Move a Minecraft Realms or Singleplayer World to a Server

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Download your Realms world or copy a singleplayer save, then upload it to your own Java or Bedrock server. Versions, server.properties and Bedrock to Java.

A world map drawn in light blue dots on a dark background

Your group has outgrown the Realm, Realms keeps refusing your world upload, or the singleplayer world on your PC is where everyone wants to play now. You want it on your own server, builds and all. Most of the move is copying one folder to the right place. What goes wrong is the version, the folder name and, for a Bedrock world headed to a Java server, what the conversion leaves behind. This guide covers both editions, as of Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.60.

Quick answer: Get the world onto your computer first. On Java, the Realm owner opens Minecraft Realms, selects the Realm and chooses Configure, World Backups and Download Latest; the world lands in the Singleplayer list. On Bedrock, choose Download World in the Realm's Realms Hub (World, Slots, the three dots next to Edit World), then use Export World to get a .mcworld file. A Java singleplayer world is already on your PC: choose Edit, then Open World Folder. Stop the server, upload the folder over SFTP or the panel's file manager, set level-name in server.properties to the folder's name, and run the server on the world's version, which is 26.3 for Java today. A Bedrock world for a Java server needs converting with Chunker, which leaves mobs and player inventories behind.

Before You Move Anything

  • Same version or newer, never older. The Minecraft Wiki notes that Realms "must always use the latest stable or development version of the game", so a Realm world you download today is current: for Java that is 26.3, the latest release in Mojang's version manifest since 15 September 2026. An older Java version warns that "Downgrading a world is not supported", and on Bedrock the game and the server must run the same version to connect.
  • Stop playing on the old copy. Anything built on the Realm after your final download is not in your copy.
  • Keep the Realm until the server works. Realms backups do not last forever: Mojang's backup policy keeps no saves older than 122 days and deletes a Realm's backups 30 days after the subscription ends. Keep your download untouched as a safety net.
  • Put the valuables in chests. Chunker does not convert player inventories, and on Java a player who joins under a different UUID starts empty. A chest survives every route below.

How to Download Your Realms World

Java Edition

As the Realm owner, follow Mojang's Java download steps:

  1. On the title screen, choose Minecraft Realms and select your Realm.
  2. Choose Configure, then World Backups.
  3. Choose Download Latest, then Continue. The game explains that "the world will be downloaded and added to your singleplayer worlds."
  4. Wait for Download done. The world is now in your Singleplayer list.

A Realm holds up to three worlds, one active at a time, so download every world you want to keep. A very large world brings up a warning that you "won't be able to upload this world to your Realm again". That limit belongs to Realms; your server only needs the folder.

Bedrock Edition

Mojang's Bedrock download steps:

  1. Select Play, then the Realms tab.
  2. Open the Realms Hub of your Realm and select the World tab.
  3. Select Slots, then the three dots next to Edit World on the world you want.
  4. Select Download World. The world is added to your All Worlds tab.

Download on a Windows PC, phone or tablet, not on a console: the next step needs a file, and the Minecraft Wiki notes that uploading to Realms is the only official way to move a world to or from a console. For a console-only world, the Realm is the bridge.

Find the World Files on Your Computer

Java: The World Folder

In Singleplayer, select the world, choose Edit, then Open World Folder. By default, worlds live in the saves folder inside:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves
  • Linux: ~/.minecraft/saves

Other launchers can keep .minecraft elsewhere, which is why Open World Folder is the reliable route. The right folder has level.dat directly inside it. Since 26.1 it also holds dimensions/, with the Overworld, Nether and End, and players/, so one folder carries the whole world.

Before you copy it:

  • Close the world with Save and Quit to Title. A world that is still open may not be fully written to disk.
  • Check the version. The Singleplayer list shows the version each world was last played in. If it is older than your server, open the world once in 26.3 so the game upgrades it, and take the backup if the game offers one. Make Backup on the Edit screen saves a zip copy at any time.

A modded world needs the same loader and mods, at the same versions, on the server, or a missing mod's blocks and items can be lost for good.

Bedrock: Export a .mcworld File

Open the world's edit screen and choose Export World. Microsoft describes .mcworld files as what Bedrock creates "with the export world functionality on the edit world screen". A .mcworld is a zip archive with another extension; Microsoft's add-on guide even tells you to rename a downloaded .zip to .mcworld to import it.

On Windows you can also copy the folder from %appdata%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users\<user id>\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds, where Bedrock has kept worlds since version 1.21.120. The folders have names like eplC8tYRD04=; the levelname.txt inside each one shows the world's name.

Upload the World to a Java Server

  1. Set up the server on the world's version, Java 26.3 at the time of writing, with vanilla, Paper or Fabric. Since 26.1, Paper also keeps the dimensions inside world/dimensions/, so the world goes up as one folder there too. Start the server once so it creates its files, then stop it.
  2. Delete the world folder the server generated, usually world.
  3. Upload your world folder into the server's main folder. For a large world, zip it, upload the one file and extract it on the server; thousands of small region files upload slowly. Our guide to uploading large maps has the commands.
  4. Check the layout: world/level.dat, not world/world/level.dat.
  5. In server.properties, set level-name to the folder's exact name. A valid world at that path gets loaded; otherwise the server creates a new world there, which is the usual reason a moved world comes up brand new.
  6. Leave online-mode=true. Set difficulty to the one you played on, because the server takes it from server.properties, where the default is easy. gamemode only sets the mode for players joining for the first time, unless force-gamemode=true.
  7. Start the server, watch the console for errors, and join.

On a Space-Node Minecraft server you do this in the panel: the file manager handles smaller worlds, and for worlds over about 1 GB you use SFTP, with the address and username under Settings and your panel password. If your SFTP client cannot connect, our SFTP connection refused guide goes through the checks.

