Minecraft: Manage world saves
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(Details may vary with products from different providers but the main concepts remain the same)
Introduction
At its core, Minecraft stores game saves as worlds, with each world being its own self-contained save. In this guide, we will explore the process of managing worlds on your Minecraft game server, including converting worlds between platforms, regenerating worlds, backing up your local and server worlds and uploading worlds to your server.
Preparation
In order to manage your worlds, you will have to begin by accessing your Minecraft game server via FTP. If you are not familiar with how to use FTP, please view our Access via FTP guide.
Comparing Platform Differences
One key difference between vanilla server and server platforms is that vanilla servers combines the normal world, the nether and the end dimensions as one whole save.
In contrast, alternate server platforms including Spigot, PaperMC and Bukkit split each dimension as seperate world save. You can view the table below which compares how an example world named zapdocs is treated by both types of server platforms.
| World Dimension | Vanilla Server (Combined) | Server Platforms (Individual) |
|---|---|---|
| Normal/Overworld | zapdocs | zapdocs |
| Nether | zapdocs | zapdocs_nether |
| The End | zapdocs | zapdocs_the_end |
Converting Worlds
When switching between a vanilla server and a server platform, you may wish to keep your world save. Due to the differences above, you will have to adjust the file structure to either extract or merge individual worlds for the nether and end dimensions depending on action.
This is only required if you are switching between vanilla and server platforms, whilst wanting to keep and move an existing world. If you are simply moving between vanilla or across server platforms, you do not need to convert anything.
Ensure that you turn the server off before proceeding to ensure that there are no conflicts or rollbacks.
- Convert from Vanilla
- Convert to Vanilla
To convert a world from vanilla to server platform format, you will have to extract certain folders to create new individual worlds for each dimension. Of course, it is expected that you would move all worlds onto a new server that is running a server platform such as Spigot, PaperMC or Bukkit.
Access your server through FTP and follow the path ../vanilla/[your_world] to access the world save that you wish to convert. Locate the DIM1 and DIM-1 folders.
The DIM1 folder is used for the end data whilst the DIM-1 folder is used for nether data.
You will have to move each folder into its own new world folder, as following:
- For nether, create a new
[your_world]_netherfolder under the root folder. Move the DIM-1 folder into this new seperate world folder. - Similarly for the end, create a new
[your_world]_the_endfolder under the root folder. Move the DIM1 folder into this new seperate world folder.
You may be required to overwrite the DIM folders, but that is normal as by default server platforms generate all dimensions straight away.
In this example, the world is called world therefore new world_nether and world_the_end folders were created in the root folder, with the appropriate DIM folder moved into them.
The three individual worlds are now ready to be used on server platforms.
To convert a world from a server platform to vanilla format, the process is practically identical but in reverse. You will have to extract data from the individual worlds for the nether and the end dimensions, to merge it into a single world format. Of course, it is expected that you would move the combined world onto a new server that is running vanilla server.
Access your server through FTP and enter the root path. Locate the three individual world folders which should be [your_world], [your_world]_nether and [your_world]_the_end with [your_world] replacing the name of the world.
Open [your_world]_nether individual world folder and move the DIM-1 folder into the main [your_world] folder. In this example, just like before the world is called world by default.
Now repeat the same thing for the [your_world]_the_end individual world folder and move DIM1 into the main [your_world] folder.
The combined world is now ready to be used on a vanilla server.
Generating Worlds
Generating worlds is simple and you can choose to either generate an entirely new world or regenerate the current world as fresh. Minecraft utilises a seed system where every world has a unique seed, which means that with the seed alone you can regenerate an exact starting copy of a world.
- Generate new world
- Regenerate current world
In order to generate a new world, simply shut down the server and connect to the server via FTP. You should also open the server.properties configuration file, either through the Configs section on your server's web interface panel or via FTP.
Now to generate a new world, you can either:
- Through FTP, find the world that is named the same as the
level-nameparameter in the config file and delete it. - Edit the
level-nameparameter in the config file to something different and save.
If you are looking to keep the old save, we recommend using option 2 as this way the world will remain on the server but will be "inactive".
Now start the server again and the server will notice that the world with the level-name name is missing and therefore it will generate a new world with a new seed.
In order to regenerate the current world, you will have to make note of the seed. This can be done through the Console section on your server's web interface or directly in-game, but do note you require OP (operator) if you wish to do it in-game.
Run the /seed command either in the console or in-game which will return the seed value of the current world. Note this seed down.
With the seed now known, you will have to adjust the level-seed parameter in the server.properties configuration file. You can do this either through the Configs section on your server's web interface panel or via FTP.
Ensure that you turn the server off beforehand to ensure the file saves correctly.
Change the level-seed parameter to the seed value and save the file. Now connect to your server through FTP.
To regenerate the world, you can either:
- Through FTP, find the world that is named the same as the
level-nameparameter in the config file and delete it. - Edit the
level-nameparameter in the config file to something different and save.
If you are looking to keep the old save, we recommend using option 2 as this way the world will remain on the server but will be "inactive".
Now start the server again and the server will notice that the world with the level-name name is missing and therefore it will regenerate the current world using the seed that was provided through the level-seed parameter.
Backup World Saves
Local Saves
Local world saves are ones which you have created whilst playing in single player. These can be found within your Windows AppData, specifically in the following path:
../AppData/Roaming/.minecraft/saves
You can easily access this path directly by pressing CTRL + R at the same time and searching for the following path in the run dialog: %appdata%/.minecraft/saves/. Simply press OK and you will be taken to the folder.
In this folder, you will be able to see all local world saves in one place.
Accessing Saves via FTP
Backing up your world save from the server is simple. Once you have connected to your game server through an FTP Client, simply access the root folder of the server platform you are utilising. World saves are directly found in there, with the default world name being world.
Automatic Backup
We also provide an option to automatically back up your world save (and configuration file) directly through our webinterface. Simply head over to your game server's webinterface and go to the Tools->Backups section. Here you can configure a variety of options to schedule automatic backups for your server. We provide you with 10gb free backup storage which your backups will be stored in. For further information regarding backups, have a look at our dedicated Backups guide for this topic.
Uploading World Save
Similarly to backing up, uploading your world save is simple. First, ensure that you connect to your game server through an FTP Client. Once you are ready, head over to the root path of the server platform you are utilising.
Remember that the vanilla server and server platforms store worlds in a slightly different format.
If you are moving a save from vanilla to a server platform such as PaperMC, or the other way round, please view the converting worlds section of the guide.
Simply drag and drop any of your world saves into the root folder through your FTP Client and it will be uploaded to your server.
It may be useful to copy the name of the Gamesave folder that you have uploaded as you will need this if you wish to activate it in the next section.
Activating World Save
In order to use a specific world save, you will have to edit the server.properties configuration file, specifically the level-name parameter.
You can do this either through the Configs section on your server's web interface panel or via FTP.
In the file, find the level-name parameter and edit it to match the folder name of your world save. If you are using a server platform, use the main folder name and not the _nether or _the_end folders.
Conclusion
You now understand how to handle your Minecraft worlds with confidence. From converting saves between vanilla and server platforms, to generating new worlds, regenerating old ones using seeds, making reliable backups, uploading custom worlds, and activating them on your server. With this knowledge, you’re ready to manage your worlds smoothly and keep your adventures safe and organized.
For further questions or assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team, which is available daily to assist you! 🙂