Frequently asked questions

The plugin #

What does it catch? #

Players who are away from the keyboard, including the ones who leave something running to look active: AFK pools, water and bubble-column machines, minecart loops and other vehicles, auto-clickers, stuck keys and macros. They are marked AFK, warned and kicked on your timers like anyone else who is away.

Will it kick players who are actually playing? #

It is made so that players who are playing never notice it. Before any kick there is always a warning, in chat and on screen, with the time left, and the AFK mark clears as soon as the player is back. For a careful start, set kick-after: 0 for a few days: players are only marked, and /afkwarden list shows who.

Does relogging reset the timer? #

No. A player who leaves and joins again keeps their idle time, so reconnecting gains nothing. Nobody is kicked in their first minute after joining.

Can staff or VIPs be treated differently? #

Yes. Give afkwarden.bypass to players who should never be marked AFK or kicked; nobody is exempt by default, not even operators. With LuckPerms, a rank can have its own timers or bypass: true (one rank on Free, any number on Pro). Game modes and worlds can be exempt too. See Configuration.

Do I need LuckPerms, EssentialsX or PlaceholderAPI? #

No. All three are optional and detected when the server starts. LuckPerms adds timers per rank, EssentialsX shows the AFK status in the tab list and applies it to sleeping and item pickup, and PlaceholderAPI gets four placeholders.

Does it replace the AFK feature of EssentialsX? #

It takes over the AFK decision and passes it to EssentialsX, so the tab-list marker and the Essentials AFK features keep working. Turn off Essentials' own automatic AFK with the settings in the install guide. A player's own /afk is never overridden.

Which servers and versions does it run on? #

Spigot and Paper, and their forks such as Purpur, on Minecraft 1.16.5 – 26.3 with Java 8 or newer. One jar covers every version. Folia is not supported.

Can I change the messages? #

Yes. Every message is in messages_en.yml and messages_es.yml, with MiniMessage colours and gradients, and an empty message is turned off. language in config.yml picks the file. See Configuration.

Does it send any data? #

It contacts other services only for three things: the license check with Polar (Pro), a daily check on Modrinth for new releases (update-check: false turns it off), and our anonymous usage report (versions and player counts, never player names; telemetry.enabled: false turns it off, and /afkwarden telemetry shows the exact data of the last report). See the privacy policy.

Buying and licenses #

What do I get with Pro? #

Timers for as many LuckPerms ranks as you need, instead of one. That is the only difference: everything else is in Free. See the Free and Pro table.

How much does it cost? #

AFK Warden Pro is $1.99 a month, and AFK Warden Pro Lifetime is $14.99 paid once. Polar adds sales tax or VAT for your country at checkout. Pro is not on sale yet; the checkout will be linked from the licensing page as soon as it opens.

Where do I find my license key? #

On Polar's confirmation page right after you pay, and at any time in Polar's customer portal, where you sign in with the e-mail address you used at checkout. It starts with AWPRO-. Activate it in the server console with afkwarden license activate <key>.

Can I keep the key out of config.yml? #

Yes. Set the AW_LICENSE_KEY environment variable on the server (hosting panels usually offer it); it takes precedence over license.key in config.yml.

Can I use one key on two servers? #

One server at a time. Run afkwarden license deactivate on one server before activating the key on the other, or buy a second key for a test server.

What if my server cannot reach Polar for a while? #

Pro keeps working for up to 7 days after the last successful check, and everything goes back to normal as soon as Polar answers again. The grace never extends a subscription past the end of its paid period. A key you activate while Polar cannot be reached never replaces a working license; a server without one keeps the key and checks it again every 15 minutes.

What happens if I cancel my subscription? #

Pro stays active until the end of the period you already paid for. Then the server goes back to Free: nothing is deleted, and only the first entry of ranks in config.yml keeps its own settings until Pro is back. See When Pro ends.

Can I get a refund? #

Yes, within 14 days of purchase, if the plugin does not work on your server and support could not solve the problem. Write to [email protected] with your order number. See the refund policy.