Import a schematic into Minecraft

Updated 2026-08-08 · 6 min read

Importing a schematic is two steps: put the file where the mod or plugin looks for it, then run the command that loads and pastes it. Which folder and which command depend on what you're using — WorldEdit, Litematica, or a vanilla structure block — so find your setup below.

WorldEdit (Java, .schem)

WorldEdit is the most common way to paste a build, and .schem is the format it expects. The schematics folder depends on how WorldEdit is installed:

Single-player (Fabric / Forge)   .minecraft/config/worldedit/schematics/
Paper / Spigot / Bukkit server  plugins/WorldEdit/schematics/

Drop the .schem file into that folder. Create the folder if it isn't there yet — it only appears after WorldEdit has run once.
Start (or restart) the game or server so the file is picked up.
Stand where you want the build's corner to land and run //schem load yourbuild — no file extension.
Run //paste. The build appears relative to where you're standing. //paste -a skips air blocks, which leaves the existing terrain visible through windows and gaps instead of carving out a solid box around the build.

Pasted something in the wrong place? //undo reverses the last paste. It's worth running //paste once in a spare world before doing it in a base you care about.

Useful follow-up commands

//rotate 90 — turn the loaded clipboard before pasting.
//flip — mirror it along the direction you're facing.
//schem list — confirm the file is actually being seen.

Litematica (Java, .litematic)

Litematica doesn't paste in survival — it projects the build as a translucent hologram you then fill in by hand. That makes it the tool of choice when you want to build the structure rather than summon it.

Put the .litematic file in .minecraft/schematics/.
In game, press M to open the Litematica menu, then choose Load Schematics.
Pick the file and select Load Schematic. It becomes a placement you can move, rotate and mirror before locking it in.
Build into the hologram. In creative, Litematica's Easy Place mode fills blocks as you click through the projection.

Litematica also opens .schem and legacy .schematic files, so if a build is only offered in WorldEdit's format you can still use it as a projection.

Vanilla structure blocks (Java, .nbt)

No mods needed — this is Minecraft's own format, the same one the game uses for villages and shipwrecks. The trade-off is a hard 48×48×48 size limit per structure.

Place the .nbt file in saves/<world>/generated/minecraft/structures/. Create the folders if they don't exist.
Get a structure block with /give @s minecraft:structure_block (creative and cheats required).
Place it, open it, and switch the mode to Load.
Type the file name without the extension, hit Load to preview the outline, then Place.

Bedrock Edition (.mcstructure)

Bedrock uses its own format and its own structure block. The file goes inside the world folder rather than a global one:

com.mojang/minecraftWorlds/<world_id>/structures/<namespace>/<name>.mcstructure

Create the structures folder inside the world if it isn't there, then a namespace folder inside it — mystructures is the conventional one.
Load the world, give yourself a structure block, and set it to Load mode.
Enter the name as namespace:name — so a file at structures/mystructures/castle.mcstructure is mystructures:castle.
Load the outline, position it, then place.

On consoles and phones the world folder generally isn't reachable, so importing a structure file usually means going through a Windows or Android device — or packaging it as an add-on instead.

When it doesn't work

The file doesn't appear in the list. Nearly always the wrong folder, or a double extension like castle.schem.txt left behind by a browser or an archiver.
The build pastes with missing or wrong blocks. The schematic was saved on a newer version than the world, or on the other edition — Java and Bedrock don't share every block. Re-export it for the version you're playing.
It pastes in the wrong spot. WorldEdit pastes relative to where you stand and to the origin the schematic was saved with. //undo, move, and paste again.
The paste is rejected on a server. Large pastes are often capped by the server's WorldEdit limits, or blocked outright without the right permission node.

Getting a schematic in the first place

Every build in the community gallery exports to all four of the formats above, so you can pick whichever matches your setup. If you'd rather start from an idea than a file, you can generate a build from a prompt or open the browser studio and edit an existing structure before exporting it.