Everything explained, plainly.

Joining & the permanent address

Every account gets one permanent address, like alex.on.worldfolder.com. That address belongs to your server — not to one world. Friends copy it once, and it always leads to whichever world is active.

Java Edition

In Minecraft, choose Multiplayer → Add server, paste the address, and join. The world wakes automatically if it is asleep.

Bedrock (Windows, console, mobile)

On plans with cross-play, Bedrock players join with the same hostname as Java on port 19132 (UDP), Bedrock’s default. WorldFolder routes each Bedrock connection to the right world by the hostname the client sends, so there is no custom port to remember or type.

Address rules

You pick the subdomain once. Paid plans get shorter names; the name can be changed exactly once, afterwards it is permanent. That permanence is why your friends’ bookmarks always work.

Wake & sleep (scale-to-zero)

The core of WorldFolder: your world is persistent, the computer that runs it is temporary.

• When nobody is playing, the world sleeps at zero compute cost. Your worlds are never deleted for idling.
• The first real login attempt wakes the world; a status-list ping does not. Startup commonly takes several seconds and can take up to about a minute depending on the world and node.
• A world with players is never evicted. When a node must free space, eviction is backup-first: the latest state is saved to WorldFolder’s managed B2 backup storage before anything moves.
• Saving happens automatically at every stop — you never lose your world because a server went offline.

Worlds

One account, many worlds. Each world has its own name, seed, difficulty, game mode, player slots, distance settings, appearance, files, backups and add-ons.

• Create: pick an available template, generate a fresh world from a seed, or import an existing world archive (.zip, .tar.gz, .mcworld).
• Switch: “Use this world” makes it the one behind your permanent address. Switching restores the world from B2 when needed.
• Settings: each world is edited with guided controls — no server.properties file to break.
• Export: download a world from Worlds or Backups. The archive contains customer-relevant world, configuration and add-on data, not generated JVM caches or server binaries.
• Delete: deletion is explicit and confirmation-protected. Export anything you want to keep first.

Backups & restore

Every world is automatically backed up to encrypted, deduplicated storage in Backblaze B2. WorldFolder manages that backup storage; you can browse relevant files and download independent world archives from the dashboard.

• Always: a restore point is saved at every stop, for every plan.
• While running: scheduled backups on a plan cadence (hourly on paid plans), kept per the plan’s GFS policy (hourly/daily/weekly/monthly buckets, older ones pruned).
• Save backup now: the Backups tab quiesces a running world (save-off / save-all / save-on) so nobody is kicked and nothing is mid-write.
• Restore: restoring replaces a world’s files with its newest saved state; the world must be stopped first. A rollback path protects against a failed replacement.
• Independent copies: automatic backups use storage operated by WorldFolder. You can also download an archive whenever you want a copy under your own control. Connecting personal Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox storage is not available today, but it is a reasonable future option rather than something we dismiss as unnecessary.

Files & safety

The Files tab separates server-wide files from each world’s latest indexed backup. Managed policy and uploaded server images live once at server scope; maps, plugins, configs, and logs remain under their world.

• Managed JSON files: whitelist.json, ops.json, banned-players.json and banned-ips.json are server-wide typed lists with validated controls. They are stored once, projected into every world, pushed to reachable nodes immediately, and reapplied during later reconciliation.
• Downloads: select files or entire folders, then use Download. Multiple selections are packaged into one compressed archive. Generated runtime caches and server binaries stay hidden so exports contain the files that are actually useful to you.
• Server images: upload PNG server icons from the server-wide section. Images are resized to Minecraft’s required 64×64 format and stored once instead of being duplicated into every world.
• World import: upload your existing world archives (.zip, .tar.gz, .mcworld). Archives undergo automated security scanning and safe path validation before atomic promotion.
• No plugin/JAR uploads, no FTP. Untrusted code can keep a server alive 24/7 or carry malware that survives restarts. Curated add-ons exist so you don’t need raw uploads.

Players, OPs & bans

Allowlist / Blocklist / Open

“Who can join” is one decision: only listed players, everyone except listed, or anyone. The allowlist is enforced by the server profile.

Operators (OPs)

Operators are server-wide and can run commands like /gamemode, /give and /ban in every world. Give OP only to people you trust; remove it the same way.

Bans

Ban a username or an IP address once for the whole server. Unban by removing the entry — or in-game with /pardon and /pardon-ip while the world runs.

Player data

Inventory/location data is kept with its individual world. The dashboard does not currently expose player-data deletion; when it does, it must be stopped-world-only and confirmation-protected.

Add-ons & software

We choose the server software so you don’t have to. Every Java world runs on a safe, compatible Paper-based server with a managed Java runtime. You choose the experience:

• Templates (SkyBlock, BedWars, Parkour…) are verified, one-tap experiences.
• Curated add-ons come from Modrinth: plugins (EssentialsX, LuckPerms, WorldEdit…), datapacks, and modpacks. Search, pick, install — each records its project and version and is verified before it can run.
• No loader matrix. There is no Vanilla vs Paper vs Forge vs Fabric picker, because “simple survival” or “this playlist” is the choice that matters. Loaders that fragment support or behave incompatibly (Arclight, Quilt, plain Vanilla as a choice, native Bedrock servers, PocketMine) are deliberately absent.
• Cross-play is one toggle on your plan: Java + Bedrock on the same world through Geyser/Floodgate.

Logs & troubleshooting

The Logs tab shows the selected world’s saved Paper/Geyser tail while it sleeps, then appends live console output while it runs. Lines are numbered so you can point at exact facts (“line 43”) when asking for help. Copy and Download export the visible lines, secrets-safe and bounded.

• “Done!” means ready: the line Done (…)! For help, type "help" is the world saying it finished starting.
• Time and level: log lines start with time and level, e.g. [14:00:51] [ServerMain/INFO] — ERROR and WARN are where problems usually hide.
• World won’t wake? Check the world’s logs first, then your plan’s storage (a full disk pauses the server — the Worlds tab shows this), then open a support request with the log attached.

Plans & billing

• Every plan sleeps at zero cost. You pay for capacity, not uptime.
• Plans add RAM, aggregate storage, cross-play and access to curated add-ons. There is no separate number-of-worlds allowance: create as many worlds as fit within your storage.
• Changes apply with a clear quote: what is charged today, when it applies, and the ongoing monthly rate. Downgrades schedule to the end of your period; upgrades apply with unused-plan credit.
• Cancellation is available at renewal or immediately; the Terms describe the separate 30-day first-purchase guarantee and its exclusions.

What we don’t offer (by design)

These exist on other panels; we hide them on purpose. If you ever want one, the safe equivalent is usually a button away.

Quick FAQ