Schematic file formats

Updated 2026-08-08 · 5 min read

Four formats cover essentially every Minecraft schematic you'll encounter. They store roughly the same thing — a box of blocks and their states — but each is read by different software, and picking the wrong one is the usual reason an import silently fails.

.schem — Sponge schematic

The modern WorldEdit format, and the safest default. It stores blocks with their full block states, uses a palette so file size scales with variety rather than volume, and carries a data version so tools know which Minecraft release it came from.

Read by: WorldEdit, FastAsyncWorldEdit, Litematica, most map-making tools.
Use it when: you want to paste a build into a world or a server, in one command.
Limits: none that matter in practice; server admins often cap paste size independently.

The older .schematic (MCEdit) format is a different thing: it predates the flattening and stores numeric block IDs, so it can't represent modern blocks correctly. Convert it rather than using it.

.litematic — Litematica

Litematica's own format. Beyond blocks it stores multiple named subregions and the metadata the mod shows in its browser — author, description, block totals — which is why it's the format shared for builds meant to be followed rather than pasted.

Read by: Litematica (a client-side Fabric/Forge mod).
Use it when: you want a hologram to build along in survival, or a material list before you start.
Limits: client-side only — it can't place blocks on a vanilla server by itself.

.nbt — vanilla structure

Minecraft's built-in format, the one structure blocks read and write and the one data packs use for generated structures. No mods involved, which makes it the most portable option — at the cost of a hard 48×48×48 limit per file.

Read by: vanilla Java structure blocks, data packs.
Use it when: you can't install mods, or the build is going into a data pack.
Limits: 48 blocks per axis. Anything larger has to be split across several files and reassembled.

.mcstructure — Bedrock

The Bedrock equivalent of .nbt. Same idea, incompatible encoding: Bedrock's block palette differs from Java's, so this is a genuinely separate format, not a rename.

Read by: Bedrock structure blocks, Bedrock add-ons.
Use it when: you're on Bedrock — Windows, mobile, console, or a Realm.
Limits: 64×384×64 per structure, and getting the file into a world is awkward on consoles and phones.

Choosing quickly

Java, want it pasted → .schem
Java, want to build it yourself in survival → .litematic
Java, no mods allowed, build fits in 48³ → .nbt
Bedrock, any size → .mcstructure

Why Java and Bedrock files aren't interchangeable

The two editions don't share a block palette. Some blocks exist in one and not the other, and many that exist in both store their state differently — stair shapes, wall connections and redstone components in particular. A converter has to map block by block, and blocks with no counterpart get substituted or dropped. Exporting for the edition you actually play is always cleaner than converting afterwards.

Exporting from Structmatic

Every build in the gallery, and anything you make in the studio, exports to all four formats from the same Export menu — plus a complete world .zip if you'd rather walk around the build than paste it. Once you have a file, the import guide covers where it goes.