Overview#
FTB Utilities is a powerful utility mod designed to enhance the multiplayer experience on Forge-based servers. Developed by LatvianModder, it serves as an all-in-one replacement for many server-side plugins, offering features that were previously exclusive to platforms like Bukkit or Spigot. Its primary goal is to provide land protection, social management, and administrative tools directly within the Forge ecosystem.
The mod is highly modular and relies on FTBLib as a dependency. It is a staple in almost every major 1.12.2 and 1.11.2 modpack, ensuring that players can protect their builds from griefing and keep their machines running even when offline through integrated chunk loading.
Core Mechanics#
Chunk Claiming
Chunk claiming is the flagship feature of FTB Utilities. It allows players to protect a 16x16 area of land from bedrock to the sky limit. Once a chunk is claimed, other players (who are not on the owner's friends list) cannot break blocks, place blocks, or interact with most machines and containers.
- How to Claim: Open your inventory and click the Claimed Chunks icon (a blue-tinted map) in the top-left corner. This opens a top-down map of the surrounding area. Left-click a chunk to claim it.
- Unclaiming: Right-click a claimed chunk on the map to release it.
- Limits: The number of chunks a player can claim is determined by their rank or the server configuration.
Chunk Loading (Force Loading)
Beyond just protection, FTB Utilities allows players to keep their claimed chunks loaded in memory even when they are offline or in a different dimension. This is essential for automated farms, quarries, and power generation.
- How to Load: In the Claimed Chunks map, Shift + Left-click a chunk you have already claimed. The chunk will be highlighted with a red border (or green lines depending on the version) to indicate it is force-loaded.
- Unloading: Shift + Right-click a loaded chunk to stop force-loading it.
Friends System
The friends system allows players to grant access to their claimed land. Friends can build and interact with blocks in your claimed chunks.
- Management: Accessible via the Friends icon in the inventory GUI. You can send friend requests to other players, and once accepted, they gain the permissions defined in your team settings.
Badge System
FTB Utilities features a unique badge system that displays a custom icon next to a player's name in the tab list and above their head.
- Global Badges: Official FTB team members and contributors often have unique badges.
- Custom Badges: Server admins can assign custom badges to players by linking to a hosted image (PNG) in the configuration files.
Ranks and Permissions#
The mod includes a robust rank system that allows server administrators to define specific permissions for different groups of players. This system uses a ranks.json (or ranks.txt in older versions) file located in the server's local/ftbu/ directory.
Permission Nodes
Permissions are defined using nodes. Common nodes include:
| Node | Description |
|---|---|
ftbutilities.claims.max_chunks |
Maximum number of chunks a player can claim. |
ftbutilities.chunkloader.max_chunks |
Maximum number of chunks a player can force-load. |
ftbutilities.homes.max |
Maximum number of homes a player can set. |
ftbutilities.chat.name_format |
Customizes how the player's name appears in chat. |
command.ftbutilities.back |
Permission to use the /back command. |
Rank Conditions
Ranks can be applied automatically based on conditions such as being an OP, being in a specific dimension, or having a certain amount of playtime.
Commands#
FTB Utilities adds a wide array of commands for both players and administrators.
Player Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/sethome [name] |
Sets a home at your current location. |
/home [name] |
Teleports you to a set home. |
/back |
Teleports you to your last death location or previous teleport spot. |
/spawn |
Teleports you to the world spawn point. |
/tpa <player> |
Sends a teleport request to another player. |
/tpaccept |
Accepts a pending teleport request. |
/warp <name> |
Teleports you to a server-defined warp point. |
Admin Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/admin setwarp <name> |
Creates a public warp point at your location. |
/admin delwarp <name> |
Deletes a warp point. |
/admin invsee <player> |
Opens the inventory of another player (supports Baubles). |
/admin worldborder <on|off> |
Toggles the world border. |
/admin unclaim_all <player> |
Forcefully unclaims all chunks owned by a player. |
/admin loaded_chunks |
Opens a GUI showing all currently loaded chunks in the world. |
Server Management Tools#
Automated Backups
FTB Utilities includes a built-in backup system that creates compressed archives of the world at regular intervals.
- Configuration: Admins can set the frequency, the number of backups to keep, and whether to compress them.
- Manual Backup: Use
/admin backup startto trigger a backup manually.
World Borders
Admins can set a hard limit on the world size per dimension. Unlike the vanilla world border, this system is highly configurable via the mod's admin commands and can be centered anywhere.
Auto-Restart
To maintain server performance, FTB Utilities can be configured to automatically restart the server at specific times. It provides countdown warnings to players in chat before the shutdown occurs.
Starting Items
Servers can be configured to give players a specific set of items when they first join. This is defined in the ftbutilities.cfg file using the format modid:item_id quantity metadata.
Items and Blocks#
FTB Utilities is primarily a functional mod and adds very few physical items or blocks to the game world. Most of its features are accessed through the GUI or commands.
Items
- Guide Book: In some versions, a physical Guide Book is provided to help players navigate mod features. However, in later 1.12.2 updates, this was transitioned to the FTB Guides mod, which adds a dedicated button in the inventory GUI rather than an item.
Blocks
- No Physical Blocks: Unlike other chunk-loading mods (like ChickenChunks), FTB Utilities does not add a physical "Chunk Loader" block. All chunk management is handled through the virtual map interface in the player's inventory.
Configuration#
The mod's behavior is controlled through several files located in the config/ and local/ directories:
config/ftbutilities.cfg: The main configuration file for toggling features like AFK timers, auto-restarts, and starting items.local/ftbu/ranks.json: Defines the rank hierarchy and permission nodes.local/ftbu/all_permissions.html: A generated file that lists every available permission node for the current modpack, useful for server setup.local/ftbu/badges.json: Used to map player UUIDs to custom badge image URLs.
