Move your world to a new host

Before you start

• Tell your players the server will be down for a while and that the address changes.
• Note the versions: Minecraft version, server software (vanilla, Paper, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge) and modpack version.
• Set up the new server with the same versions. You can move to the same or a newer Minecraft version. Never go back to an older one — the world will break.

Step 1: Stop the old server and download everything

1. Stop the server. Copying a running world can give you corrupted chunks.
2. Download the whole server folder via SFTP or the old host’s file manager. Zipping it first on the server makes it much faster.

At minimum you need:

What	Why
World folders	The world (see the folder trap below)
plugins or mods and config	Plugin data like claims, homes, economy
server.properties	Your settings
whitelist.json, ops.json, banned-players.json, banned-ips.json	Access lists

If the old server used a MySQL database for plugins, export it separately. It is not in the server folder.

Step 2: Mind the folder trap

Vanilla and Paper store the same world differently.

• Vanilla, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge: one folder world, with the Nether in world/DIM-1 and the End in world/DIM1.
• Paper, Spigot, Purpur: three folders — world, world_nether and world_the_end.

Moving from vanilla to Paper works automatically: Paper splits the folders on first start. Moving from Paper back to vanilla does not. You have to copy the dimension data from world_nether/DIM-1 to world/DIM-1 and from world_the_end/DIM1 to world/DIM1 yourself.

If your world folder is not called world, either rename it or set level-name in server.properties to match.

Step 3: Upload to the new server

1. Stop the new server if it is running.
2. Delete or rename the fresh world folder the new server generated.
3. Upload your files via SFTP (FileZilla and WinSCP both work) or your server panel’s file manager. Upload a zip and unpack it on the server if the panel allows it; thousands of small files upload slowly one by one.
4. Keep the new server’s startup settings (port, RAM, Java version). Do not overwrite them with the old host’s start scripts.
5. Start the server and watch the console for errors.

Step 4: Check before you announce it

• Join and walk around spawn, your base and the Nether.
• Check that plugin data is there: claims, homes, permissions.
• Run /whitelist list to make sure the whitelist came along.
• On modded servers, check a few machines or storage blocks. Missing mods show up as missing blocks.

Then update your address. If you use your own domain, change the DNS record so it points to the new server — see custom domains with SRV records.

From single player to a server

Your single-player worlds are in the saves folder of your Minecraft installation (on Windows usually %appdata%\.minecraft\saves).

1. Copy the world folder, for example saves/My World.
2. Upload it to the server and rename it to world, or set level-name to its name.
3. Start the server.

Two things to know: your inventory and position in single player are stored as the “host” player, not under your account, so you may spawn with an empty inventory on the server. And game rules and difficulty come from the world, not from server.properties, until you change them.

From Bedrock to Java (or back)

Bedrock and Java worlds use different formats. You cannot upload a Bedrock world to a Java server directly. Conversion tools exist, but blocks, entities and redstone do not always convert cleanly. Test the result on a copy first. If your group plays on both editions, crossplay with Geyser and Floodgate may be easier than converting.

If something went wrong

You still have the untouched download from step 1. Stop the server, delete what you uploaded, and try again. That is why you never delete the old server before the new one runs — and why backups matter.