How to add a map or world to your Minecraft server

Step by step

1. Find the world folder

   Unzip the download. The world folder is the one that holds a level.dat file next to a region folder. Some zips wrap it in an extra folder, so look one level down if you do not see it. In our downloads the top folder is the world.

2. Stop the server

   Always stop the server before you add or swap a world. A running server can overwrite the files you upload.

3. Upload the folder

   Upload the whole world folder to the main server folder, the one with server.properties in it. For a big map, upload the zip and unzip it on the host if the file manager can do that. It is much faster than thousands of small files.

4. Point server.properties at it

   Open server.properties and set level-name to the folder name, exactly as written.

   level-name=Castle_Town_Spawn

   A folder name without spaces is easier to type in commands later.

5. Start the server and join

   Start the server and join. You appear at the spawn point saved in the map. On Paper and Spigot the Nether and End live in separate folders next to the world, named with _nether and _the_end. The server sets these up on first start.

Keep your current world too

If you want the map next to your main world, for example as a hub or an event world, use Multiverse-Core instead of changing level-name:

/mv import Castle_Town_Spawn normal
/mv tp Castle_Town_Spawn

The first command loads the folder you uploaded as a normal overworld. The second takes you there. Use nether or end in place of normal for those kinds of maps.

Floating maps and the world edge

Many server maps are floating islands in a void. If a player walks or flies past the edge, the server generates new chunks out there, and on a normal world that means regular terrain. Set a world border around the map to keep players in:

/worldborder center 0 0
/worldborder set 400

The first number pair is the centre of the map, the second command is the full width in blocks.

Bedrock Dedicated Server

A Bedrock world comes as an .mcworld file. That is a zip. Rename it to .zip, unzip it into a folder inside the server's worlds folder, and set level-name in server.properties to that folder name. Restart the server.

If it does not work

• The server made a fresh world instead: level-name does not match the folder name, or the folder is one level too deep (the level.dat is inside a second folder).
• The world will not load: maps can be opened on the same or a newer version than they were saved on, never an older one. Check the version in the map's README.
• Chunks look broken or reset: the world was uploaded while the server was running. Stop the server and upload again.

Questions