Upload an existing world to a Bedrock server

How to get a world off your phone, PC or Realm, onto your Bedrock server, and loaded instead of the default one.

6 min read · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Moving a world to a Bedrock server is three jobs, and people usually only do the first two. You export the world from wherever it lives now, you upload it into the server's worlds folder, and then you tell the server to load it by setting level-name. Skip that last step and your server keeps happily running the empty world it generated on its first boot, which is why "I uploaded my world and nothing changed" is the most common message we get about this.

Back up first

Your server already has a world, even if it is one nobody has touched. Before you start moving folders around, open Backups in the server menu and click Create backup. If the upload goes sideways you can put everything back in a couple of clicks. Backups: creating, restoring and scheduling covers the page in full.

Where Bedrock worlds live

Bedrock keeps each world in its own folder, and the folder always contains a level.dat file. Where those folders sit depends on the device:

• Windows (Minecraft for Windows). The worlds live under your user profile, in the Minecraft app's own data folder: %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds. Paste that path into File Explorer's address bar and each subfolder is one world, named with a random string rather than the name you gave it.
• Android. Android/data/com.mojang.minecraftpe/files/games/com.mojang/minecraftWorlds, which newer Android versions guard, so exporting from inside the game is easier.
• iPhone and iPad. There is no browsable worlds folder. Export from inside the game instead.
• Xbox, PlayStation and Switch. You cannot get at the files at all. A console world has to go to a Realm first, or be rebuilt. There is no file export on consoles, and no workaround that does not involve another device.
• A Realm. Realms keeps downloadable copies of your world. Open the Realm's settings, find the world backups list and download one. That gives you a normal world file you can treat like any other.

The reliable route on every platform that has it is the in game export, because it packs the world correctly for you.

Export the world as a .mcworld

1. Open Minecraft on the device that has the world.
2. Go to Play, then your worlds list.
3. Press the pencil or edit button next to the world.
4. Scroll down and choose the export option. The game writes a single .mcworld file and asks you where to put it.
5. Move that file to the computer you will upload from.

A .mcworld is a renamed .zip. If you rename it to .zip and open it, level.dat should be sitting right at the top, next to folders such as db and behavior_packs. That matters: the server needs level.dat at the top level of the world folder, not one folder deeper.

If you copied a world folder off Windows by hand instead, zip up the contents of the folder rather than the folder itself, so the zip opens straight onto level.dat.

Upload it to the server

1. Stop the server with the Stop button at the top of the server page. Uploading a world under a running server is how worlds get half written.
2. Open the Files tab and go into the worlds folder. You will see the existing world folder there, usually Bedrock level.
3. Click New folder and give it a simple name with no spaces, such as survival, then open it. A name without spaces or punctuation saves you a lot of guessing later.
4. Rename your .mcworld to .zip on your computer, click Upload files and pick it.
5. Press Unpack next to the uploaded archive. The world files land in the folder you are in. Delete the .zip afterwards to save space.
6. Check the result: worlds/survival/level.dat should exist. If instead you have worlds/survival/MyWorld/level.dat, move the contents up one level or start again with a correctly made zip.

The browser uploader takes files up to 100 MB. Bedrock worlds get large quickly, especially ones that have been explored for months, so for anything bigger use Download from a link on the Files tab or copy the folder in over SFTP.

Tell the server to load it

This is the step that makes it the live world.

1. In the server menu, under Minecraft tools, click Server properties.
2. Find level-name and set it to your folder name exactly, survival in this example. Case and spaces have to match the folder, which is the second reason to avoid spaces in the name.
3. Click Save changes.
4. Start the server, open the Console tab and watch it load. Join and look around.

You can also edit server.properties directly on the Files tab. Minecraft Bedrock server.properties explained goes through the rest of the file, including the settings the panel manages for you.

Keeping the old world folder in place costs you nothing and lets you switch back by changing level-name again. That is also how you run several worlds on one server: upload them all, and point level-name at whichever you want live.

The gotchas

• Addons do not travel with the world. A world that used behavior or resource packs lists them by ID in world_behavior_packs.json and world_resource_packs.json, but the packs themselves have to be uploaded into the server's behavior_packs and resource_packs folders. See Installing Bedrock addons.
• Experiments come with it, and cannot be undone. If the world had experimental features switched on, the server needs to support them, and it will keep them on. Enabling experiments and Beta APIs on Bedrock explains how those flags live inside the world.
• Version only moves forward. A world saved by a newer Minecraft version will not load on an older server, and once a newer server opens a world, going back is not safe. Keep a copy of the export file.
• Player data may not carry over. Builds, terrain, chests and world settings come across. Your single player inventory and position are stored differently from a multiplayer player's, so do not count on spawning in with your old gear.
• Marketplace worlds usually will not work. Paid Marketplace content is tied to your account and generally cannot be exported or served.

Common questions

Can I upload a world from my Xbox or PlayStation?

Not directly, because consoles give you no access to the save files. The usual path is to open the world on a Realm, download a Realm world backup from the Realms settings on a phone or PC, and upload that file to your server.

Will my Java world work on a Bedrock server?

No. The two editions use different save formats, so a Java world folder will not load on Bedrock no matter how you zip it. Converting one is a separate job with real limits on what survives, and it is worth reading up on before you try it.

Do I have to delete the old world first?

No, and it is better not to. Leave it in the worlds folder, upload yours alongside it, and just change level-name. If something is wrong with the upload you can point level-name back at the old folder and be online again in a minute.

Why is my server still generating a new world?

Nearly always a level-name that does not match the folder exactly, including capital letters and spaces. The server cannot find a world by that name, so it makes a fresh one with it. Compare the two character by character in the file manager.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

• bedrock
• world
• upload
• mcworld
• level-name
• files

Host a Minecraft Bedrock server From $4.00/mo, with instant setup and DDoS protection.

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

Contact support