How to Set Up WorldEdit

WorldEdit is the building tool every server needs. Big builds become tractable, schematic-based dungeons become possible, and one staffer can fix grief in seconds. This guide gets you from zero to building productively.

1. Install

Download WorldEdit for Bukkit/Spigot/Paper from EngineHub. Drop into plugins/, restart. No config needed for the basics.

2. The wand

Run //wand. You receive a wooden axe. Left-click a block = position 1; right-click = position 2. Your selection is the cuboid between them.

3. The 10 commands you'll use 90% of the time

//set stone           # fill selection with stone
//replace dirt grass  # replace one block with another in selection
//copy                # copy selection (relative to your position)
//paste               # paste relative to your position
//rotate 90           # rotate the clipboard
//flip                # flip clipboard along your facing
//cyl stone 5 1       # cylinder, radius 5, height 1
//sphere glass 8      # hollow sphere optional with -h
//walls cobblestone   # wall around the selection
//up 5                # put a glass block under you and teleport up

4. Brushes

Brushes turn any tool into a build tool. Examples:

/brush sphere stone 5
/brush smooth 5 4
/brush cyl glass 4 8

Right-click to apply. Use /mask to limit which blocks the brush affects, e.g. /mask grass,dirt.

5. Schematics

Save and load builds:

//copy
//schem save myhouse
//schem load myhouse
//paste -a   # ignore air, useful for placing buildings on existing terrain

Schematics live in plugins/WorldEdit/schematics/. They are the standard format for sharing builds , almost every Minecraft build marketplace exports them.

6. Permissions

Give staff WorldEdit safely with LuckPerms:

/lp group builder permission set worldedit.* true
/lp group builder permission set worldedit.region.* true

Never give worldedit.* to default. A misclick on //set air at high //size can wipe a region.

7. Performance

Big //set operations stall the main thread. Use //perf-friendly limits in config.yml:

limits:
  max-blocks-changed:
    default: 50000
    maximum: -1

Useful companions

Pair WorldEdit with WorldGuard for region protection (created from your selection with /region define) and CoreProtect to roll back any mistake. For massive terrain, FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE) is a drop-in faster fork.

Want to see all this in action? Astroworld MC runs a custom-built economy survival server with custom bosses, eternal enchants, crates and an auction house. Join at astroworldmc.com , IP play.astroworldmc.com, Java + Bedrock crossplay.