operator Commands
Admins with operator rights can use a small set of chat commands, all prefixed with /log. These commands are available on Minecraft versions from 1.9.4 upward. The full command list includes:
/log- displays the last 90 recorded events in chat./log <number>- shows a specific number of recent lines, for example/log 10./log <player name>- filters entries by a specific nickname to see that player's login and logout history./log <comment>- appends a custom note to the log file, useful for marking incidents such as/log server lag after mod update.
These commands also work from the server console. For long lines, make sure the console window is wide enough to display them cleanly. In single-player setups launched through tools like MultiMC, you can adjust the window size to keep everything readable.
Automatic Log Rotation
One common concern is log file bloat. Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log handles this automatically. When Simple Usage Log.txt reaches 5 MB, the mod renames it to Simple Usage Log old file.txt and starts writing a fresh file. The next rotation overwrites the old archive. Total disk usage never exceeds the sum of two files, so manual cleanup is unnecessary.
Installation and Version Compatibility
To install, download Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log for Minecraft and place the jar file into the mods folder where Forge is already installed. Restart the server and the mod activates. The current stable build, version 2.0.1, supports Minecraft 1.9.4 through 1.12.2. Older versions for 1.7.10 and 1.8 exist, but they lack the /log command and are less convenient. If you use a modern launcher such as foxygame.net, you can download the mod directly from its menu, and the launcher places it in the correct directory automatically. This removes the need to locate folders or copy files manually.
Open Source and Extensibility
The mod is distributed with open source code. You can modify it, redistribute your changes, or use it in any project without restrictions. The developer encourages third-party tools that build reports from the log file, such as utilities that upload activity charts to a webpage via FTP on a schedule. If you have programming experience, this is a practical base for extending server monitoring functionality.
Conclusion
Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log is a small utility that delivers clear visibility into server activity. It adds no noticeable overhead, requires zero configuration, and provides a straightforward command set for operators. Automatic file rotation keeps storage usage predictable. For any admin who has ever wondered whether someone logged in overnight, this mod removes the guesswork. Download Keeping Your Minecraft Server Under Control with Simple Usage Log for Minecraft, install it into your mods folder, and get a complete record of server events from the first restart.