How to Convert Vanilla Server to Spigot

If you're looking to enhance your Minecraft server with plugins, better performance, and more customization, migrating from Vanilla to Spigot is the way to go.

Spigot allows for greater flexibility, making it a popular choice for server owners who want to expand beyond the basic Minecraft experience.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of converting your existing Vanilla server to Spigot, and this is crucial as world storage is different between Spigot and Vanilla.

Why should I convert my Minecraft world to Spigot?

There are a few reasons you should consider converting your Minecraft world to Spigot:

Spigot supports running Spigot plugins which can make an incredible difference in the gameplay on your server that players will notice.

Spigot has built-in features and commands that Vanilla servers do not have.

Optimizations:

Spigot has more server optimizations than Vanilla Minecraft, which will allow your server to run smoothly.

Spigot has additional configuration files that have settings that you can change to optimize your server that default Vanilla servers don't have.

Backing Up Your Minecraft World

Creating a backup of your original Vanilla Minecraft world will eliminate the worry of the saved progress on the server being lost.

To create a backup of your Minecraft world folder, you can follow these steps:

• Select your world folder
  
• Press "Archive"
  
  
• Download the newly archived world folder
  
  

Now you have a world backup saved on your PC, ensuring that you can always restore your world data in case something goes wrong.

Installing Spigot

You can install Spigot by following these steps:

• Stop your server
  
  
• Go to your versions tab
  
• Select the Spigot version that you wish to use
  
  
• Do not select the option to delete your files, as shown in the image below
  
  
• Start your server

The Spigot server software should be installed on your server now.

Transferring Your World

Converting your world from Vanilla to Spigot will be a seamless transition by following these steps:

• Stop your server
  
  
• Go to your world folder
  
• Locate the DIM-1 file and DIM1 file directories
  
• The DIM-1 file directory is the Nether
  
• The DIM1 file directory is the End
  
  
• Download these region folders and store them on your PC by archiving them, then downloading the archived file
  
  
  
  
• Locate the new world folders, which are world_nether and world_end
  
  
• Upload the previously downloaded DIM-1 file to the world_nether folder (Make sure to delete the original DIM-1 file in the world_nether folder)
  
  
• Upload the previously downloaded DIM1 file to the world_end folder (Make sure to delete the original DIM1 file in the world_end folder)

Now your Vanilla world has been migrated to your Spigot world, and now you have a server running Spigot.

When you load into your world, all the progress in your Nether and End will not be reset, and will instead load in the progress from your Vanilla world.

Still have some questions?

You can contact support by opening a ticket here, and we'll respond right away!

Updated on: 10/04/2025