Minecraft World Management

Minecraft World Management

Managing your Minecraft worlds properly keeps your server running smoothly and your builds safe. This guide covers everything from world files to backups and migration.

World File Structure

Minecraft stores world data in folders on your server:

/
├── world/                  ← Overworld
│   ├── region/             ← Chunk data (.mca files)
│   ├── data/               ← Map data, structures
│   ├── level.dat           ← World settings, seed, spawn
│   └── level.dat_old       ← Backup of level.dat
├── world_nether/           ← Nether dimension
│   └── DIM-1/region/
├── world_the_end/          ← End dimension
│   └── DIM1/region/
├── plugins/                ← Plugin data
└── server.properties       ← Server config

World Seeds

Every Minecraft world is generated from a seed — a number or text string that determines terrain, biomes, structures, and spawner locations.

Viewing Your Current Seed

In-game (with OP):

/seed

Or check level.dat properties in the File Manager.

Setting a Custom Seed

1. Go to Settings in your dashboard
2. Find the World Seed or Level Seed parameter
3. Enter your seed (text or number)
4. Delete existing world files (or the server will use the existing world)
5. Restart the server

Popular Seeds (1.21+)

Automatic Backups

HostedGG Automatic Backups

All servers include automatic daily backups:

• Backups run daily during off-peak hours
• Multiple backup slots available
• One-click restore from the Backups tab

Restoring from Backup

1. Open your dashboard → Backups tab
2. Select the backup date
3. Click Restore
4. Confirm the restoration
5. Server restarts with the restored world

Manual Backups

Method 1: Dashboard

1. Go to Backups tab → Create Backup

Method 2: File Manager Download

1. Open File Manager
2. Select the world/, world_nether/, and world_the_end/ folders
3. Download as archive

Method 3: In-Game (for quick saves)

/save-all

Migrating to HostedGG

From Another Host

1. Download your world from your current host (via their File Manager/SFTP)
2. Download these folders: world/, world_nether/, world_the_end/
3. Stop your HostedGG server
4. Open the File Manager on HostedGG
5. Delete the existing world folders
6. Upload your world folders
7. Ensure server.properties has level-name=world
8. Start the server

From Singleplayer

1. Find your local save:
   • Windows: %appdata%\.minecraft\saves\<WorldName>\
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves/<WorldName>/
   • Linux: ~/.minecraft/saves/<WorldName>/
2. The singleplayer save contains all dimensions in one folder:
   • region/ → Upload to world/region/
   • DIM-1/region/ → Upload to world_nether/DIM-1/region/
   • DIM1/region/ → Upload to world_the_end/DIM1/region/
3. Upload level.dat to world/
4. Restart the server

From Minecraft Realms

1. In Realms, click Configure on your Realm
2. Click World backups → Download Latest
3. The world downloads to your singleplayer saves
4. Follow the "From Singleplayer" steps above

Downloading Your World

To download your world for local play or migration:

1. Run /save-all to ensure everything is saved
2. Open File Manager
3. Download the world/, world_nether/, and world_the_end/ folders
4. Place them in your .minecraft/saves/ folder for singleplayer

Multiple Worlds with Multiverse

The Multiverse-Core plugin lets you run multiple worlds on a single server.

Setting Up Multiverse

1. Install Multiverse-Core from the Mods tab
2. Restart server
3. Use these commands:

Popular World Types

Multiverse Portals

Install Multiverse-Portals to create portals between worlds:

/mvp create <portal-name> -d <destination-world>

Stand in the portal frame and use the wand to select the portal region.

World Border

Setting a world border prevents infinite world growth, which saves disk space and backup time:

/worldborder center 0 0
/worldborder set 20000

This creates a 20,000×20,000 block playable area centered on spawn.

Recommended Border Sizes

Resetting Specific Dimensions

Reset the Nether

1. Stop the server
2. Delete the world_nether/ folder
3. Start the server (Nether regenerates fresh)

Reset the End

1. Stop the server
2. Delete the world_the_end/ folder
3. Start the server (End regenerates fresh)

Full World Reset

1. Stop the server
2. Delete world/, world_nether/, and world_the_end/
3. (Optional) Set a new seed in Settings
4. Start the server

Next Steps

• Set up admin commands for world management
• Configure automatic backups
• Optimize world performance

Related Blog Posts

• How to Make a Minecraft Server
• 5 Common Minecraft Server Mistakes