How to reset your Minecraft world

The World tab can generate a brand new world on your server — your own seed or a random one, in any of Minecraft’s world types. Before you wipe everything, though, it is worth knowing about the smaller options: you can reset only the Nether or the End, or change the rules of the world you already have.

Reset the whole world

1. Stop the server — this only works while it is stopped.
2. Open the World tab and press Generate.
3. Enter a seed, or leave it blank for a random one.
4. Pick a world type.
5. Confirm. The new world is generated the next time the server starts.

The first start after a reset takes a little longer than usual, because the server is creating the spawn area from scratch.

This is permanent

Resetting deletes the current world — the Nether and the End included — with no undo. If there is any chance you will want it back, download it first: the World tab has an export that saves the whole world as a ZIP to your computer. You can upload that same ZIP later to bring the world back — see How to upload your single-player world.

Seeds

A seed is the number that decides how a world is generated. The same seed on the same Minecraft version produces the same terrain, structures and biomes, which is why people share seeds for good starting spots. A seed can be a number or a word — words are converted to a number.

Seeds are tied to versions: a seed from 1.16 will look completely different on 1.21, because world generation changed in between. If you are copying a seed from a video or a seed site, check which version it was made for. To find the seed of the world you have now, run seed in the Console tab before resetting.

World types

• Default — the normal terrain generation.
• Superflat — a flat world, good for building or testing.
• Large biomes — the same generation, with every biome stretched out.
• Amplified — extreme, mountainous terrain. Heavier to generate, so expect more lag while exploring.
• Single biome — the whole world is one biome.

Reset only the Nether or the End

Sometimes the Overworld is fine and only another dimension needs a fresh start — a Nether full of old portals, or an End you want to fight the dragon in again. You can do that from the Files tab while the server is stopped. Where the folders are depends on your server software:

• Vanilla, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt — inside the world folder: DIM-1 is the Nether and DIM1 is the End.
• Paper, Purpur, Folia — in separate folders next to it: world_nether and world_the_end.

Delete the dimension you want to reset and start the server. It generates again from the same seed the next time someone goes there. Deleting the End brings the dragon back; anything players built or stored there is lost, so warn them first.

Do not want a full wipe?

The World tab’s Options editor changes spawn point, difficulty, hardcore mode and gamerules on the world you already have, without touching a single block placed in it — the right tool for a small change instead of starting over. A few gamerules people often reach for instead of a reset:

• keepInventory — players keep their items when they die.
• doInsomnia — turns phantoms off.
• mobGriefing — stops creepers blowing holes in builds (and endermen moving blocks).
• playersSleepingPercentage — how many players need to sleep to skip the night. Set it to 0 so one player is enough.

Keeping the old world around

Every server holds one world at a time. If you want to switch between worlds — a survival world and a creative one, say — download each as a ZIP before switching, and upload whichever one you want to play. Your server’s backups are another safety net; see How backups work.