What You Need: FileZilla or WinSCP

SFTP stands for SSH File Transfer Protocol. It lets you browse and transfer files on a remote server as if it were a folder on your own computer. You need an SFTP client to use it. The two most popular free options are:

  • FileZilla (Windows, Mac, Linux) - free, open source, widely used for game server transfers.
  • WinSCP (Windows only) - clean interface with drag-and-drop and built-in text editor.

Download either one from their official websites. On NetSkyway, your SFTP credentials are available in the server panel under the SFTP section. You will see the hostname, port (usually 2022), and your username. The password is your panel account password.

Before you start the transfer, stop your Minecraft server. Transferring world files to a running server risks file corruption because the server continuously writes to the world folder. Stop the server first, transfer the files, then start it back up.

Connecting to Your Server via SFTP

Open FileZilla and click File > Site Manager, then create a new site. Fill in the details:

  • Protocol: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
  • Host: your server hostname (e.g. node1.netskyway.net)
  • Port: 2022 (NetSkyway uses 2022, not the default 22)
  • Logon Type: Normal
  • User: the SFTP username shown in your panel
  • Password: your panel account password

Click Connect. FileZilla will show your server's files on the right side and your local computer on the left side. If you see a warning about an unknown host key on first connection, click OK to accept it. That is normal the first time.

In WinSCP the process is the same: create a new site, choose SFTP, enter host/port/credentials, and click Login.

Locating the World Folder

On your local machine (left panel in FileZilla), navigate to your Minecraft saves folder. The default location is:

  • Windows: %appdata%\.minecraft\saves\YourWorldName
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves/YourWorldName
  • Linux: ~/.minecraft/saves/YourWorldName

Your world folder contains several subfolders: region, playerdata, data, and a few files like level.dat. You want to upload the entire folder, not just its contents.

On the server side (right panel in FileZilla), the root of your server files is shown automatically after connecting. This is where your server.jar, server.properties, and existing world folders live.

Uploading Your World Files

In FileZilla, right-click the world folder on the left side and choose Upload. This copies the entire folder to your server. Depending on your world size and upload speed, this can take anywhere from a few seconds for a small world to 15+ minutes for a large one with many explored chunks.

A few things to keep in mind during the upload:

  • Do not close FileZilla while the transfer is in progress.
  • If you have an existing world on the server with the same name, FileZilla will prompt you about overwriting files. If you want a clean replacement, let it overwrite everything.
  • Large worlds (over 1 GB) are easier to handle by zipping them first, uploading the zip via SFTP, and then extracting via the panel's file manager or console.

Once the transfer shows 100% complete in the queue at the bottom of FileZilla, your files are on the server.

Setting It as the Active World (level-name in server.properties)

Uploading the world folder is not enough on its own. You need to tell the server which world folder to load. This is controlled by the level-name setting in server.properties.

Open server.properties in the panel's file editor or via SFTP. Find the line:

level-name=world

Change it to match the exact name of the folder you uploaded. For example, if you uploaded a folder called MySurvivalWorld, set:

level-name=MySurvivalWorld

The name must match exactly, including capitalisation. Save the file. If your server previously generated a world with the default name world, that folder will remain on the server but the server will now load your uploaded world instead.

Verifying It Works

Start the server and watch the console output. You should see lines like:

Loading properties
Preparing level "MySurvivalWorld"
Preparing start region for dimension minecraft:overworld

If the world name in the loading messages matches what you set in level-name, the server is loading your uploaded world. Connect with your Minecraft client and confirm you spawn at the correct location.

If the world does not load or the server crashes on startup, the most common cause is a version mismatch. A world generated in Minecraft 1.21 cannot be loaded by a server running 1.20. Make sure your server version matches the version used to create the world. Check the server log for specific error messages if something goes wrong.

On NetSkyway, you get full SFTP access to your server with no restrictions on file size or upload count. If you need help with a tricky transfer, just ask in the Discord and someone will walk you through it.