How to Use a Custom World Seed on Your Minecraft Server
Learn how to use a custom world seed on your Minecraft server. Step-by-step guide to set, reset, or change your world seed using the Serverwave Control Panel or SFTP.
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Using a custom world seed allows you to generate a unique Minecraft world with specific terrain, biomes, or structures. Whether you found a perfect seed online or want to recreate a favorite world, Serverwave makes it easy to use your own custom seed. ---
What Is a Seed? A seed is a code (usually a string of numbers or text) that Minecraft uses to generate the world. Using the same seed always creates the same terrain — perfect if you want a specific spawn area, biome layout, or landscape type.
Example seeds:
123456789
mountainvillageseed
* -731456142
You can find popular seeds online or generate your own. ---
How to Add a Custom Seed on Serverwave Follow these steps to set a custom seed before starting your server for the first time (or after deleting the old world): ---
1. Log in to the Serverwave Control Panel Go to your Serverwave Control Panel and select the Minecraft server you want to modify.
2. Stop Your Server Before changing any world settings, make sure your server is fully stopped. This prevents file conflicts or corrupted world generation.
3. Find the “World Seed” Setting 1. In the panel sidebar, open the file manager tab. 2. Open the file called server.properties 3. Find the line with Level Seed. 4. Enter your desired seed value. * You can paste a number or a text seed (letters and numbers both work). 5. Save the file
4. Delete the Existing World (Optional but Recommended)
If your server already has a generated world, Minecraft won’t automatically overwrite it with the new seed. To apply your new seed, you’ll need to delete or rename your current world folder:
1. Go to File Manager or connect via SFTP.
2. Find the folder named world.
3. Rename it (e.g., to world_old) or delete it if you don’t need it anymore.
|| Need help using SFTP? Check out our full guide: How to manage files using SFTP
5. Start Your Server Once your custom seed is entered and the old world removed, click Start. Minecraft will now generate a brand-new world using your seed. You can verify it worked by joining the server and checking the new terrain. ---
Optional: Change the Level Name
If you want to keep multiple world folders (for backups or testing), you can also change the Level Name:
1. Go to the server.properties file and find Level Name.
2. Enter a new name (e.g. customseedworld).
3. Start your server — a new world will generate with your chosen seed under that name.
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Troubleshooting My new seed didn’t apply → Make sure you deleted or renamed the old world folder before restarting. Minecraft won’t overwrite an existing one. My world looks the same → Confirm you entered the correct seed and restarted the server after deleting the world folder. I want to use this seed in a modpack → Most modpacks also support custom seeds. Just follow the same process — but ensure your server uses a modded jar like Forge or Fabric. ---
Pro Tips
Seeds are case-sensitive when using letters — “DesertSeed” and “desertseed” generate different worlds.
Keep a copy of your favorite seeds in a notes file for easy reuse.
* You can use /seed in-game (with operator permissions) to view your current world’s seed.
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