Litematica: Paste a Schematic in Creative or Survival

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Paste a Litematica schematic in creative with executeOperation, build it in survival with Easy Place, copy a build, and set replace mode and paste speed.

Litematica schematic world map

You have a schematic loaded and the ghost blocks are in place, but how do you paste the schematic into the world? It depends on your game mode. In creative, Litematica pastes the whole build with one hotkey. In survival there is no paste: you build it block by block, and Easy Place does most of the clicking for you. Below are both routes, how to copy a schematic in Litematica, how to make it replace blocks when pasting, and how to make the paste go faster.

Quick answer: To paste a schematic in creative, bind a key to executeOperation (it has no default key), hold the tool item (a stick), switch to Paste Schematic in world with Ctrl + scroll, select the placement and press that key. In survival you cannot paste: turn on easyPlaceMode and right click the ghost blocks with the materials from the material list (M + L). To copy a build, select it in Area Selection mode (left click and right click the corners) and press Ctrl + Alt + S. Replacing existing blocks is set with pasteReplaceBehavior (Ctrl + M in Paste mode), and paste speed on servers with commandLimitPerTick.

Everything here was checked on 3 November 2026 against Litematica 0.29.1 for Minecraft 26.3, the newest release on Modrinth. The config and hotkey names below are the same in 0.26.16 for 1.21.11.

Before You Start

  • Litematica for Fabric plus its required library, MaLiLib. Current Litematica releases are Fabric only. For Forge and NeoForge, the Modrinth page points to third-party ports such as Forgematica.
  • A schematic file: .litematic, .schem, .schematic or .nbt.
  • Creative mode, if you want to paste. Survival works for Easy Place, the material list and copying.

Step 1: Load the Schematic

  1. Copy the file into the schematics folder of your game folder: .minecraft/schematics with the default launcher (create the folder if it is missing). On Prism Launcher or MultiMC every instance has its own folder: in Prism select the instance, click Folder and open minecraft (older instances use .minecraft); in MultiMC click Minecraft Folder.
  2. In game, press M and click Load Schematics.
  3. Select the file, keep Create a placement ticked and click Load Schematic.

If a new file does not show up, close the screen and open it again.

Step 2: Place and Line It Up

Press M + P to open Schematic Placements and click Configure next to your placement. Move to player puts it where you stand, and the Rotation and Mirror buttons turn and flip it. You can also type the origin coordinates there. The ghost blocks follow every change.

How to Paste a Schematic in Creative

Pasting uses the Paste Schematic in world tool mode plus the executeOperation hotkey. That hotkey has no default key, which is why pressing keys often does nothing. Bind it once:

  1. Press M, click Configuration menu and open the Hotkeys tab.
  2. Click the button next to executeOperation and press the key you want to paste with.

Then paste:

  1. Switch to creative mode. The paste mode is creative only, and Litematica refuses to run it in survival even if you picked the mode in creative.
  2. Hold the tool item. By default that is a stick (Generic, toolItem). The tool HUD appears in the bottom left corner.
  3. Hold Ctrl and scroll until the HUD shows Paste Schematic in world, or click the Tool Mode button at the bottom left of the Litematica menu.
  4. Select the right placement: it has a light cyan outline and its name is on the tool HUD. To select another one, look at it and middle click with the tool, or click it in Schematic Placements.
  5. Press your executeOperation key once.

In single player the blocks go straight into the world, including chest contents and other block data saved in the schematic. On a server you need permission for /setblock and /fill (you do not have to be op), or a Servux server, as covered below.

Easy Place in Creative

If you are in creative on a server without /setblock permission, Easy Place still works. With easyPlaceMode on, right clicking a ghost block puts that exact block in your hand and places it, and holding right click places every block you sweep across. It is block by block, not one paste, but you never open the inventory.

When Pasting Does Nothing

  • No key is bound to executeOperation.
  • You are in survival or adventure mode.
  • The tool HUD is missing: the tool is off (M + T), all rendering is off (M + R), or you hold another item than toolItem.
  • The wrong placement is selected.
  • The placement is switched off. Litematica then says the placement cannot be pasted because rendering is not enabled for it. Switch it back on with the Placement button next to it in Schematic Placements.
  • On a server, you lack permission for /setblock and /fill.

How to Make Litematica Replace Blocks When Pasting

By default Litematica does not replace anything. The setting is pasteReplaceBehavior under Generic, and in Paste mode you can cycle it with Ctrl + M. The tool HUD shows the current value as Replace blocks.

  • None (default): blocks only go where the world has air. Grass, stone or an old build in the way stays.
  • With non-air: every solid block of the schematic replaces what is in the world, but the schematic's air is skipped. Use this to paste over terrain without carving an empty box into a hill or a lake.
  • All: everything is placed, air included, so the whole area of the schematic ends up exactly like the file.

If you paste through WorldEdit commands (commandUseWorldEdit), this setting does not work. Litematica's own config text warns about that.

How to Make the Paste Faster

Pressing executeOperation again does not speed anything up. Each press starts a paste of the whole placement, so press it once and wait. What sets the speed is where you paste:

  • Single player: Litematica sets the blocks directly in the world without commands, so commandLimitPerTick and the other command settings below change nothing here. Only commandTaskInterval also applies, and its default of 1 is already the fastest.
  • Server, with commands: Litematica sends at most commandLimitPerTick commands (default 8, maximum 256) every commandTaskInterval game ticks (default 1, the lowest value). Raise commandLimitPerTick in steps, for example to 32 and then 64, and keep the interval at 1. If the server starts to lag, go back a step.
  • Keep pasteUseFillCommand on (the default). It merges runs of the same block into one /fill instead of one /setblock per block.
  • Leave commandUseWorldEdit off if you have the vanilla commands. Litematica's config text says the WorldEdit route is around three times slower.
  • Leave pasteNbtRestoreBehavior on None unless the build needs its chest contents. Restoring them adds several commands per block entity.
  • Server with Servux: turn on entityDataSync (Generic) and keep pasteUsingServux on. Litematica then uploads the placement to Servux, which places it on the server. Litematica's config calls that much faster than the command route.

