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How to upload a world to a Minecraft server

To upload a world to a Minecraft server, zip the world folder from your saves folder, upload it to the server's main folder, unzip it there and set level-name in server.properties to the folder's name. Here is each step for Java and Bedrock, how to move a Realms or modded world, and the 3 mistakes that make an uploaded world disappear.

Prices checked on 10 October 2026 on the hosts' own order pages. All prices include VAT.

A Minecraft server with a RAM stick, a grass block and a map

The short answer

Zip the world folder, upload it to the server's main folder, unzip it there and set level-name in server.properties to the folder's name. Stop the server first, and run it on the same Minecraft version as the world or a newer one: a world can move up a version, never down. A modded world needs the same mods on the server.

Compare Minecraft server hosting for a big world

Compare the Minecraft server hosting plans below by storage as well as RAM before you upload a big world: for 11 to 20 players on vanilla, the plans come with 60 GB NVMe at Cheapest Minecraft Hosting, 60 GB Enterprise NVMe at Astroworld Hosting and 80 GB Enterprise NVMe at Lodehost. The plans are the best match at each host for 11 to 20 players on a vanilla Java server in Poland (Warsaw), cheapest first.

The best Minecraft server plan at each host for 11 to 20 players on Java in Poland (Warsaw)
ProviderMemoryCPU & storageMonthly priceOrder page
Cheapest Minecraft Hosting Builder, budget line12 GBRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 2 shared vCPU, 60 GB NVMe€9.60 /mo Same price on every termView plan CheapestMinecraftHosting Builder (opens Cheapest Minecraft Hosting)
Astroworld Hosting Standard Performance12 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 3 reserved vCPU, 60 GB Enterprise NVMe€9.58 /mo First 3 months, then €23.95/mo, €20.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Astroworld Standard Performance (opens Astroworld Hosting)
Lodehost Standard, performance line12 GB Free websiteRyzen 9 7950X with DDR5, Poland (Warsaw) 3 reserved vCPU, 80 GB Enterprise NVMe€9.58 /mo First 3 months, then €23.95/mo, €20.95 on 24 months 60% off for new customersView plan Lodehost Standard (opens Lodehost)

On the Performance lines the large price is what a new customer pays a month at the start: for the first 3 months at both Astroworld Hosting and Lodehost, when you pay monthly. The regular monthly price comes after it, and the last price in each row is the monthly price on the host's longest term.

Compare the same billing term and location before you order.

Every price is taken from the host's own order page. How we compare

Where does your world come from?

Where your world comes from decides the first step, and a world reaches a server from one of 3 places:

  • Java singleplayer

    The world's folder in the saves folder of .minecraft, with a level.dat file inside it.

  • Bedrock

    An .mcworld file you export from the game, which is a zip file of the world folder.

  • Realms or another host

    A backup you download first, which you then upload like a singleplayer world.

A world only moves forward: a newer Minecraft version upgrades it when it opens it, and an older version cannot read it back. Keep a copy of the original.

Where is my Minecraft world folder?

Your Minecraft world folder is in the saves folder of .minecraft on Java Edition: %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves on a Mac and ~/.minecraft/saves on Linux. The quickest way there is in the game: select the world under Singleplayer, click Edit and then Open World Folder.

Each world is a folder of its own with a level.dat file inside. Its name usually matches the name in the world list, unless you renamed the world later. On Bedrock you do not need the folder: open the world's settings and use Export World, which saves an .mcworld file on Windows, Android and iOS.

How to upload a world to a Minecraft server

To upload a world to a Minecraft server running Java Edition, take these 6 steps:

  1. Stop the server.
  2. Move the current world aside. Rename the world folder, for example to world-old, or download it as a backup. On Spigot, and on Paper before 26.1, do the same with world_nether and world_the_end.
  3. Zip your world folder, the folder itself and not only the files inside it.
  4. Upload the zip to the server's main folder, next to server.properties, with the file manager or over SFTP, and unzip it there.
  5. Point the server at it: set level-name in server.properties to the folder's name, or rename the folder to the name already in level-name.
  6. Start the server and watch the console while it loads the world.

Vanilla, Fabric, Forge and NeoForge read a singleplayer world exactly as it is. Paper changes the way the world is stored on the first start, by itself, so there is nothing to convert by hand. Our guide to Minecraft server properties shows where level-name sits in the file.

How to upload a big Minecraft world to a server

To upload a big Minecraft world to a server, use SFTP or let the server download the zip from a link, because uploads through the browser stop at a size limit: at Astroworld Hosting that limit is 100 MB. This is what the three hosts we compare offer:

  • Astroworld Hosting: the upload button for files up to 100 MB, a link that the machine fetches itself with no size limit on the host's side, and SFTP. The level name is a field on the Settings tab of the panel.
  • Lodehost: an upload in the file manager, and help moving a world over from another host with its plugins and settings when you tell support where the server runs today.
  • Cheapest Minecraft Hosting: a zip in the Files tab, a download link the server fetches itself, or SFTP for big worlds.

