A Minecraft server can hold several worlds, but it plays one at a time. Choose it on the Worlds tab: open the world's menu and click Make this the active world, then restart the server. The other worlds stay on the server, untouched, until you switch back or delete them.
Switch worlds
- Open your server in the panel, click the Modding tab, then Worlds, then Your worlds.
- Find the world you want. The one with the Active badge is the one your server loads now.
- Click the three dots at the end of its row and choose Make this the active world.
- The panel says the world
will be the active world the next time this server starts. - Restart the server with Restart at the top of the page.
Players join the new world at the next start. The world you left keeps every build, chest and player, ready for when you switch back.
What the switch changes
The world your server loads is the World name setting in server.properties. Make this the active world writes the folder's name there for you, so you never type it. The setting is read when the server starts, which is why the switch waits for a restart.
On Paper, Purpur, Spigot and Folia the world's Nether and End folders go with it.
When the menu says Cannot be the active world
A folder that is not a whole world, such as a Nether or End folder left behind after its world was deleted, cannot be loaded as a world. The menu shows Cannot be the active world for it.
Delete a world you no longer need
Every world takes disk space, and whole-server backups grow with it.
- Download it first if you may want it later: Download the world in its menu. See How to download your Minecraft world.
- Choose Delete world in its menu.
- Read the window:
This deletes the world folder and everything in it - terrain, structures, chests and player data. It cannot be undone, and there is no copy to restore from unless you have a backup.It also lists the Nether and End folders deleted with it. - Click Delete world in the window. The panel says the world was deleted.
Deleting the active world while the server runs stops it, deletes the world and starts it again with a brand new world. If the server is stopped, the new world is made at its next start. To start the active world over on purpose, see How to reset your Minecraft world.
Other ways to keep several worlds
- Instances keep whole separate setups on one server, each with its own world, plugins or mods and version, and switch between them: How to use instances on your Minecraft server.
- Multiverse is a plugin that loads several worlds at once on a Paper server: How to add more worlds with Multiverse on your Minecraft server.
Good to know
- Switching cannot run while a pregeneration or trim works on the current world. Wait for it to finish, or stop it.
- To bring a world in, see How to upload your own Minecraft world. To add a ready-made map, see How to install an adventure map on your Minecraft server.
