Author:
Peter Berry
Date Of Creation:
12 February 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Custom maps and games are common things in Minecraft. Lots of creative players have released a variety of maps and game modes for others to download and enjoy. The steps to add player-generated maps are quite simple in the desktop version of Minecraft, and will be a bit more complicated in Minecraft PE for Android and iOS. Regardless of which version you are playing, you can add and play new maps in just a minute or two.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: On personal computers, Mac and Linux
Download map file. There are a multitude of player-created maps available on many pages of a large community of Minecraft fans. Just search for "minecraft maps" to find more maps than you imagined. Most maps list comes with reviews and comments, so you can browse and find the best map to try.
- Maps are usually in ZIP or RAR format. The ZIP file can be opened without installing additional software, but the RAR file is different, you will need to install a new program. You can use the free trial WinRAR () on Windows, or you can use the open source 7-Zip program (). Mac users can use The Unarchiver, available for free in the Mac app store (Mac App Store). You can refer to the article Open RAR files for the steps to open this file.
- Remember to note down the Minecraft version of the map. You can change the Minecraft version in Launcher before starting the game so that you can play maps designed for the older version.
Extract the map file. Right click on the downloaded map file and choose "Extract file" to extract the file to the new folder. This folder will have the same name as the downloaded map file.
Open the unzipped folder. Open the folder you just created by extracting the map file. Usually you will see the directory _MACOSX and the folder with the same name as the map file. Now leave this window open.
- If you open the folder with the name of the map, you will see many files and folders, including files level.dat, folder data and many other files. Please return to the previous directory after confirming that the files are in here.
Open the folder saves of Minecraft. The location of this folder will be different depending on the operating system you're using:- On Windows - Press ⊞ Win or click the Start button to open the Start menu. Type "% appdata%" and press ↵ Enter. Open the folder .minecraft; for most users this is at the top of the directory listing in the directory % appdata%. Open the folder saves. You will see a list of folders containing all saved games.
- On Mac - Keep key ⌥ Option and click the Go menu. Choose "Library" from the Go menu. Double-click the folder Application Support and open the folder Minecraft. Finally, open the folder saves. All saved worlds are listed here as separate folders.
- On Linux - Open the User folder (your name) and open .minecraft. Double-click the folder saves. You will see a list of all saved worlds.
Copy the map folder to the folder saves. Copy the map folder containing the file level.dat and directory data from another window to the directory saves.
Run Minecraft. After copying the map file, you're ready to start playing! Run Minecraft Launcher and start playing the game.
- If you plan to play the map for the old version, make sure you change your profile before starting to play the game. Click the "Edit Profile" button in Launcher, then click the "Use Version" drop-down menu to choose the version of the game you want to download.
Open the Singleplayer menu. This menu will show a list of saved worlds. Your new map will be on this list. Now delete the other things in the saves file.
Search and download new maps. Usually, the new map will be at the bottom of the list, but not always. Scroll through the list until you find it, then double-click it to load. advertisement
Method 2 of 3: On Android
Download and install File Manager support for compressed files. You will need this file manager to open the ZIP file. You will use this app to extract map files and copy them to Minecraft PE world folder.
- One of the most popular file managers to do this is ASTRO File Manager, available for free on the Google Play Store. You can also use a file manager like ES File Explorer, which is also freely available.
Download map file. Make sure the map file is for Minecraft PE, not for the desktop version. You also need to make sure that you are downloading a map that matches your version of Minecraft PE, as it is not as easy to change the version you are playing on a PC.
- You can see the Minecraft version playing in the main menu of Minecraft PE.
Open the folder Downloads in the File Manager application. File Manager will display all folders on Android device. You can find the directory Downloads in the root directory.
Touch the downloaded map in compressed form to open it. After tapping on the ZIP file, you will see many things in the ZIP. You will see a folder with the same name as the downloaded map.
Press and hold the folder in the compressed file. This will open a menu that contains many actions that can be performed with the directory.
Select "Copy" in the menu. Here is how to copy the folder to paste it elsewhere.
Go to the directory games. You will find this folder in the root directory, in the same location as the folder Downloads found earlier.
Open the folder com.mojang then folder minecraftWorlds. This folder contains a directory for each saved game.
Click and hold in the blanks and select "Paste". This is the step of pasting the new map folder into the folder minecraftWorlds.
Run Minecraft PE and choose a new map. Your new map will be in your saved game list. Usually the map will appear at the bottom, but it can appear anywhere in the list. advertisement
Method 3 of 3: On iOS
Install iExplorer on the computer. The free iExplorer version allows you to copy downloaded Minecraft PE maps to your iOS device. You can download the free version from.
- You need to use a computer to install player-generated maps on the iOS version of Minecraft PE. The only way to do this is for the device to be jailbroken and you can install a file manager app, such as iFile from Cydia.
Download and extract the map file on your computer. Download the map file you want to install on your iOS device. Make sure it's compatible with the version of Minecraft PE you're playing. You can see which version you are playing in the main menu screen of Minecraft PE.
- Right click on the downloaded file and select "Extract files". This is the step of creating a new folder containing a folder with the same name as the map.
Plug the iOS device into the computer via USB. Close iTunes if it is open when you plug in your iOS device.
Run iExplorer. You will see your device appear in the left pane of iExplorer.
Open the "Apps" section of the device. This is the step to show a list of all the apps installed on the device.
Search and select "Minecraft PE". Multiple folders will appear in the right pane of iExplorer.
Find it Documents → games → com.mojang → minecraftWorlds. Folder minecraftWorlds will contain multiple folders for saved games.
Drag and drop the new map folder into the folder minecraftWorlds. You will only have to wait for copying a while. After copying is complete, you can unplug your iOS device and close iExplorer.
Play new maps in Minecraft PE. You can search for new maps in the list of saved games. This map may not appear at the top of the list after it has been added. advertisement
Advice
- If you know an application made to install Minecraft maps on your device, you can use it.
