WorldEdit

A powerful tool for mass terrain editing. Select regions, then fill, replace, copy and paste thousands of blocks with a single command.

Building and editing SpigotPaperPurpur

About WorldEdit

WorldEdit is the standard for building on Minecraft servers. It lets you select regions with a wooden axe or with commands (//pos1, //pos2), then run operations on them: filling (//set), replacing blocks (//replace), copying (//copy), pasting (//paste), rotating (//rotate), mirroring (//flip) and much more. It supports schematics, files with saved structures that you can paste anywhere in the world.

WorldEdit also has a set of terraforming tools: brushes for sculpting terrain and generators for spheres, cylinders, pyramids and natural-looking shapes. Its key feature is undoing changes with the //undo command, which protects you from disastrous mistakes.

WorldEdit is one of the most important building plugins worth considering for your Minecraft server. It supports Minecraft 1.13 - 1.21.x and runs on Spigot, Paper and Purpur.

WorldEdit features

Here are the main features WorldEdit adds to your server. You can configure each of them in the plugin's config file.

Region selection
Mass block operations
Schematics (import/export builds)
Brushes for terraforming
Shape generation
Operation history with undo/redo

WorldEdit commands

Here are the 7 most important WorldEdit commands. You'll find the full list in the official documentation. Keep in mind that you can block or allow any command through a permissions system (for example LuckPerms).

Command	Description	Permission
`//wand`	Gives you the axe for selecting regions	`worldedit.wand`
`//set [block]`	Fills the selection with the chosen block	`worldedit.region.set`
`//replace [from] [to]`	Replaces blocks in the selection	`worldedit.region.replace`
`//copy`	Copies the selected region	`worldedit.clipboard.copy`
`//paste`	Pastes the copied region	`worldedit.clipboard.paste`
`//undo`	Undoes the last operation	`worldedit.history.undo`
`//sphere [block] [radius]`	Generates a sphere	`worldedit.generation.sphere`

Tip: Use tab completion in the server console (the Tab key) to see the arguments a command accepts. On a server with LuckPerms, give permissions to groups, not to individual players.

Permissions

The permissions system lets you control who can use each WorldEdit feature. You grant permissions through a ranks plugin such as LuckPerms (/lp group [group] permission set [node] true). The "Default OP" column shows whether server operators have the permission without any configuration.

Permission node	Description	Default OP
`worldedit.wand`	Using the selection axe	Yes
`worldedit.region.*`	All region operations	Yes
`worldedit.clipboard.*`	Copying, cutting and pasting	Yes
`worldedit.history.*`	Undo and redo	Yes

WorldEdit configuration

On first launch, WorldEdit generates a config file in the plugins/WorldEdit/ folder. Below are the most important options, with comments. The full list of settings is in the official documentation.

# WorldEdit config
limits:
  max-blocks-changed:
    default: 50000       # Max blocks per operation
  max-radius: 100        # Max radius
  max-brush-radius: 10   # Max brush radius
  butcher-radius:
    default: 200         # /butcher radius
history:
  size: 15               # How many operations to keep for undo
  expiration: 10         # History expiry (minutes)

After changing the configuration, save the file and use a reload command (for example /reload or the plugin's own reload command). If the plugin doesn't pick up the changes after a reload, restart the server: stop it with /stop and start it again.

YAML is an unforgiving format. A single wrong space or tab can break the whole file. Use an editor with syntax highlighting (VS Code, Notepad++) and check the file on yamllint.com before you upload it to the server.

How to install WorldEdit

Download WorldEdit from the official site. Make sure you get a version that's compatible with your Minecraft version (1.13 - 1.21.x).
Copy the downloaded .jar file into the plugins/ folder in your server directory.
Stop the server with /stop and start it again. Don't use /reload for a first install.
Check the server console. If WorldEdit loaded correctly, you'll see a message with the plugin's version. If there's an error, check that you have all the dependencies installed.
Configure the plugin by editing plugins/WorldEdit/config.yml (or its equivalent). After making changes, use the reload command.

Server compatibility: WorldEdit runs on Spigot, Paper and Purpur. We recommend Paper as your server engine: it has better performance and more APIs than Spigot.

Alternatives to WorldEdit

WorldEdit isn't the only plugin in its category. Below are alternatives worth considering if you're looking for something different or WorldEdit doesn't meet your needs.

FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE)

An asynchronous fork of WorldEdit. Its operations don't block the server's main thread.

goBrush

A terraforming plugin with heightmaps. Great for sculpting terrain.

Frequently asked questions about WorldEdit

How do I install WorldEdit?

Download WorldEdit from BukkitDev or EngineHub. Drop the .jar file into plugins/ and restart the server. By default, only OPs can use the commands. If you use LuckPerms, give the worldedit.* permissions to the right groups. You'll find detailed instructions, with dependencies and configuration, in the installation section above.

Which server engines does WorldEdit run on?

WorldEdit runs on: Spigot, Paper, Purpur. We recommend Paper as your engine: for most servers, it offers the best balance between performance and plugin compatibility. You can read more about server engines in our comparison.

Is WorldEdit free?

WorldEdit is available on its official site. Check the license details on the download page.

WorldEdit isn't working. What should I do?

Check the logs/latest.log file in your server directory. The most common causes of errors are: (1) a missing dependency, (2) an incompatible Minecraft version (check that your server version is within 1.13 - 1.21.x), (3) an error in config.yml (check the YAML formatting), (4) a conflict with another plugin that does the same thing.

Can I use WorldEdit on a Bedrock server?

No. WorldEdit is a Java Edition plugin and runs on Spigot/Paper/Purpur servers. Bedrock Edition uses a different system (behavior packs). If you want Java and Bedrock players on one server, check out Geyser.