How to Install and Use WorldEdit on Your Minecraft Server

Install WorldEdit on your Minecraft Java server for in-game building tools — selections, fill, replace, copy, paste, sphere, cylinder, and brushes.

WorldEdit is the most powerful in-game world editor for Minecraft. It lets you select regions and instantly fill, replace, copy, paste, rotate, generate shapes, and apply brushes — operations that would take hours by hand finish in seconds.

WorldEdit is essential for build servers, creative servers, map development, and any admin who has ever wanted to delete a 100-block-wide griefing patch with one command.

Install WorldEdit

Download WorldEdit

Go to enginehub.org/worldedit/ and pick the build for your platform:

PlatformBuild
Bukkit / Spigot / Paper / FoliaBukkit JAR → plugins/
FabricFabric JAR → mods/ (requires Fabric API)
Forge / NeoForgeForge JAR → mods/
SpongeSponge JAR → mods/

Compatibility: Always download the build matching your Minecraft version. WorldEdit is updated quickly after each MC release.

Stop the server

In the XGamingServer Panel, open Console and stop your server.

Upload to plugins/ or mods/

Click Files in the sidebar. Upload the WorldEdit JAR.

Start the server

Start from Console. WorldEdit creates plugins/WorldEdit/ (or config/worldedit/) on first run.

Give yourself permission

WorldEdit requires the worldedit.* permission set:

lp user YourName permission set worldedit.* true

Or if you're OP and op-permissions-level=4, you have it by default.

Basic Workflow

WorldEdit operates on selections. The standard pattern is:

  1. Select two corners of a cuboid region
  2. Run a command that operates on that selection
  3. Undo with //undo if you don't like the result

Make a Selection

Get the wand:

//wand

This gives you a wooden axe. Then:

  • Left-click a block → sets position 1
  • Right-click a block → sets position 2

The two positions define a cuboid selection. Run //size to confirm.

Tip: If you don't want to use the wand, set positions manually with //pos1 and //pos2 at your current location.

Essential Commands

CommandDescription
//wandGet the selection wand (wooden axe)
//pos1 / //pos2Set positions to your current location
//sizeShow selection size
//set <block>Fill selection with a block
//replace <from> <to>Replace blocks in selection
//copyCopy selection to clipboard
//cutCopy and remove
//pastePaste at your position
//paste -aPaste without air blocks
//flip [direction]Flip clipboard
//rotate <degrees>Rotate clipboard
//undo [count]Undo last operation(s)
//redo [count]Redo
//clearhistoryClear undo history
//walls <block>Build walls around selection
//outline <block>Build a hollow box (walls + ceiling + floor)
//sphere <block> <radius>Generate a solid sphere
//hsphere <block> <radius>Generate a hollow sphere
//cyl <block> <radius> [height]Generate a cylinder
//hcyl <block> <radius> [height]Hollow cylinder
//pyramid <block> <size>Generate a pyramid
//drain <radius>Remove water/lava
//fixwater <radius>Make stuck water flow
//fixlava <radius>Make stuck lava flow
//green <radius>Re-grow grass on dirt
//snow <radius>Add snow
//thaw <radius>Remove snow/ice
//count <block>Count blocks in selection
//distrBlock distribution in selection
//naturalizeConvert blocks to natural surface (grass/dirt/stone)

Patterns and Masks

Patterns

Instead of a single block, //set accepts patterns:

PatternEffect
stoneAll stone
50%stone,50%dirt50/50 mix
#existingKeeps existing block (useful with masks)
#solidRandom solid block

Example:

//set 70%stone,20%cobblestone,10%mossy_cobblestone

Masks

Use //gmask <mask> to restrict operations to certain blocks:

//gmask grass_block
//set tall_grass

This places tall_grass only on grass_block.

To clear: //gmask

Brushes

Brushes turn an item into a tool that paints WorldEdit operations on right-click.

Sphere Brush

Hold any item and:

//brush sphere stone 5

Now right-clicking with that item places a stone sphere of radius 5.

Other Brush Types

CommandEffect
//brush sphere <block> <radius>Sphere brush
//brush cylinder <block> <radius> <height>Cylinder brush
//brush smooth <radius>Terrain smoothing
//brush gravity <radius>Make floating blocks fall
//brush noneRemove brush from current item

Schematics

Schematics let you save selections to disk and share them.

//copy
//schematic save myhouse

Saves to plugins/WorldEdit/schematics/myhouse.schem.

To load and paste:

//schematic load myhouse
//paste

You can drop schematics into plugins/WorldEdit/schematics/ via SFTP to use builds from other servers.

Performance Limits

WorldEdit operations can affect millions of blocks. To prevent accidents:

//limit 50000

This caps any single command at 50,000 blocks. To increase your personal limit, set permission worldedit.limit.unrestricted (admin only).

Warning: A //set on a 1000×1000×100 region is 100 million blocks. It will lag your server and may cause OOM. Use //limit and operate on smaller chunks.

Performance Tips

  1. Use FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE) for huge operations — it's a drop-in replacement that runs async and is 100× faster
  2. Lower view-distance temporarily while doing huge edits
  3. Use schematics for repeated builds
  4. Stage big edits in chunks rather than one giant command
  5. //undo immediately if you make a mistake — undo history is per-session

Common Issues

ProblemFix
//wand doesn't give a wandMissing worldedit.wand permission
Selection is emptyBoth positions need to be set — left and right click
//set says "max blocks exceeded"Selection too big — increase limit or shrink selection
Server lags during big editsInstall FAWE, lower view-distance, or split the edit
//paste puts the build in the wrong placeOrigin is the position you ran //copy at
Permissions deniedSet worldedit.* for the user/group
Forge mod blocks aren't recognizedUse the mod's namespaced ID, e.g., tconstruct:slime_block

Common Mistakes

MistakeFix
Running //set 0 to clear (causes errors)Use //set air instead
Forgetting //undo history is per-sessionHistory clears when you log out — make backups
Pasting without checking orientationUse //rotate and //flip first
Editing huge regions on a busy serverSchedule for off-hours or use FAWE async
Not making a backup before big editsOne bad //set can wipe a base
Using WorldEdit on protected regionsWorldGuard regions block WE — disable temporarily or whitelist yourself

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