Placing thousands of blocks by hand is the quickest way to wear out a build team. WorldEdit, the most widely used world editing plugin on Minecraft Java servers, fills, replaces, copies and shapes whole volumes with a single command. This WorldEdit tutorial follows on from our guide to building techniques: server installation, the essential commands, real build examples and the permissions to give your builders.

Which WorldEdit version for Minecraft 26.x?

WorldEdit is made by EngineHub, and the 7.4 branch keeps up with new game releases: 7.4.3 added Minecraft 26.1, 7.4.4 added 26.2, and 7.4.6, released on 15 October 2026, supports Minecraft 1.21.4 to 26.3 on Paper. Always pick the build that matches both your Minecraft version and your server platform.

Server platform	Which file	Install folder
Paper (recommended), Purpur, Spigot	WorldEdit for Bukkit	`plugins/`
Fabric	WorldEdit for Fabric	`mods/`
NeoForge	WorldEdit for NeoForge	`mods/`

The official documentation recommends Paper over Spigot because WorldEdit takes advantage of its improvements. Official builds are published on Modrinth and on Hangar, PaperMC's plugin repository. Skip third-party download sites, which often host outdated or modified files.

What about Bedrock? WorldEdit only works with Java Edition. If Bedrock players also join through GeyserMC, leave the WorldEdit work to your Java builders.

Installing WorldEdit on the server

Stop the server from your control panel.
Upload the WorldEdit .jar to the plugins/ folder (panel file manager or SFTP).
Start the server. WorldEdit creates plugins/WorldEdit/ along with its config.yml.
Check that it loaded, from the console or in game:

plugins
/worldedit version

An active plugin shows up in green in the plugin list. One rule to remember: almost every WorldEdit command starts with two slashes (//set, not /set). Since Minecraft 1.13, blocks are named (stone, oak_planks), so the numeric IDs you still see in old guides (//set 1) no longer work.

Selecting an area with the wand

Everything starts with a selection. Type //wand to get a wooden axe (you can change the item with the wand-item option in config.yml).

Left-click a block: first corner (position 1).
Right-click a block: opposite corner (position 2).

The two corners define a cuboid. Without the wand, //pos1 and //pos2 use the block at your feet, while //hpos1 and //hpos2 use the block you are looking at. Handy commands to adjust a selection:

//expand 10 up       # grow the selection 10 blocks upwards
//expand vert        # stretch it to the full world height
//contract 5 down    # shrink it 5 blocks from the bottom
//size               # show dimensions and block count
//sel cuboid         # cuboid mode (default); also poly, cyl, sphere, ellipsoid
//drawsel            # toggle the selection outline

On Paper, WorldEdit can draw your selection outline with no client mod (the server-side-cui option, on by default). Many builders also install the WorldEditCUI client mod for a richer display.

Filling and replacing: //set, //replace and patterns

//set fills the whole selection, while //replace only swaps certain blocks:

//set stone_bricks                     # fill the selection
//set air                              # clear the selection
//replace dirt grass_block             # turn dirt into grass
//replace grass_block,dirt gravel      # several source blocks at once
//replace oak_planks                   # no source: every non-air block becomes oak_planks

WorldEdit really shines with random patterns: weight%block, separated by commas. Weights are relative to each other, so they do not have to add up to 100. A perfectly flat wall looks fake; a mix adds texture instantly:

//set 70%stone_bricks,20%cracked_stone_bricks,10%mossy_stone_bricks
//replace stone 3%andesite,1%cobblestone,96%stone

You can also set block states in square brackets, such as oak_stairs[facing=east,half=top], or target a whole block tag with ##wool.

Masks for precise targeting

A mask restricts an action to certain blocks. ! negates, < matches blocks directly below another block, > matches blocks directly above, and a space combines two conditions. This example from the documentation turns only the stone exposed to the air into dirt:

//replace "stone <air" dirt

Walls, faces and surfaces

//walls spruce_planks    # the 4 walls of the selection, no floor or ceiling
//faces cobblestone      # all 6 faces: walls, floor and ceiling
//overlay moss_carpet    # add a layer on top of the blocks
//hollow                 # hollow out a solid volume

Copy, paste and rotate: //copy and //paste

Copy and paste saves builders more time than any other feature. One key point: the copy is relative to where you stand. Your position when you run //copy becomes the anchor point for the paste.

//copy          # copy the selection to your clipboard
//cut           # cut it (leaves air behind)
//rotate 90     # rotate the clipboard 90° around the vertical axis
//flip          # mirror it in the direction you are facing
//paste         # paste, anchored on your current position
//paste -a      # paste without air blocks (keeps the existing scenery)
//paste -o      # paste at the original position of the copy
//paste -s      # select the pasted area so you can tweak it

To repeat a structure in a row, //stack beats a series of pastes: //stack 6 east repeats the selection six times to the east. With no direction, it follows where you look. //move 3 up shifts the selection up three blocks.

