How to Upload a World to Your Minecraft Server
Transfer a singleplayer Minecraft world or custom map to your dedicated server, including Nether and End dimensions.
You can upload a world from your singleplayer game, a downloaded adventure map, or another server to your XGamingServer Minecraft server.
Find Your Local World
On Windows, singleplayer worlds are stored at:
%AppData%\.minecraft\saves\YourWorldName\Paste this path into File Explorer's address bar to open the folder. Each world is its own subfolder containing level.dat, region/, and other files.
Expected Folder Structure
The folder must contain level.dat at its root — that's how you know you have the right folder level.
Upload Your World
Stop the server
In the XGamingServer Panel, go to Console and stop your server.
Back up the existing world
Go to Backups and create a backup before overwriting.
Open Files
Click Files in the sidebar.
Delete or rename the existing world
Delete the existing world/ folder, or rename it (e.g., world_old) to keep it as a backup.
Upload your world folder
Upload your world folder. It must be named world to match the default level-name in server.properties. If you want to keep a different name, update level-name=YourWorldName accordingly.
For large worlds, compress to .zip first, upload, then Unarchive in the panel.
Start the server
Start from Console. The server loads your uploaded world.
Custom Maps (Adventure, Parkour, etc.)
Custom maps work the same way:
- Download the map (usually a
.zip) - Extract it — find the folder containing
level.dat - Upload that folder to the server, naming it
world
Common gotcha: Many downloaded maps are nested inside an extra folder. Make sure
level.datis at the root of theworld/folder, not insideworld/MapName/level.dat.
Nether and End Dimensions
Vanilla and Spigot/Paper handle dimensions differently:
| Server Type | Nether Location | End Location |
|---|---|---|
| Vanilla | world/DIM-1/ | world/DIM1/ |
| Spigot / Paper | world_nether/DIM-1/ | world_the_end/DIM1/ |
When uploading from singleplayer (vanilla format) to a Spigot/Paper server, you may need to:
- Upload
world_nether/andworld_the_end/as separate folders alongsideworld/, or - Use a tool to convert formats — see Convert World Formats
Version Compatibility
Warning: Uploading a world from a newer Minecraft version to an older server will not work. The server version must be equal to or newer than the world's version.
| Source World | Target Server | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1.20.1 | 1.21 | ✅ Works (Minecraft auto-upgrades) |
| 1.21 | 1.20.1 | ❌ Fails to load |
| 1.21 | 1.21 | ✅ Works |
Upgrades are one-way — once a world has been opened on 1.21, it can't go back to 1.20.
Common Issues
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| World doesn't load | Verify the folder is named world (or matches level-name) and contains level.dat at the root |
| Players see "Outdated server" | Update your server version. See Switch Version |
| Nether/End missing | Check the dimension folder format (Vanilla vs Spigot/Paper paths above) |
| World version too new | Upgrade your server to the same version or newer |
| Modded world won't load | Install the same mods on the server. Modded blocks become missing without their mods |
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