Minecraft | JSON - Exception in server tick loop

If you encounter an error message like the one below while attempting to start your server:

java.lang.NullPointerException: Exception in server tick loop
at net.minecraft.server.v1_7_R3.JsonList.load(JsonList.java:171)

It indicates that there is a problem with either your ops.json or whitelist.json files.

To resolve this issue, follow the steps outlined below:

1. First, stop your server to ensure a clean restart.

2. Access your server's files via the file manager

3. Locate and delete the following files: ops.json, whitelist.json, and usercache.json. These files store the server's operator permissions, whitelist settings, and user cache data, respectively.

4. After deleting these files, start your server again.

5. By following these steps, you should be able to address the error and successfully start your server.