For SFTP, a free client such as FileZilla or WinSCP connects with the details from the panel and copies the folder across. For a link, put the zip in cloud storage that gives a direct download link, so the server receives the file and not a web page.

How to upload a Bedrock world to a server

To upload a Bedrock world to a Bedrock Dedicated Server, rename the .mcworld file to .zip, unzip it into a folder inside the server's worlds folder and set level-name to that folder's name. Restart the server, and Bedrock players see the world as it was on their device.

A Bedrock world cannot go on a Java server as it is, and that includes a crossplay server, which runs Java with Geyser. Convert it first with Chunker, a free and open source converter from Hive Games that turns Bedrock worlds into Java worlds and back. Check the converted world in singleplayer before you upload it.

How to download a Realms world for a server

To download a Realms world for a server, open the Realm's settings as its owner and download a backup of the world: on Java it lands in your saves folder as a singleplayer world. From there, upload it to the server with the same steps as any other world. A Realm's worlds stay available to download for 18 months after the subscription ends.

How to transfer a modded Minecraft world to a server

To transfer a modded Minecraft world to a server, give the server the same mod loader and the same mods, in the same versions, before it opens the world. A block or item from a mod the server does not have is removed from the world for good, so a missing mod costs builds. For a modpack, install the pack's server files in the same version as the pack you played, and leave out client mods such as shaders and minimaps, which are made for the game and not for a server. Our guide to modpack server hosting covers the server files.

Uploaded world not showing up on your Minecraft server?

When an uploaded world is not showing up on your Minecraft server, the server could not find level.dat where it looked, so it generated a new world instead. These 3 mistakes cause almost all of it:

  1. level-name does not match the folder. The server looks for the exact name in level-name and creates a fresh world when it is not there.
  2. One folder too deep. Unzipping can give you world/world/level.dat. The level.dat file has to sit directly in the folder that level-name names.
  3. The server was running during the upload, and wrote its old world back over the new files when it stopped.

Your uploaded world is still on the disk in all three cases. Stop the server, fix the folder or the name, delete the world it generated by mistake and start again.

Can you upload a world from a newer or older Minecraft version?

You can upload a world from an older Minecraft version to a newer server, because the game upgrades the world when it opens it, but not the other way around: that upgrade works one way only, and an older server cannot read a newer world safely. Keep a copy before the first start on a newer version. Since 26.1, the game stores worlds in a new layout, with the Nether and the End under dimensions/minecraft instead of DIM-1 and DIM1, so a world opened on 26.1 or later stays on 26.1 or later.

Before you upload a world to a Minecraft server

Before you upload a world to a Minecraft server, check 3 things, so the world your friends join is the one you built:

  1. Stop the server

    A running server keeps its world in memory and writes it back when it stops, over the files you just uploaded.

  2. Match the version

    Run the server on the version the world was last played on, or on a newer one.

  3. Keep the original

    Keep a copy of the world on your own computer until the server has opened it and you have looked around.

Questions about uploading a Minecraft world

Do I keep my inventory when I move my singleplayer world to a server?

From Minecraft 26.1, yes: the game keeps your singleplayer data in a player file under your account's UUID, which the server finds when you join with the same account. On older versions your singleplayer inventory and position are stored in level.dat, which a dedicated server does not read for players, so you arrive at spawn with an empty inventory.

Do I have to delete the old world on the server?

No. Rename it or point level-name at the new folder, and the server keeps both worlds on the disk. Delete the old one once you are sure you will not need it.

Does uploading a world change the seed?

No. The seed is stored in the world itself, so level-seed in server.properties is ignored for a world that already exists. The terrain players have not explored yet still follows the world's own seed.

How do I upload a custom map or adventure map?

The same way as any world: unzip the map, upload its folder and set level-name to it. Many adventure maps need command blocks, which are a game rule since 1.21.9 and the enable-command-block setting in server.properties before that, and some come with a resource pack that you can offer players through server.properties.

Can I upload a world to a server without SFTP?

Yes. A zip under the browser limit goes through the file manager of your host's panel, and bigger ones can be fetched from a link at hosts that offer it, such as Astroworld Hosting and Cheapest Minecraft Hosting.

How big can a Minecraft world be on a server?

As big as the plan's disk allows, after the server files, the backups and the plugins. A pre-generated world grows with the radius you generate, so check the free space in the panel before you upload or generate more.

Still unsure? Use the Minecraft server finder