Move your Minecraft server from Aternos to Torchlite

A Minecraft world is a folder of files, so moving it between hosts is mostly a matter of copying that folder and starting the same kind of server on the other side. This guide takes you from a world on Aternos to the same world running on Torchlite, without losing builds, inventories or the Nether.

The steps are the same whether your server is vanilla, Paper or modded. The differences are in the details, and they are covered below.

Before you start

Write down three things from your Aternos server before you touch anything:

• The server software: Vanilla, Paper, Spigot, Fabric, Forge, NeoForge or whatever Aternos shows.
• The exact Minecraft version, for example 1.21.1.
• Your plugins or mods, with their versions if you can see them.

These decide which server you create on Torchlite. Getting the version right matters most, because Minecraft can upgrade a world to a newer version but cannot safely open it in an older one.

Torchlite runs Minecraft Java Edition servers. A Bedrock world uses a different format and cannot be uploaded to a Java server as it is.

Download your world from Aternos

Stop your Aternos server first, so the world is fully saved. Then use the world download option in the Aternos panel; worlds are listed in their own section there. You get a .zip file. If you cannot find the option, Aternos' own help pages describe where it is.

Open the zip on your computer before uploading it and look inside. You want to find a folder with a file called level.dat directly in it. That folder is your world. Note its name; it is usually world.

Create the matching server on Torchlite

If you do not have a Torchlite server yet, the first-server guide walks through creating one. Pick the Minecraft type that matches what you ran on Aternos:

We do not offer a plain vanilla server. Fabric with no mods behaves like vanilla. Paper runs faster and takes plugins, but changes a few game mechanics, which matters mostly for technical farms.

For the plan, Lite or Turbo fits most plugin servers. Forge and NeoForge modpacks run on Max.

Once the server exists, open Versions in the panel and set the same Minecraft version you had on Aternos. NeoForge installs 1.21.1 and Forge installs 1.20.1 by default, so check this especially for modded servers. You can also go newer than Aternos; just never older.

Upload the world

The new server has already generated an empty world on its first start, so you replace it.

1. Stop the server and wait for Offline.
2. In Files, rename the existing world folder to world-old. On Paper, Purpur and Spigot, rename world_nether and world_the_end too. You can delete them once everything works.

3. Upload your world:

   • With the file manager: click Upload, choose the zip, then use Unarchive on it. The file manager takes files up to 100 MB.
   • With SFTP, for anything bigger: connect as shown in the SFTP guide and drag the world folder into the server's main folder.
4. Open the uploaded folder and check that level.dat is directly inside it. If the zip created an extra level, such as world/world/level.dat, move the inner folder up.

Nether and End are stored differently depending on the software. Vanilla, Fabric, Forge and NeoForge keep them inside the world folder, as DIM-1 and DIM1. Paper, Purpur and Spigot keep them in separate world_nether and world_the_end folders, and they move a vanilla-style world's dimensions out on the first start by themselves. Going the other way, from Paper to Fabric or Forge, move world_nether/DIM-1 to world/DIM-1 and world_the_end/DIM1 to world/DIM1 yourself before starting.

Check level-name

The server loads the world whose folder name is set in server.properties:

level-name=world

If your uploaded folder has a different name, either rename the folder to world or change level-name to match it exactly, including capital letters. You can edit the file in Files, or through Configs on Minecraft servers.

While you are in server.properties, compare the rest with what you had on Aternos: gamemode, difficulty, max-players, pvp, white-list and online-mode. The server.properties guide explains the common ones.

Operators and the whitelist do not come with the world. Set them again from the console with op <name> and whitelist add <name>.

Move your plugins or mods

Plugins and mods are not part of the world download, so install them again on Torchlite, in the same versions where possible.

• Plugins on Paper, Purpur or Spigot: use the Plugin Manager, which searches SpigotMC, Modrinth and Hangar, or upload the .jar files to the plugins folder. See the plugins guide.
• Mods on Fabric, Forge or NeoForge: use the Mod Manager, which searches Modrinth, or upload the .jar files to the mods folder. See the mods guide.
• A modpack: install the same pack and version from Modpacks, which uses Modrinth. Do this before uploading the world, because installing a modpack reinstalls the server and can delete existing files. The modpack guide has the details.

A plugin's settings and data, such as homes, claims or economy balances, live in its own folder under plugins. If you can get those folders from Aternos, upload them as well; otherwise those plugins start fresh. A modded world needs every mod that placed blocks or items in it, or those blocks disappear.

Start and check

Start the server and watch the Console until it finishes loading. Then join and check:

• your builds and your spawn are where you left them;
• your inventory is there;
• the Nether and the End still have your portals and bases.

Give your friends the new address from the top bar of the panel. Remember that a free Torchlite server needs renewing while it runs, so keep the panel open; the renewal guide explains how often.

Common problems

A brand-new world loads instead of mine

The server could not find your world, so it generated one. Either level-name does not match the folder name, or level.dat sits one folder too deep. Stop the server, fix it, delete the newly generated folder and start again.

The Nether or the End has been reset

The dimension folders are in the wrong place for your server software. Check the layout described in the upload section and move DIM-1 and DIM1 where your software expects them.

"Outdated server" or "Outdated client"

The server and the players are on different Minecraft versions. Set the version on Versions, or have players switch versions in their launcher.

Everyone's inventory is empty

Player data is stored by player ID. If one server allowed cracked players (online-mode=false) and the other does not, the IDs differ and old inventories are not found. Use the same online-mode setting as on Aternos.

The upload fails or stops

Files over 100 MB cannot go through the file manager. Upload them over SFTP instead, which also resumes after a dropped connection.