Occasionally, you’ll end up in a situation where the server’s world will need to be reset. This could be due to simple changes being made, such as switching to a different world seed, re-generating a dimension’s chunks for resource gathering, and more. However, you might also need to reset the server’s world from swapping to a different mod pack or irrecoverable corruption. Though it involves many steps, this process is straightforward, and it’ll be even easier in the near future!
Before making any changes to your server, you’ll first need to make sure that the server is not running. If the server is currently running, use the “Stop” button to send the shut down signal, and wait until it’s replaced by the “Play” button or the green dot on the console disappears.
Since this involves permanent changes to the server’s world that cannot be undone, you should create a new backup in case the server’s current world contains any important files. We always recommend creating a new backup when making major changes like these to the server!
Navigate to the Backups tab. You’re able to create new backups and restore existing ones from here!
Click the “Create backup” button, use a memorable name, and wait until the process is finished.
If the button is grayed out, your server likely hasn’t been fully stopped. You can either wait until the server stops, or use the three dots -> “Kill” button to immediately terminate it.
As an extra precaution, you can also download the newly-created backup to your computer using the “Download” button. Backups are stored separately from your server’s files though, so you can safely skip this step!
You’re now ready to reset the world! There’s a backup to fall back to just in case anything goes wrong, or if you need to retrieve any important files that might’ve been left behind.
Quickstart (TL;DR)
To reset the entire world using a random seed, you can simply head to the server’s Files tab and find the server’s world directory (typically named world). Ensure that the server is stopped, click the three dots -> “Delete” button, and start the server back up!
If you’d like to change the world’s seed, reset a specific dimension, or cannot find the world directory, continue following this guide.
Finding the world and its seed
The name of the directory that the server saves and loads the world from can vary. You can find the world’s name from the Options -> Properties tab, and search for the “Level Name” value. Keep this value in mind, as we’ll be referring to it often.
This tab is also where you can change the seed used to generate the world. Search for the “Level Seed” value, and paste your desired seed. Leave it blank to let the server generate a random seed when it’s started. Click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page to save any changes you’ve made here!
If you’d like to use the same seed that the world is currently using, start the server back up and run the seed command from the server’s console. Copy the command’s output, and remove everything outside of the square brackets so you’re left with a bunch of numbers. Paste this into the “Level Seed” value found on the Properties tab from earlier!
⚠️ If you’ve started the server to obtain its seed, make sure it’s stopped before moving on! The server absolutely cannot be running during these next steps.
Now that the server’s seed has been handled, navigate to the Files tab. This is where all of your server’s files can be found, including the server’s world. For the rest of this guide, we’ll assume that the level name from earlier is the default value, world.
Resetting the entire world
If you’d like to reset the entire world, including its player data and all dimensions, click the three dots next to your world’s name -> “Delete” button. This action cannot be undone, and deleted data is irrecoverable. Make sure you’ve backed up any important files!
For servers running Bukkit-based server software, such as Paper, you’ll also have to delete the directories associated with the Nether and End dimensions. These follow the convention of world_nether and world_the_end. Otherwise, deleting the world directory is sufficient for all other server software.
ℹ️ Since the world’s generation configuration is deleted during this process, the server will generate new chunks using the seed specified in the server’s properties file. Make sure to change this value now if you’d like to change the seed and haven’t already!
Just like that, the server’s world has now been reset! A new one will be generated when the server is next started. Click the “Start” button, wait until the server has fully started, and double-check whether it’s using the correct seed by running the seed command in the console.
Resetting individual dimensions
If you’d like to reset specific dimensions, maintaining player data and other important files, you can delete only the relevant chunk data. This process is more involved than deleting the entire world directory, however, it can retain all data other than the world’s chunks.
Navigate to the world’s root directory by clicking on the world’s name. From here, you can find the overworld’s data, or navigate to specific dimensions by clicking on the DIM directories. You’re currently seeing the overworld’s files, DIM0. The Nether is associated with world/DIM-1, and the End is world/DIM1.
Bukkit-based server software, such as Paper, splits the world into multiple root directories associated with each dimension. Rather than DIM sub-directories in the world’s root directory, you’ll find world for the overworld’s data, world_nether for the Nether, and world_the_end for the End.
Each of these directories contain the region, entities, and poi sub-directories that store the dimension’s chunk data. Deleting these directories will reset all chunk data, however it can negatively impact the world’s generation configuration depending on the server’s configuration. On each directory, click the three dots -> “Delete” button to reset all chunk data, then click the plus icon in the top-right corner of the file manager -> “New folder” button to re-create these directories and prevent corruption of the level.dat file.
Alternatively, you can reset specific regions to avoid resetting the entire dimension. Navigate into each directory, find the .mca or .mcc file with the same name as the region to reset, then click the three dots next to it -> “Delete” button. You can also use the search box in the top-right of the file manager to locate a specific region file out of many.
ℹ️ If the dimension is particularly large and contains many of these files, an SFTP client such as WinSCP can be used to select and delete multiple files at once.
Once all of the relevant chunk data has been deleted, the world’s dimension has now been reset! Click the “Start” button, wait until the server has fully started, and double-check whether the relevant dimensions are now generating new chunks.