Move Your Minecraft Server to a New Host or Region Without Losing the World

Moving a Minecraft server is mostly copying the right folders in the right order. The world itself rarely breaks. What goes wrong is player data: people log in to an empty inventory, or the Nether is suddenly brand new, because one folder or one setting did not come along.

This guide covers three situations. You move from another host to Space-Node yourself. You let us do that move for you. Or you are already with us and want another location, for example Singapore or India.

The short version

1. Make the new server match the old one: same Minecraft version, same server software or loader, same mods or plugins, same online-mode.
2. Stop the old server and download the world folders, player data, configs and lists.
3. Upload everything to the new server and start it.
4. Test with two accounts before anyone plays for real.
5. Keep the old server until the new one has proven itself.

Before you start

Check these things on the old server first. You need all of them.

• Note the exact Minecraft version and run the new server on the same one for the move. Upgrading is a separate step you can do afterwards. Going back is not an option: PaperMC states plainly that "World downgrades are not supported under any circumstances."
• Keep the same server software and loader. Paper stays Paper, Fabric stays Fabric, and if you can, use the same loader version too.
• Write down the full mod or plugin list, with versions. On a modded server this matters most. Start a world without one of its mods and the blocks and items from that mod can be gone for good.
• Check whether online-mode in server.properties is true or false. The section on UUIDs below explains why this one setting can empty every inventory.
• Look up level-name in server.properties as well. That is the name of your world folder, usually world.

On Space-Node you pick the server software and version in the panel. Start the new server once so it creates its files, then stop it.

What to copy

The simplest rule for the world: copy every folder whose name starts with your level-name. That covers the old Paper layout and the new one.

What you can leave behind: logs/, crash-reports/, cache/, libraries/ and the server jar. The new server installs its own jar.

Two special cases. Plugins that store their data in a MySQL database need that database moved too, not just the plugin folder. And if you run Geyser and Floodgate, the plugins/floodgate/ folder contains key.pem. Copy it with the rest and never share it with anybody. The Floodgate docs are clear on that.

Route 1: from another host to Space-Node, yourself

This is the route if you are comfortable with files and an SFTP client such as FileZilla or WinSCP.

1. Order the plan and set the same server software and version in the panel. Start it once, then stop it.
2. Tell your players the server is moving, and when.
3. Stop the old server properly, so the world is saved to disk. Do not copy a world while the server is still running.
4. Download the files listed above from the old host, through its file manager or over SFTP. Many hosts can pack a folder into an archive first, which makes a large world much quicker to download.
5. Connect to the new server. The panel's file manager is fine for small uploads. For worlds of more than about a gigabyte, use SFTP. In the panel you find the SFTP address and username under Settings, and the password is your panel password.
6. Delete the fresh world folders the new server generated in step 1, then upload yours. Make sure the folder name matches level-name.
7. Upload the rest: plugins or mods, configs, the whitelist and ops files. For server.properties, copy your gameplay settings over, but keep server-port and server-ip as they are on the new server. Your port comes from the panel.
8. Start the server and watch the console. Missing mods, missing plugins and version problems show up here first.
9. Test as described below.
10. Give players the new address. If you use your own domain, point it to the new server. Every Space-Node Minecraft server also comes with a free subdomain (such as yourname.mymcserver.nl) that you manage from the panel.

Route 2: let us move it for you

When you order a Minecraft plan, you can add the One-time Server Migration at checkout. It costs EUR 15, charged once, and it is for exactly this situation: you are moving from another host to Space-Node, and we transfer the world for you. Questions before you order? Ask in live chat.

Keep the old server online and paid until the move is done and you have tested it. Everything in the "before you start" list still applies, so have the Minecraft version, software, mod or plugin list and online-mode ready.

Route 3: moving between Space-Node locations

Already with us and want a different location, for example from the Netherlands to Singapore? Moving an existing server to another Space-Node location is free, about once a week. Ask in live chat.