Who Keeps Their Inventory

Java files each player's data under their UUID. Since 26.1, inventory and position sit in players/data/<uuid>.dat inside the world, with advancements and stats next to it in players/. A singleplayer world's level.dat only points to its owner's file with a singleplayer_uuid tag. With online-mode=true the UUID comes from each player's Microsoft account, so you and everyone from the Realm log in with the same UUID as before and keep what you carried. With online-mode=false every UUID changes and everyone starts empty. Our server move guide covers that trap in detail.

Upload a Bedrock World to a Bedrock Dedicated Server

If everyone plays Bedrock, run the world unchanged on Mojang's Bedrock Dedicated Server. Microsoft's server guide copies the world folder into the server's worlds/ folder:

  1. Start the server once so it creates its folders, then stop it.
  2. Get the world as a folder: copy it from minecraftWorlds, or rename the .mcworld to .zip and extract it. Inside are level.dat, levelname.txt and a db folder.
  3. Upload the folder into worlds/ and give it a plain name such as My Great World, without special characters.
  4. In server.properties, set level-name to that folder name. Microsoft: "This has to match exactly, including letter case."
  5. Start the server and join. An "Outdated Client" or "Outdated Server" message means the game and server versions differ. On 31 October 2026, Mojang's server download is version 1.26.61.1.

Packs inside a world's own folder stay with it; Microsoft notes they are "only available when that world is running on the server". Our Bedrock add-ons guide covers packs on a server. If the world uses Marketplace Pass content, which Realms Plus includes according to the Minecraft Wiki, check it on the server before you cancel the Realm.

Put a Bedrock World on a Java Server With Chunker

GeyserMC describes Geyser as "a translation tool to allow Bedrock players to connect to Java servers", and it does not work the other way round. A Java server with Geyser takes both editions, but the world has to be a Java world. Chunker converts it.

Chunker is open source, maintained by Hive Games with funding from Mojang Studios, though Microsoft stresses that it "is not a Mojang/Microsoft offering". It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and its README lists Bedrock worlds up to 1.26.60 and Java up to 26.3.

  1. Export the world as a .mcworld, as described above.
  2. Open Chunker, choose Select archive and pick the .mcworld.
  3. Choose Java 26.3 as the output, then Convert.
  4. Choose Save, then upload the converted folder like any Java world.

Microsoft lists what converts: level settings, blocks, biomes and tile entities, multiple dimensions, containers with their items, and in-game maps. What does not, per Chunker's README and Microsoft's overview:

  • Entities, apart from paintings and item frames: mobs, villagers, pets, armor stands, boats and minecarts stay behind.
  • Player inventories. This is why the chests matter.
  • Structure data, such as villages and strongholds.

Two more things have no Java counterpart:

  • Add-ons. Microsoft's add-on guide is written for Bedrock Edition; a Java server runs plugins, mods and data packs instead, so blocks and mobs from an add-on have no Java counterpart.
  • Realms Plus content. Marketplace Pass content is Bedrock content, so a Java server cannot use it.

Every Space-Node Minecraft server supports Java Edition and Bedrock via Geyser, so a converted world can take both groups of players. Our Geyser and Floodgate guide covers the setup.

What Realms Did That Your Server Does Not

  • Operators. In the server console, op YourName works on Java and on Bedrock Dedicated Server.
  • Who may join. A Realm only lets in invited players. On Java, run whitelist on and whitelist add FriendName in the console. On Bedrock, set allow-list=true in server.properties and use allowlist add <GamerTag>, with quotes around a gamertag that has a space.
  • Backups. Realms made them for you. Set up your own schedule from day one; our backup and recovery guide shows how.

Test Before You Cancel the Realm

Join with your own account and a friend's, and check:

  • Builds, chests and signs are where you left them.
  • Your inventory, ender chest and position match (Java, online mode).
  • A trip through a Nether portal and to the End shows the old dimensions, not fresh ones.
  • After a Chunker conversion, missing mobs and villagers are expected; look over builds with add-on blocks.
  • A Bedrock friend can join through Geyser, if you set it up.

If anyone played on the Realm after your download, download again and upload again. Then cancel the Realm.

FAQ

How do I download my Realms world? On Java: Minecraft Realms, your Realm, Configure, World Backups, Download Latest. On Bedrock: Play, Realms, your Realm's Realms Hub, World, Slots, the three dots next to Edit World, Download World, then Export World for a .mcworld file.

Can I put a Bedrock world on a Java server? Yes, after converting it with Chunker; entities, player inventories, structure data and add-ons stay behind. A Bedrock Dedicated Server runs it without conversion.

Can a Bedrock player join a Java Realm through Geyser? Not on the Realm itself. Java Realms cannot install mods or plugins, and Geyser's setup guide covers servers and proxies you run yourself. On your own Java server, Bedrock players join through Geyser on port 19132 unless you change it.

Why won't my world upload to Realms? Our Realms upload fix guide goes through the causes. The Bedrock 26.60 changelog of 27 October 2026 lists major speed and reliability improvements to Realms world uploads and downloads, so update first. Your own server has no Realms upload step: you copy the folder over SFTP.

Will keepInventory and my other game rules come with the world? Yes. Game rules are options of the world itself, so they travel inside it; since 26.1, Java keeps them in the world's data/minecraft/game_rules.dat. On Java the rule is now called keep_inventory. Server-wide settings such as difficulty come from server.properties.

What happens to my Realm world after I cancel? Download it first. Mojang's backup policy says a Realm world stays downloadable for 18 months after the subscription expires, but its backups are deleted 30 days after it expires.

Sources

All opened on 31 October 2026: