Change the Minecraft seedGenerate a new world with the seed you want

Published on October 20, 2026

Show the current seed

You display the seed of your running world with the command /seed in the game or in the server console. Write it down in case you want to recreate the world exactly later.

Set a new seed

Minecraft generates a world only once - on the first start. To create a new world with the seed you want, proceed like this:

1. Stop the server.
2. Back up the old world: download the existing world folder via SFTP or move it - see Create backups.
3. Open server.properties and enter your seed for level-seed=, e.g. level-seed=12345 or a text seed.
4. Delete the existing world folder (default: world) or rename it.
5. Start the server - it generates the world anew with your seed.

Important to know

A seed only takes effect when the world is generated - an existing world does not change its seed retroactively. That is why deleting or renaming the old world folder is necessary. Be sure to back up the old world first if you want to keep it. If you only want to regenerate a specific area, there are special plugins for that on Paper.

Keep the old world instead of deleting it

Deleting the world folder is the quickest way to a new map - and the only one that cannot be undone. The better procedure costs one more minute and keeps every door open:

1. Stop the server.
2. Download the world folder via WebFTP or SFTP. Backups are self-service with us throughout, see Create backups.
3. Rename the folder on the server instead of deleting it - to world_old, for example.
4. Enter the new seed in server.properties and start.

If you do not like the new map, rename it back and you are at the starting point again. Keep in mind that three folders belong to a world: the overworld, the Nether and the End. In vanilla, they are called world, world_nether and world_the_end; under Paper, they are also stored separately. If you only touch the first one, you get a new overworld with the old Nether.

What happens to progress

A new seed means a new world - and with it, all builds are gone. What is not lost, on the other hand, is the player data: inventories, experience points and advancements are stored separately and move along if you keep the corresponding files.

For a community, that is an important difference. If you change the seed, it is best to announce it in advance and make clear whether players keep their belongings. Nothing annoys a group more than a surprise fresh start - and nothing keeps it happier than an announced switch with inventories kept.

A middle way that many overlook: keep the old world running as a second world. With a multiworld plugin on Paper, both stay reachable - more on this under Multiple worlds. If you want to start over completely, Reset the world covers all the steps.

Choose seeds deliberately

Instead of leaving it to chance, you can check a seed beforehand. Online map tools show, for a combination of seed and Minecraft version, where biomes, villages, strongholds and bastions are. This is especially worthwhile for a server: a starting area with several biomes within walking distance is much more pleasant than a spawn in the middle of the ocean.

Keep two points in mind. First: a seed only produces the same world with the same Minecraft version - world generation changes between versions. Second: Forge and Fabric modpacks often bring their own world generators; there, the same seed produces something completely different from vanilla.

By the way, words work as seeds too - Minecraft converts them into a number. A memorable seed definitely has charm for a community, because everyone remembers it.

Frequently asked questions