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How to Move a World to a Server

Already built a world somewhere else? You do not rebuild it, you drop the folder into the server and tell it the name. Two moves: copy the world folder in, set level-name in server.propertiesrestart.

The two moves that matter
  1. 1
    Stop the server first
    Run stop in the console (or hit Stop in your panel). Copying a world while the server is writing to it corrupts region files.
  2. 2
    Locate the world folder
    Your world is one folder containing level.dat plus region/, data/, and playerdata/. From singleplayer it lives in .minecraft/saves/YourWorld.
  3. 3
    Copy it into the server directory
    Place the whole folder next to your server jar, e.g. cp -r ~/MyWorld server/world_atlas. Keep the folder intact, do not zip its contents loose.
  4. 4
    Set level-name
    Open server.properties and change level-name=world_atlas to match the folder name exactly. Case matters on Linux.
  5. 5
    Start and verify
    Run start. The log should read Preparing level "world_atlas" and Done. Join and confirm you spawn in the right place.
server console, world transfer
$
stop
[Server] Stopping the server
[Server] Saving worlds… Done
$ cp -r ~/MyWorld server/world_atlas
copied region/ data/ level.dat ✓
$ nano server.properties
level-name=world_atlas
$ start
[Server] Preparing level "world_atlas"
[Server] Preparing spawn area: 100%
[Server] Done (4.318s)! World loaded.
world_atlas is now the live overworld, players spawn straight into it.

What you need

World folder (level.dat + region/)
server.properties (level-name)
Same / newer MC version
Console or file access

Quick answers

?
Where is server.properties?
In the same directory as the server jar. It is generated on first launch, if it is missing, start the server once, then stop it.
?
Do I copy the folder or its contents?
Copy the whole folder. level-name points at a directory name, and the server expects level.dat to sit directly inside that folder.
?
My world has a Nether and End. Do those move too?
On vanilla, the Nether (DIM-1) and End (DIM1) live inside the world folder, so they come along. On Spigot/Paper they are separate world_nether and world_the_end folders, copy all three and they auto-link by name.
?
The server made an empty world instead of loading mine.
level-name does not match the folder name, or the folder was placed in the wrong directory. Stop the server, delete the empty folder it created, fix level-name, and restart.
?
Will player inventories and homes carry over?
Inventories live in playerdata/ inside the world, so they transfer. Plugin homes and economy are stored by plugins separately and do not move with the world folder.
?
Is the version important?
Yes. Load the world on the same or a newer Minecraft version. Opening a newer world on an older server will fail to load.
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