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Quickstart

From zero to live analytics in under five minutes. Tickr works in two modes:

  • Pull mode: Tickr queries your server over its public query protocol, the same one the in-game server browser uses. Zero install, works on any host, with any game we support.
  • Push mode: the Minecraft plugin or the TypeScript SDK sends per-player sessions, TPS and custom events to the ingestion API. This unlocks the growth layer: retention cohorts, per-player analytics, categorized events.

You can start with pull mode and add push mode later. Both feed the same server.

1. Create an account

Sign up at app.tickr.gg/register. The Free plan includes one server with a 7-day visible history, forever. No credit card.

2. Add your first server

In the dashboard, hit Add server and fill in:

  1. Game: search the full catalogue (350+ games: Minecraft Java/Bedrock, Rust, Valheim, Palworld, ARK, CS2 and hundreds more). Start typing and fuzzy search finds it; popular games are pinned at the top.
  2. Host: your server’s IP or hostname.
  3. Query port: pre-filled with the game’s default (e.g. 25565 for Minecraft Java, 28015 for Rust). The picker derives the right query port and flags when it differs from the game port. Make sure the query protocol is enabled on your server; for Minecraft Java that means enable-query=true in server.properties.

Hit Test connection before saving to run a live query. You’ll catch a wrong port or unreachable host immediately rather than after the first poll.

That’s it. On add, Tickr runs a synchronous query plus a short burst of follow-up polls, so the dashboard shows a rich snapshot right away: players online, slots, map, version, latency, server state, uptime and crash incidents. Where history doesn’t exist yet you’ll see honest “data is accumulating” empty states rather than made-up charts. Pull mode works instantly, with no plugin and nothing installed on your machine. Polling happens from Tickr’s infrastructure, outbound from us to your query port.

3. (Optional) Unlock per-player analytics

Pull mode sees player counts; it can’t tell who joined or what they did. To get retention cohorts, per-player playtime, session history and custom events, install a push-mode integration:

  • Minecraft (Paper/Spigot or Velocity): drop in the first-party plugin. See the Minecraft plugin guide.
  • Anything else (Node 18+ / browser): wire up the @tickr.gg/sdk TypeScript client in your server bridge or sidecar.
  • Custom stacks: talk to the HTTP API directly from any language; it’s three endpoints with bearer-key auth.

Push integrations authenticate with a server key (tickr_sk_…), created in Server → Settings → API key. Everything is outbound HTTPS only: no inbound ports, no database on your box.

4. Explore the growth layer

Once data flows, check out:

  • Retention: D1 / D7 / D30 cohorts by first-seen date.
  • Periods: declare wipes, seasons or map resets and compare churn period-over-period.
  • Events: track quest_completed or shop_purchase per category and see which sub-game drives playtime (paid plans).
  • Showcase & widgets: a public stats page per server plus embeddable SVG widgets for your site or Discord.
  • Alerts: server down, recovered, crash loops or TPS degraded, straight to your Discord staff channel.

Troubleshooting

  • Server shows as “down” but it’s up: the query port is usually firewalled or the query protocol is disabled. Verify the query port (often different from the join port) is reachable from the internet.
  • Plugin installed but no per-player data: the plugin stays idle until an api-key is configured. Check the server log on boot.
  • Mixed mode: pull and push data for the same server are merged automatically; you never get duplicate player counts.