Undoing mistakes: //undo and its limits

//undo reverts the last operation, //undo 3 the last three, and //redo brings them back. History is not unlimited: by default WorldEdit keeps 15 operations per player (the history section of config.yml), and //clearhistory wipes it. Before a big operation, back up the world from your panel: it is the only real safety net.

Shapes and brushes for terrain

Generating shapes

These commands build a shape where you stand, with no selection needed:

//sphere glass 8          # solid sphere, radius 8
//hsphere glass 8         # hollow sphere (for a dome, select the lower half and //set air)
//cyl stone 5 10          # solid cylinder, radius 5, height 10
//hcyl stone_bricks 5 20  # hollow cylinder: the shell of a round tower
//pyramid sandstone 12    # solid pyramid

Brushes

A brush is bound to the item in your hand: every right-click applies the effect where you are aiming, even from a distance.

/brush sphere stone 3         # paint stone spheres, radius 3
/brush cylinder -h dirt 4 2   # hollow cylinder
/brush smooth 4               # smooth terrain, great for softening a hill
/mask grass_block             # the brush only affects grass
/mask                         # remove the mask
/size 5                       # change the brush radius
/brush none                   # unbind the brush from the item

By default, the server version caps brush radius at 5 (max-brush-radius in config.yml). That safeguard stops one careless click from reshaping a whole mountain.

Saving and sharing builds: schematics

A schematic is a file that stores your clipboard. It lets you keep a library of models (houses, trees, street lamps) and move them from one server to another.

//copy
//schem save medieval-house     # save the clipboard
//schem list                    # list available schematics
//schem load medieval-house     # load it back into the clipboard
//paste -a

Files live in plugins/WorldEdit/schematics/ in the .schem format. You can drop in schematics built in single player or downloaded elsewhere via SFTP, which is the usual way to import a full spawn or hub. Add -f to save to overwrite an existing file.

Real build examples

A house shell in one minute

Select an 11 × 9 rectangle on the ground, then raise the selection 6 blocks with //expand 6 up.
//faces cobblestone creates floor, walls and ceiling in one go.
//walls 70%spruce_planks,30%stripped_spruce_log dresses the walls.
Cut doors and windows by hand: that is where detail makes the difference.

A natural-looking path

Select the route, then run //replace grass_block 60%dirt_path,30%coarse_dirt,10%gravel. The mix avoids a flat, uniform strip.

A round tower

Stand at the centre and run //hcyl stone_bricks 5 20 for the shaft, then a slab //cyl with radius 6 and height 1 at the top for the walkway.

A street of lamps

Build one street lamp, select it with four blocks of air on one side, then run //stack 8 north: you get eight evenly spaced lamps.

Permissions for your builders

Handing worldedit.* to everyone, or operator status to your builders, leaves your world open to a large-scale mistake or abuse. With LuckPerms, set up a dedicated group instead:

lp creategroup builder
lp group builder permission set worldedit.wand true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.selection.* true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.region.* true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.clipboard.* true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.history.undo.self true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.history.redo.self true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.generation.* true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.brush.* true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.schematic.save true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.schematic.load true
lp group builder permission set worldedit.schematic.list true
lp user PlayerName parent add builder

The .self nodes limit undo to the player's own actions. Keep these for admins only:

worldedit.anyblock: allows blocks blocked by disallowed-blocks;
worldedit.limit.unrestricted: bypasses //limit caps;
worldedit.history.undo without .self: undoing other people's actions;
worldedit.schematic.delete, worldedit.butcher and snapshots.

In config.yml, also set a cap on blocks per operation, because the default value (-1) means unlimited:

limits:
    max-blocks-changed:
        default: 50000
        maximum: 200000

Indent the file with spaces, never tabs. A good habit is to keep WorldEdit in a separate build world and bring finished buildings into the main world as schematics.

WorldEdit and server performance

An operation touching millions of blocks can freeze a small server for a few seconds. Work in sections, avoid //expand vert over large areas and run big jobs at quiet times. FastAsyncWorldEdit (FAWE), a fork that spreads the work out, exists for very large projects; check its download page for support of your Minecraft version before swapping it in.

FAQ

Why does WorldEdit say “Unknown command”?

Make sure you type two slashes (//set), that the plugin shows in green under /plugins, and that its version matches your server. An outdated build may simply fail to load on Minecraft 26.x.

Does WorldEdit run on a free server?

Yes, it is a lightweight plugin. Only very large operations put real load on memory and CPU, so split them into several passes.

Can I undo a bad //paste?

Yes, with //undo, as long as it is among the last 15 operations in your history and the server has not restarted in between.

Do players need WorldEdit on their client?

No. On a Paper or Spigot server, the plugin is enough. The WorldEditCUI client mod is optional and only improves how selections are displayed.