Where Minecraft Bedrock saves your worlds, and how to back them up

Bedrock moved its world folder in 1.21.120. Where it is in each version, how to copy it, and how to move a world to another PC.

A folder with a Minecraft world and an arrow pointing to its copy

The short answer

It depends on your version, because since 1.21.120 Bedrock stores everything somewhere else. That is why plenty of old guides — and some videos — send you to a folder that does not exist on your PC.

  • Current versions (1.21.120 onwards): %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users
  • Older versions: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds

If you do not know which one you have: the version number shows at the bottom of the game's start screen. And if you would rather not check, try the first one; if that folder does not exist, it is the second.

How to get there without hunting

  1. Press Windows + R.
  2. Paste the path for your version and hit Enter.
  3. File Explorer opens straight in that folder.

You do not need to replace %APPDATA% with your user name: Windows swaps it for your account folder on its own.

What is inside, on current versions

Inside Users you will see two things:

  • A folder named with a long number. That is your Microsoft account. If several accounts play on that PC, there is one folder per account — which is why the new game keeps each person's worlds separate.
  • A folder called Shared, for what the accounts share.

In your account's folder, the worlds are in games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds. Each world is one folder.

World folders have weird names, a code of letters and numbers. That is not an error: Bedrock does not name them after the world. The real name is inside, in levelname.txt. Open it with Notepad and you know which is which.

If you updated from the old version

The first time a new version opens, the game moves your worlds from the old folder to the new one — which is why you will see a file called uwpMigration.dat. If a world is missing after updating, check whether it stayed in the old folder before writing it off.

How to make the backup

  1. Close the game. Fully, not to the menu. A world copied while the game is writing it can end up half-copied, and a half backup is worse than none because it makes you think you are covered.
  2. On current versions, copy the whole Users folder. It holds every account's worlds on that PC. On older versions, copy minecraftWorlds.
  3. Paste it somewhere else: another drive, a USB stick or a folder that syncs to the cloud. On the same drive it protects you from mistakes, not from the drive dying.
  4. If you want it smaller, right-click → Compress to ZIP file.

The easier way: export the world from the game

If what you want is to keep one world — to send it to someone or keep it apart — you do not need to touch any folders:

  1. In the world list, tap the world's pencil.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the settings and tap Export World.
  3. Choose where to save it. You get a .mcworld file.

That file is the whole world in one piece. To put it back — on your PC or another — just double-click it, same as with add-ons.

Moving a world to another PC

Two routes, and both work:

  • With the .mcworld: export it on one PC and double-click it on the other. The simplest and the least likely to break.
  • Copying the folder: copy the world's folder from minecraftWorlds and paste it into the same folder on the other PC. With the game closed on both.

What NOT to do

  • Copying with the game open. Covered above, but it is the most common mistake and the one that hurts most.
  • Deleting the old folder as soon as you update. Open the new game first and check all your worlds are there. Only then.
  • Renaming the folders inside com.mojang. The game looks for them by those exact names.
  • Keeping the only backup on the same drive. If the drive dies, the original and the copy go together.

Frequently asked questions

Why do world folders have weird names?

Because Bedrock does not name them after the world: it gives them a code. The real name is inside, in a file called levelname.txt. Open it with Notepad and you know which is which.

Does making a backup delete or move anything?

No. Copying leaves the original where it was. The only thing to watch is doing it with the game closed.

Are my worlds saved to the cloud automatically?

Local worlds are not: they live on your PC and nowhere else. The ones that are online are Realms, which is a different thing. If the PC dies and you had no backup, the local world goes with it.

Can I open the backup in another game version?

In a newer version, yes: the game upgrades it when it opens. In an older one it may not open. And a world that has been opened in a new version does not go back, so it is worth copying before updating.

How big is a world?

It depends on how much you explored. A new world is a few megabytes; one with months of play can run into the hundreds. That is why zipping the backup is worth it.

You might also need