Item Limits

Item Limits

Configurable per-player item caps for Minecraft Java 26.3.

Limit how many of any item a player can carry, e.g. 1 Totem of Undying or 4 Enchanted Golden Apples. When a player is at the cap and picks up more, the extra items are dropped on the ground.

The pack ships empty: nothing is limited until you add limits yourself with simple /function commands. No config files, no restarts, no /reload needed.

Features

• Works on any item (vanilla item IDs)
• Add, change, remove and list limits in-game
• Excess items are dropped, never deleted (an item is only removed from the inventory after the drop was spawned successfully)
• Counts the whole player inventory: hotbar, main inventory, armor slots and offhand
• Also counts items inside shulker boxes and bundles (including bundles inside shulker boxes) that a player carries, so containers can't be used to get around a limit
• Optional chat message telling the player why an item was dropped
• Bypass tag for players who should be exempt (e.g. staff)
• Server-side only, no mods or resource pack needed
• Very lightweight: runs every 5 ticks and does nothing while no limits are configured

Installation

1. Download ItemLimits-1.1.0-mc26.3.zip.
2. Put the zip in world/datapacks/ of your server (or the world's datapacks folder in singleplayer).
3. Run /reload or restart the server.

Requires Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 (data pack format 121).

Commands

All commands need operator permissions (permission level 2, like any /function).

Command · What it does
/function item_limits:add {item:"minecraft:totem_of_undying",max:1} · Add a limit, or change it if one already exists for that item
/function item_limits:remove {item:"minecraft:totem_of_undying"} · Remove the limit for an item
/function item_limits:list · Show all configured limits
/function item_limits:clear_all · Remove every limit
/function item_limits:messages_on · Tell players when an extra item was dropped (default)
/function item_limits:messages_off · Do not send those messages
/function item_limits:containers_on · Count items inside shulker boxes and bundles (default)
/function item_limits:containers_off · Only count loose items (v1.0 behaviour)

Examples

Max 1 totem per player

/function item_limits:add {item:"minecraft:totem_of_undying",max:1}

Max 4 enchanted golden apples per player

/function item_limits:add {item:"minecraft:enchanted_golden_apple",max:4}

Change the totem limit to 2

/function item_limits:add {item:"minecraft:totem_of_undying",max:2}

Remove the totem limit again

/function item_limits:remove {item:"minecraft:totem_of_undying"}

Tip: the item value is the normal item ID. Press F3 + H in game to see IDs in item tooltips. max:0 bans an item completely (everything gets dropped).

Exempt players

/tag add item_limits.bypass
/tag remove item_limits.bypass

How it works

Every 5 ticks, each player is checked against every configured limit. The total is the loose items plus everything inside shulker boxes and bundles the player carries. If a player carries more than allowed, the excess is dropped at their feet (with a 5 second pickup delay). Loose items are dropped first (normally the item that was just picked up). If the excess is inside a shulker box or bundle, it is taken out of that container, which stays in the same inventory slot, and dropped with its original components. If a player is far over a limit (for example because you just added a limit), up to 64 items are handled per check until they are within the limit.

Limits are stored in the item_limits:config command storage, so they are saved with the world and survive restarts and /reload.

Limitations

• Counted: the player's inventory, offhand and armor slots, plus the contents of shulker boxes and bundles in them (and bundles inside shulker boxes). Not counted: ender chests, chests/barrels in the world, items on the cursor while a menu is open, and containers added by other mods.
• Limits match on the item ID only. Item components (custom names, enchantments, ...) are not taken into account, so e.g. all minecraft:enchanted_book items count together. Item tags (#minecraft:...) are not supported.
• Loose items are reduced before container contents, in the game's inventory order, so the dropped item is not necessarily the one that was just picked up. The total amount is always correct.
• A dropped item can be picked up again after 5 seconds, but the pack will simply drop it again if the player is still at the cap.
• Players carrying shulker boxes or bundles cost slightly more to check. Use /function item_limits:containers_off if you do not need container counting.
• If a container edit fails for any reason, nothing is removed and nothing is dropped; the check simply tries again.

Compatibility

• Minecraft Java Edition 26.3
• Vanilla, Fabric, Quilt, Paper, Purpur, Velocity-backed networks (the pack is per-server, install it on each backend server that needs limits)