Migrating from another host

Moving an existing game server from another provider to GuavaHost means copying your files across. The Migration page can copy them straight from your old host, or you can do it by hand over SFTP. This guide walks you through both.

5 min read · Updated Oct 1, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Moving an existing game server from another provider to GuavaHost means copying your files across: your world, your plugins or mods, and your configs. There are two ways to do it yourself, and if you would rather not, the team can do it for you.

• The Migration page in your GuavaHost control panel connects to your old host over SFTP and copies the files straight into your new server, when it is available on your account.
• A manual copy: download your files from the old host, then upload them to your GuavaHost server.

If you would rather not do this yourself, GuavaHost offers staff-assisted migration: contact support or ask in our Discord and the team can move your server across for you. See Have the GuavaHost team move your server for you.

Before you start

A few things worth sorting first:

1. Create the server on GuavaHost that you are moving into, and pick the same game and roughly the same version as your old server. Version matters, more on that below.
2. Grab your SFTP details from the old host. SFTP just means secure file transfer, the standard way to move server files. Most hosts show an address, a port, a username and a password. Plain FTP is not enough for the Migration page; it has to be SFTP.
3. Note which folder your server's files are in on the old host. On most hosts it is the folder you land in when you connect.

Option 1: the Migration page

1. Sign in at customer.guavahost.com, open My servers and click Manage on your new server.
2. In the server menu, open More, then Migration.
3. Fill in Your current host's details: SFTP address, Port, Username, Password and Folder to copy from (leave it as / to copy everything you can see when you sign in there). The password is used once, to connect, and is deleted when the copy ends.
4. Click Continue. Nothing is copied yet.
5. Your GuavaHost server has to be stopped first, because files must not change while the game is writing to them. The page tells you if it is still running.
6. In Copy these files in?, choose whether to save a backup of your GuavaHost server first (recommended), then confirm.
7. Watch the progress. You can stop the copy at any point. When it says Your files are here, start the server and watch the console.

Files are copied into your GuavaHost server, and anything already there with the same name is replaced. Files with different names are left alone.

If the page says migrations are not available on your account, use the manual copy below or ask us to do the move for you.

Option 2: a manual copy

Step 1: Download your files from the old host

1. Install a free SFTP client on your computer. FileZilla is the common pick and works on Windows, Mac and Linux.
2. Connect to your old host using its SFTP details (host, port, username, password).
3. Find your world and config files. For Minecraft that is usually the world folder (plus world_nether and world_the_end if they exist), along with server.properties, and any plugins or mods folder you are using.
4. Drag those files down to a folder on your computer. Wait for the transfer to finish completely before moving on.

If your old host only gives you a web file manager and no SFTP, use their file manager to download a zip of the server, then unzip it on your computer.

Step 2: Upload your files to GuavaHost

1. Get your GuavaHost SFTP details: on your server's Settings tab, expand Connection details. Under File access (SFTP) you will find the address, port and username, and Set SFTP password to choose the password. Uploading files with SFTP has the details.
2. Before uploading, click Stop at the top of the server page. Copying files into a running server can corrupt them.
3. In FileZilla, connect to your GuavaHost server and upload your world folder and config files into the matching spot. The world goes where the world is expected, plugins into plugins, mods into mods, and so on. Keep the same folder layout you had on the old host.
4. Once the upload finishes, click Start and watch the Console tab for errors.

Check it actually works

1. Connect to the server yourself using the address shown at the top of the server page in the panel.
2. Confirm your world loaded, your builds are there, and your plugins or mods are running.
3. Only shut down or cancel the old server once you are happy the GuavaHost one is fully working. Keep the old one as a safety net until then.

Troubleshooting

Server crashes on start, or the world will not load. The most common cause is a version mismatch. If the old server ran a different game version, set the matching version in Startup settings on the Settings tab (or on the Version page for Minecraft Java), then restart. A world saved on a newer version will often refuse to load on an older one.

Files are in the wrong place. If the world generates fresh and empty, your folder structure probably does not match. Double check that the world folder sits exactly where the server expects it, not nested inside an extra folder. Compare the layout against a working server if you are unsure. You can fix the layout on the Files tab: tick what is in the wrong place, press Move in the bar that appears, pick the folder it belongs in and press Move here.

Large transfers keep dropping or crawl for hours. Big worlds over SFTP can be slow and flaky. Zip the world on the old host first if you can, transfer the single zip, then open the right folder on the Files tab and click Unpack next to the zip. Fewer, larger files move more reliably than thousands of tiny ones.

Plugins or mods throw errors. A plugin or mod built for a different version will complain in the log. Match the versions, or grab the correct build of that plugin or mod for your game version.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out, including doing the move with you if you would rather not wrestle with SFTP alone.

• migration
• sftp
• file-manager
• transfer

Still need help? Our team is online 24/7 to answer questions.

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