Aternos World Download: Move It to Your Own Server in 5 Steps

In short: download the world zip from the Worlds page on Aternos, give your new server the same software and Minecraft version, upload the world folder over SFTP, put your plugins back and check one inventory before you make a first backup. Bringing your world from Aternos to your own server takes about half an hour and you lose nothing: builds, chests, villagers and every player's inventory come along. What does not come along are the plugins and mods themselves; you reinstall those, though you can copy their settings. Below are the steps, and first one warning that many people read too late.

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First this: Aternos only exports the current state

The Download button on the Aternos Worlds page gives you the world as it is saved right now. Aternos backups are stored in your linked Google Drive and are restored on the Backups page, so if you want an older state, restore that backup on Aternos first and download the world after that. Make sure the world is in the state you want to keep before you start: no half-demolished build, no player still walking around with an empty inventory after a test. Ask everyone to log off and download before you stop the server: Aternos itself recommends downloading first and stopping afterwards.

Step 1: download the world from Aternos

1. Ask your players to log off. You can leave the server running: Aternos recommends downloading before you stop it.
2. Go to Worlds, pick your world and click Download. You get a zip file. Use your normal browser for this, not a download manager.
3. Running Spigot, or Paper on 1.21.11 or older? Then the Nether and the End are separate worlds (world_nether and world_the_end). Download those as well. On Vanilla and on Paper 26.1 and newer they sit inside the main world folder.
4. Running plugins? Also go to Files, open the plugins folder and download each plugin's settings folder (not the .jar files, you fetch those fresh later). Mods work the same with the config folder.
5. Note which server software and Minecraft version you ran. It is on your Aternos server's start page, for example "Paper 1.21.11".

Step 2: prepare the new server

1. Order a Minecraft plan; it is ready within minutes. Unsure about memory: 4 GB is plenty for a group of friends with plugins, for a modpack start at 6 to 8 GB.
2. In the game panel, pick the same server software and Minecraft version as on Aternos in the Versions tab. A Paper 1.21.11 world goes on Paper 1.21.11. Upgrading later is always possible; going back is not.
3. Check the Java version in the Startup tab: Java 21 for 1.20.5 through 1.21.11, Java 25 for 26.1 and newer. See which Java version your server needs.
4. Start the server once and stop it again. That creates its folders.

Step 3: upload the world

1. Extract the Aternos zip on your computer. You get a folder containing level.dat, plus a region folder on 1.21.11 and older or a dimensions folder on Vanilla and Paper 26.1 and newer. That folder is the world.
2. Connect to your new server via SFTP (details in the Settings tab; see connecting via SFTP). For a small world the Files tab works too, but SFTP is faster and more reliable for hundreds of files.
3. On the new server, delete the world folder created at first start and upload your own world folder in its place. Name it world, or set level-name= in server.properties to your folder's name.
4. Did you download world_nether and world_the_end as well (Spigot, or Paper up to 1.21.11)? Upload them next to world, or you get a fresh Nether and End. On Vanilla and on Paper 26.1 and newer both live inside the world folder (dimensions/minecraft/the_nether and the_end), so the main world folder is enough.

Step 4: put plugins and mods back

Download the newest version of each plugin for your Minecraft version, for example from SpigotMC or Hangar, and put the .jar in plugins. Then put the settings folders you downloaded from Aternos back into the same folder. Start the server and check with /plugins that everything is green. For modpacks, pick the same mod loader and version in the panel and restore the config folder.

Step 5: verify

• Log in and check you are in the same place with the same inventory. If so, the player data came along fine (playerdata up to 1.21.11, players/data on 26.1 and newer).
• Walk to a chest you know and a village you know.
• Go through a Nether portal. If you arrive in a familiar Nether, that map is fine.
• Now take a backup right away through the Backups tab. This is your new baseline.

What changes in daily use

The biggest difference is not in the world but around it. The server no longer goes to sleep when nobody plays, there is no queue, and you no longer have to start it by hand before friends can join. In return you pay: from €2.80 a month for 2 GB. Whether that is worth it depends on how often the sleep mode got in your way; read the downsides of a free Minecraft server for that.

Do player inventories come along?

Yes. They live inside the world folder, in playerdata up to 1.21.11 and in players/data on 26.1 and newer, together with positions and ender chests. As long as you upload the whole world folder, everything comes with it.

Can I play the downloaded world in single player?

Yes. Unpack the zip and move the folder into the saves folder of your Minecraft Java installation; for Bedrock it goes into minecraftWorlds. If your download came with separate world_nether and world_the_end folders, as on Spigot and on Paper up to 1.21.11, first merge them into the main world folder, as Aternos describes in its help article on downloading worlds.

Can I move from Vanilla on Aternos to Paper?

Yes, that is even recommended. A Vanilla world opens fine on Paper of the same version. On 1.21.11 and older, Paper creates separate folders for the Nether and the End at first start; that is normal. On 26.1 and newer, Paper keeps them inside the world folder, closer to how Vanilla stores them. Spigot is different: according to PaperMC, a direct move from Spigot to Paper is no longer possible from 26.1 on, so a Spigot world first has to be converted to Vanilla.

My world is too big to upload through the browser

Use SFTP. The Files tab in the panel is meant for single files; a world of a few hundred MB with thousands of region files goes much faster over SFTP and without broken uploads. Uploading a zip and extracting it on the server with Unarchive works too.

Can I go back to Aternos later?

You can always download the world folder over SFTP and upload it to Aternos again, as long as the Minecraft version there is not older than yours. A world never goes back to an older version.

Rather not do it yourself? Mention with your order that you are bringing a world from Aternos and we will move it for you. See the Minecraft plans.