A few things to know:

• The server gets an IP address in the new location, so give your players the new address. If you use a domain, point it to the new IP.
• Make a backup in the panel first. It is your safety net if anything looks wrong afterwards.
• Test after the move the same way as after any other move.

Keep the old server running until the new one works

Do not cancel the old server the day you upload the world. Keep it until the new one has run for a while with real players on it.

At the same time, do not let people keep playing on the old server after you have downloaded the world. Everything they build there after that moment is not in your copy. Stop it, or turn on the whitelist with only yourself on it.

Test with two accounts

One account is not enough, because it hides the most common problem: data that is there for you but not for everyone else. Use your own account and a friend's, ideally someone who played a lot.

Check this on both accounts:

• The inventory, ender chest and position match the old server.
• The advancements screen shows the old advancements.
• Plugin data is there: homes, land claims, ranks and balances.
• Travel through a Nether portal and to the End. A fresh-looking Nether means the Nether folder did not come along.
• The whitelist works: someone who is not on it cannot join.
• If you run Geyser, a Bedrock player can join too.

If both accounts look right, the move worked.

The online-mode and UUID caveat

This is the one that empties inventories.

Minecraft stores each player's data under a UUID. On an online-mode server (online-mode=true), that UUID belongs to the player's Microsoft account. On an offline-mode server (online-mode=false), the server makes up a UUID from the player's name instead.

So the same player has two different UUIDs, depending on the mode. What that means for a move:

• If you switch the mode, every player starts fresh. The server looks for data under the new UUID, finds nothing, and gives them a new, empty player. The old data is still on disk under the old UUID, which is why nothing seems lost until people log in.
• On an offline-mode server, a name change makes a new player, because the UUID comes from the name.
• Plugins use the same UUIDs for permissions, homes, claims and economy balances.
• A proxy changes the picture. Behind Velocity or BungeeCord with player forwarding, a backend with online-mode=false still receives the real account UUIDs from the proxy. Move a backend out from behind its proxy and the UUIDs change.

The safe rule: keep online-mode exactly as it was for the move. If you want to change it, do that later as its own project, with a fresh backup, and plan how you convert the player data.

A fallback plan

Before you start, decide what you do if it goes wrong.

1. Keep your downloaded copy of the old server, untouched, somewhere safe.
2. If the new server shows problems, such as empty inventories, missing chunks or a fresh Nether, stop it straight away. Do not let people keep playing on a broken copy.
3. Fix the cause, delete the uploaded world on the new server, and upload again from your untouched copy.
4. If you cannot fix it quickly, the old server is still there. Send everyone back while you sort it out.
5. Never run both servers with players at the same time. You end up with two worlds that each have progress you want to keep.

On Space-Node, if you are stuck at any of these steps, ask in live chat.

Moving a group to Singapore or India

Moving to Asia usually happens because the group changed: new friends in Southeast Asia or India, and the European server now feels slow for half of them. The move itself is the same as above. The part that needs thought is the location.

• Measure before you choose. The plan selector on our Minecraft hosting page runs a live ping check from your own browser to each location, Singapore and India included. Ask everyone in the group to run it, not only the person paying, and pick the location that works for most of you. For India, the check measures a server in the same Mumbai network as the game node, so treat it as a close estimate.
• Singapore runs on Ryzen 9 5950X hardware. The Singapore guide covers prices, what is included and support hours in Singapore time.
• India runs on its own node in Mumbai, on our Standard hardware (Ryzen 9 3900X-class). The India guide covers what is available and how to check your ping.
• If you are already with us, the move to Singapore or India is free, about once a week, through live chat.
• If you are coming from another host, use Route 1 or add the One-time Server Migration at checkout.

Nothing changes for your players except the address they type.

Related guides

• Minecraft world backups and recovery on Pterodactyl
• Migrate a vanilla server to Paper
• Simple Voice Chat on the new server: the port fix
• Geyser and Floodgate on the new server

Ready to move? See the Minecraft plans and check your ping