How to move your Minecraft server to NGP Cloud without losing your world
Moving a Minecraft server is mostly moving files: the world, the plugins or mods and a few settings. Done in the right order, your players won't lose a block.
Before you start
- Use the same server software and Minecraft version on the new server as on the old one (Paper to Paper, 1.21.4 to 1.21.4). Upgrade after the move, not during it.
- Download a full backup from your old host, or copy the server folder if it runs on your PC.
- Make a list of your plugins or mods.
- Stop the old server before your final copy, so the world isn't saved halfway.
Upload your world
Zip your world folder: the one with a level.dat file inside, usually called world. In your server's Config tab on NGP Cloud, use Upload a world. Worlds up to 100 MB upload there: the world is unpacked while your server keeps running, then swapped in with a quick restart, and the world that was there before is kept as a renamed copy.
For a bigger world, use SFTP. Your login details are on the SFTP tab of the dashboard, and an app like FileZilla or WinSCP copies the folders straight across.
On Paper and Spigot, the Nether and the End are separate folders (world_nether and world_the_end). Copy them too, or those dimensions start fresh.
Plugins, mods and settings
- Copy the plugins folder, configs included, over SFTP. Or reinstall plugins from Modrinth with the AI assistant, then copy over just their config folders.
- Copy whitelist.json, ops.json and banned-players.json to keep your whitelist, operators and bans.
- In server.properties, copy your settings across but leave server-port and server-ip as they are on the new server: the panel sets those.
- Modded server: install the same modpack or loader first, then copy your world and config folders.
Test, then switch
- Start the server, join it, and check your builds, inventories and plugins.
- Then give players the new address, or point your own domain at it. Every NGP Cloud server can also have a free subdomain.
- Keep the old backup for a few days, just in case.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my world when I move hosts?
No, as long as you copy it from a backup of the stopped old server. On NGP Cloud, uploading a world also keeps the previous one as a renamed copy.
How big a world can I upload?
Up to 100 MB from the dashboard. Bigger worlds go over SFTP, which has no such limit.
Can I move a Bedrock world to a Java server?
Not directly: Bedrock worlds use a different format. Convert it to Java first with a converter such as Chunker, then upload it.