Skip to main content

Minecraft: Manage world saves

This guide was created with the following products:

(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 DimensionVanilla Server (Combined)Server Platforms (Individual)
Normal/Overworldzapdocszapdocs
Netherzapdocszapdocs_nether
The Endzapdocszapdocs_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.

info

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.

note

Ensure that you turn the server off before proceeding to ensure that there are no conflicts or rollbacks.

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]_nether folder 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_end folder under the root folder. Move the DIM1 folder into this new seperate world folder.
info

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.

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.

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-name parameter in the config file and delete it.
  • Edit the level-name parameter 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.

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
tip

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.

Vanilla & Server Platform Worlds

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.

tip

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! 🙂