All of these live under Configuration menu, Generic. The Task Manager button in the main menu lists the tasks Litematica is running.

How to Paste a Schematic Into the World in Survival

Survival has no paste. You build the schematic yourself, with two tools that make it quick:

  1. Material list: select the placement and press M + L. It counts every block the build needs and how many you are missing. Info HUD keeps the list on screen while you gather, and Write to file saves it as a text table.
  2. Easy Place: open Configuration menu, Generic and set easyPlaceMode to true, or bind easyPlaceToggle under Hotkeys. Carry the blocks and right click a ghost block (easyPlaceUseKey, default right mouse button). Litematica takes the matching block from your inventory, puts it in your hand and places it in the right spot. With easyPlaceHoldEnabled (on by default) you can hold right click and sweep across a wall.

If you lack the block for a position, Easy Place stops and shows "Action prevented by the Easy Place mode". To stop placing wrong blocks by hand, turn on placementRestriction.

Rotated blocks such as stairs depend on easyPlaceProtocolVersion. On Auto, single player and Servux servers get Version 3, Carpet servers get Version 2 (it needs the accurateBlockPlacement rule from Carpet Extra), and every other server only gets the Slabs only fix, so place stairs and similar blocks by hand there.

Litematica has no printer that builds on its own. The Modrinth page leaves that to separate extension mods, so check a server's rules before you use one there.

How to Copy a Schematic in Litematica

Copying works in survival too. Litematica copies whatever is inside an area selection.

  1. Hold the stick and press Ctrl + scroll until the HUD shows Area Selection.
  2. Left click a block to set corner 1 and right click a block to set corner 2. In the default Simple mode that is your one selection box.
  3. Press Ctrl + Alt + S (saveAreaAsSchematicToFile), type a name and save. Or open M, Area Editor and click Save Schematic. The file lands in your schematics folder and shows up under Load Schematics.

For a quick copy and paste without a file, bind cloneSelection. It turns the selection into an in-memory schematic, places it where you are looking (or at the original spot with cloneAtOriginalPosition), selects it and switches to Paste mode. In creative, press executeOperation to paste the copy.

On a plain server, a saved schematic has empty chests and no villager trades or other hidden data, because the server does not send that to your game. Save in single player if you need it; on a Servux server, entityDataSync lets Litematica fetch that data from the server.

Pasting on a Server

Litematica runs on your client only, so loading, the ghost blocks, the material list and Easy Place work on any server you can join with Fabric. Only pasting needs more: creative mode plus permission for /setblock and /fill. With only WorldEdit rights, turn on commandUseWorldEdit and Litematica uses //pos1, //pos2 and //set.

On a Fabric server with Servux 0.12 (the 26.3 release), creative players can paste through Servux instead. Servux checks creative mode and its permission_level_paste setting, which is 0 by default, so every player in creative may paste; raise it if only ops should. On a Space-Node Minecraft server every plan supports Fabric, so you can add Servux to the server's mods folder. Our Litematica server guide covers Servux, Syncmatica and Litematica Server Paster in detail.

Common Problems and Fixes

The schematic loads but nothing shows in the world. Check that the placement is switched on (the Placement button in Schematic Placements) and that its rendering toggle under Configure is on, that M + R has not turned all rendering off, and that the origin is not far from where you stand. Move to player brings it back.

Blocks paste rotated wrong. Rotate and mirror the placement under Configure before you paste. A schematic pastes exactly as it was saved.

Easy Place places the wrong block variant. That is the protocol limit above: on a plain server only slabs are fixed.

Some blocks are missing. The schematic may come from a newer Minecraft version with blocks your game does not have. The material list shows which blocks the build needs. Use a schematic made for your version.

Related: Litematica download and setup, where to download Litematica schematics, Create's schematic tools, Mod Menu install guide, best Minecraft performance mods

FAQ

How do you paste a schematic in creative with Litematica? Bind a key to executeOperation under M, Configuration menu, Hotkeys. Then hold the stick, switch to Paste Schematic in world with Ctrl + scroll, select the placement and press that key once. There is no paste key by default.

How do you paste a schematic into the world in survival? You cannot. Paste is creative only. In survival you build by hand with the ghost blocks, the material list (M + L) and Easy Place, which places the right block from your inventory when you right click a ghost block.

How do I copy a schematic in Litematica? Switch the stick to Area Selection, left click one corner and right click the other, then press Ctrl + Alt + S and save it. To copy and paste right away, bind cloneSelection and press executeOperation in creative.

How do I make Litematica replace blocks when pasting? Change pasteReplaceBehavior under Generic, or press Ctrl + M in Paste mode. With non-air replaces world blocks with the schematic's solid blocks; All also places the schematic's air.

How do I make the execute operation paste faster? On a server, raise commandLimitPerTick (default 8, up to 256), keep commandTaskInterval at 1 and pasteUseFillCommand on, or paste through Servux with entityDataSync on. Single player pastes directly without commands, so of these only commandTaskInterval applies there, and 1 is already the fastest.

Sources

All opened on 3 November 2026: