📦 Item Clumps

"Stop Ground Item Lag. Merge Endless Drops into Ultra-Smooth Clumps."

[!NOTE] 1 Jar 1 Version Policy: I build 1 dedicated JAR for each Minecraft version (e.g. MC 1.20.1, MC 1.21.1, MC 1.21.11, MC 26.1.2, MC 26.2, MC 26.3). Please download the exact build that matches your Minecraft installation.
Dependency Requirement: This mod requires both Fabric API and Dasik Library (v1.0.0+ on 1.20.1, v1.2.0+ on 1.21.x, v1.7.4+ on 26.x).

In vanilla Minecraft, dropped items merge, but they strictly cap out at a standard stack size of 64. When an automated mob farm, quarry, tree harvester, or massive TNT explosion spills thousands of items onto the ground, your game is forced to tick, track, and render dozens—or even hundreds—of individual 3D item entities. The result? Severe client-side frame stuttering, rendering bottlenecks, and catastrophic server TPS drops.

Item Clumps shatters the 64-item ground entity barrier server-side. It aggressively merges identical dropped items into single, ultra-lightweight virtual mega-stacks of up to 9,999 items by default (or up to 2,147,483,647). Floating holographic count labels render cleanly above clumps, hoppers drip-feed items smoothly without jamming, dynamic visual scaling provides instant visual feedback, and vanilla clients can connect to servers without installing any client mod!

Part of the Instant Gratification Collection — mods that respect the player's time.

🎬 Video Showcase

🎬 Video Showcase: Item Clumps in Action Click the video thumbnail or button below to watch the live demonstration on YouTube:

✨ Features

🚀 Server-Side Stack Aggregation & Virtualization

Bypasses the vanilla 64-item ground entity ceiling entirely. Identical dropped items (sharing matching item types, DataComponents, and targeting) merge into single unified entities containing up to 9,999 items by default, fully configurable up to 2,147,483,647 (Integer.MAX_VALUE).

[!NOTE] Virtual Count Storage: The full virtual item count is stored directly in the standard vanilla ItemStack count. Because modern Minecraft serializes stack counts using dynamic VarInts rather than legacy bytes, vanilla clients natively receive, synchronize, and display these counts on ground entities.

🏷️ Dynamic Holographic Count Labels

Renders a custom floating nameplate (e.g. Cobblestone x1450 or Rotten Flesh x420) above clumps whenever the entity count exceeds a normal stack. Uses Minecraft's native entity nametag rendering (setCustomName and setCustomNameVisible) on the server so that vanilla clients see the label without needing any client-side mod installed.

🔍 Dynamic Logarithmic Visual Scaling

Item clumps dynamically grow in 3D scale based on their internal item count! Scaling follows a smooth logarithmic curve from 1.0x up to 2.5x (1.0 + 0.3 * log10(count)), giving giant mounds of cobblestone or iron ingots tangible physical presence without overwhelming player sightlines. Fully toggleable via GameRule (item_clumps:enable_visual_scaling).

⏱️ Vanilla Despawn Timer Preservation

To protect your hard-earned resources, merged clumps inherit the age of the youngest constituent item in the merge (Math.min(this.age, other.age)). This ensures combining newly dropped items with older items never causes premature despawning.

📦 Smart Inventory Transfer & Chunked Pickups

Walking over a massive clump never wastes or deletes items. The mod calculates your player inventory's free capacity and transfers only what you can hold in full stack chunks, leaving the remaining items safely on the ground in a smaller clump with immediate visual count updates.

⚙️ Hopper Drip-Feed Protection

Hoppers under an Item Clump extract exactly 1 item per normal vanilla transfer cycle via HopperBlockEntityMixin, decrementing the clump smoothly. Your sorting systems, storage silos, and redstone item elevators continue to function at standard vanilla transfer cadences without stalling or swallowing full mega-stacks.

📐 Horizontal Search Radius & Vertical Layer Guard

Merges identical items within a configurable horizontal radius (item_clumps:merge_radius, default: 1 block). Crucially, the merging algorithm enforces a vertical boundary: items resting 1 block above or below will not merge through ceilings, floors, or platforms.

🧲 Companion Mod Synergy (Stack Size Adjuster & Magnet)

• Stack Size Adjuster Integration: When Stack Size Adjuster is present, Item Clumps automatically defers ground entity caps to your custom configured stack sizes, cleanly hiding the redundant max_clump_size GameRule from the settings menu.
• Magnet Flight Compatibility: Built-in reflection hooks detect items actively traveling through the air towards players via Magnet, temporarily exempting them from clumping until flight completes for smooth, fluid motion trajectories.

🧩 Compatibility & HUD Integration

• 100% Server-Side Compatible: Runs entirely on the server. Vanilla clients can join modded dedicated servers without downloading anything.
• YetAnotherConfigLib (YACL) & ModMenu: Optional graphical configuration screen in singleplayer to easily customize world defaults.
• Zero NBT Pollution: In-memory damage and entity interception guarantees your world saves remain 100% vanilla safe.

Native in-game Edit Game Rules menu showing the dedicated Item Clumps category

📊 Quick Reference & Mechanics Matrix

🚀 In-Game Commands & Quick Start

Adjust ground clumping rules live in your active world without restarting using standard Minecraft /gamerule commands:

/gamerule item_clumps:enable_clumping true
/gamerule item_clumps:max_clump_size 9999
/gamerule item_clumps:render_labels true
/gamerule item_clumps:label_min_count -1
/gamerule item_clumps:merge_radius 1
/gamerule item_clumps:enable_visual_scaling true

All modifications made via /gamerule take effect immediately and synchronize across all connected players.

⚙️ Configuration (Native GameRules)

[!IMPORTANT] 💡 Config vs. In-Game GameRules: The global configuration file (config/item_clumps.json) only defines default values for newly created worlds. In existing worlds, change settings in-game via the Edit Game Rules UI screen or the /gamerule command.

📖 In-Depth How-To & Operational Playbook

1. Drop-In Setup & Baseline Initialization

1. Place item-clumps-*.jar along with Fabric API and Dasik Library into your mods folder.
2. Launch Minecraft. The mod will automatically generate config/item_clumps.json populated with recommended high-performance defaults.

2. Live In-Game Tuning vs. Global Template

• For New Worlds: Configure your desired settings in config/item_clumps.json or via ModMenu + YACL on the title screen. New worlds copy these values into world GameRules upon creation.
• For Existing Worlds: Open the pause menu → Edit Game Rules → scroll to the Item Clumps section, or use /gamerule item_clumps:<rule> <value> in chat.

3. Industrial Farm Optimization (Mob Farms & Quarries)

• For high-volume automated mob grinders or quarry tunnels, set item_clumps:merge_radius 2 or 3. This allows items dropped across multiple hopper channels or water streams to cluster into a single central entity.
• If you notice holographic labels causing visual clutter in farm collection pits, raise item_clumps:label_min_count to 256 or 1000 so only massive surplus clumps display floating text.

4. Storage & Hopper Sorting Safeguards

• Item Clumps does not require custom collection filters. Standard hopper sorters and item elevators will ingest items smoothly 1 by 1.
• Because clumps shrink progressively as hoppers pull from them, the floating label updates in real time to show the remaining quantity.

5. Troubleshooting & Crash Prevention

• Classloader Guard: Item Clumps contains Knot ClassLoader startup checks to ensure compatibility across Minecraft versions.
• Overflow Prevention: Clump sum calculations utilize 64-bit arithmetic to ensure total item counts never overflow into negative values.

🧩 Recommended Sister Mods

If you enjoy Item Clumps, these companion mods from the Instant Gratification Collection plug in seamlessly:

• 📦 Stack Size Adjuster: Scale inventory slot and container limits from 64 up to 2.14 Billion, perfectly aligning your storage chests with ground clump thresholds.
• 🧲 Magnet (Let Me Get That!): Automatically vacuum massive item clumps and XP orbs straight into your inventory from up to 64 blocks away.
• ⛏️ Ore Amplifier: Multiply vanilla and modded ore generation in newly generated chunks to feed your high-capacity storage systems.

🌟 Explore the full Instant Gratification Collection for more high-convenience enhancements.

💬 Join the Community & Get Support

Looking for help, want to test early beta builds, or vote on upcoming features? Join my official Discord community!

☕ Support

If you enjoy the Instant Gratification Collection, consider fueling future updates!

[!NOTE]

📜 Credits & Modpack Permissions

[!IMPORTANT] 📦 Modpack Permissions & Distribution: You are fully welcome to include this mod in any modpack on any platform! However, the mod file must be downloaded directly through official distribution channels (Modrinth or CurseForge). Re-uploading, mirroring, or redistributing the original mod JAR to third-party mirror sites, scraper portals, or unauthorized launchers is strictly prohibited.
⚖️ License & Fork Guidelines (No Zero-Change Re-uploads): This project is open-source under the GNU GPLv3. You are fully encouraged to inspect the code, learn from it, and fork the repository to create genuine modifications, substantial feature expansions, or community ports—provided your project remains open-source under GPLv3 with proper attribution. However, straight 1:1 re-uploads, clone forks with no meaningful functional changes, or re-publishing identical builds under different project names (e.g. to farm downloads or rewards) are strictly forbidden.