How to import and paste a schematic in Minecraft

You have a .schem file: from a generator, a download or a friend. To get it into a Minecraft world you need three things: a tool that can read it, the file in the folder that tool looks in, and the commands (or clicks) that place it. This guide covers WorldEdit, FastAsyncWorldEdit, Axiom, Litematica and vanilla structure blocks, as of 3 November 2026, for the Java Edition.

Which file is which

Four file types circulate, and the extension tells you which tool to reach for.

The tree, flower and terrain generators and the Gradient tool all export .schem, so everything below applies to them. If you only need to know where to start, WorldEdit or FAWE on a server and Axiom on your own computer are the two shortest paths.

Before you paste

• Match the version. The BlockLab generators tag the file with the Minecraft version chosen in the Server version menu. Pick the version of the world you will paste into.
• Have the permission. On a server you need the plugin installed and your rank allowed to use it (see Limits).
• Back up the world if the paste is large, or paste in a copy first. Most tools below have an undo, but an undo has limits too.
• Stand where you want the build. WorldEdit pastes relative to your position. The sections below explain how to check before you commit.

WorldEdit

WorldEdit is a plugin for Bukkit-based servers (Spigot, Paper, Folia) and Sponge, and a mod for Fabric and NeoForge. It loads a schematic into your clipboard and pastes it from there.

1. Put the file in the schematics folder

plugins/WorldEdit/schematics    Spigot, Paper and other Bukkit servers
config/worldedit/schematics    Fabric and NeoForge, client or server

WorldEdit does not create the folder until you save a schematic in game, so if it is missing, create it yourself inside WorldEdit's config folder. The name can be changed with saveDir in the WorldEdit config. Sub folders work: //schem load trees/oak-giant reads schematics/trees/oak-giant.schem. On a hosted server, upload with the host's file manager or SFTP, and note that single player uses the mod's config folder inside your .minecraft folder, not the plugin folder.

2. Load and paste

• //schem list shows the files WorldEdit found, with a button to load each one. It can sort by date with -d or -n.
• //schem load <name> puts the file in your clipboard. Use the name without the extension.
• //paste places the clipboard. The -a flag skips air, so the empty parts of the file do not carve holes in the existing terrain. Add -e to paste entities and -b to paste biomes, when the file contains them.

3. Position, rotate, undo

The paste lands relative to your position. The docs spell out why: the origin of the copy and your offset to it are saved with the file, and third-party software may not record them, so a file from somewhere else can land away from where you stand. Check before you commit, and fix with the usual commands:

• //rotate 90 turns the clipboard around the vertical axis by any multiple of 90 degrees. //flip mirrors it across the direction you face, or the one you name.
• //paste -n only selects the area the paste would fill, without placing anything. Look at the selection, then run the real paste.
• //paste -o pastes at the original position stored in the file.
• //undo reverts the last operation.

FastAsyncWorldEdit

FastAsyncWorldEdit is a drop-in replacement for WorldEdit on Bukkit-based servers: install it instead of WorldEdit, never next to it. The commands in the section above work the same way, and it edits asynchronously, which is the reason to choose it for large pastes and busy servers.

plugins/FastAsyncWorldEdit/schematics

FAWE keeps its files in its own plugin folder, not in plugins/WorldEdit. That path follows from the plugin's name and the default schematics directory in the source; if your server differs, look for the folder inside plugins/ that holds FAWE's config. A FAWE setting also lets each player have a private sub folder of schematics. Its commands add a few extras: //schem list takes a filter and a page, //schem loadall loads several files into a multi-clipboard (with -r for random rotation), and //schem move relocates files into a folder. Its //paste accepts -s, -a and -o.

Axiom

Axiom is a Fabric client mod with a visual editor. It imports schematics through a file picker, so the file does not need to live in a particular folder.

1. Press Right Shift to open Editor mode (the key can be changed in the Controls menu under Axiom).
2. Open File, then Import Schematic. Pick the file. Axiom reads .schem and .schematic, one at a time, and loads it into your clipboard.
3. Press Ctrl+V to start a placement at the mouse cursor. Move it with the gizmo, rotate with Ctrl+R, flip with Ctrl+F.
4. Confirm with Enter or Ctrl+V, or cancel with Delete or Backspace.

The placement options matter: Keep Existing stops the paste from overriding blocks, Paste Air lets air override them (the opposite of WorldEdit's -a habit), Paste Entities includes entities, and Snap to ground drops the placement onto the nearest solid surface. Axiom exports too: File, Export Schematic for .schem, and Export Minecraft Structure NBT for a structure block file. It saves its own .bp blueprints in .minecraft/config/axiom/blueprints. On multiplayer servers Axiom needs its server plugin and a whitelist or licence, as described in Axiom vs WorldEdit.

Litematica

Litematica is a client-side mod for Fabric (Forge only for 1.12.2). It shows the schematic as a ghost in the world so you can build it block by block, and it can paste it too. Its rendering does not work with shaders on newer versions, so turn them off while you use it.

.minecraft/schematics/

1. Put the file in the schematics folder of your game directory (create it if it is missing).
2. Press M for the main menu (on an AZERTY keyboard the key is ,), then Load Schematics, pick the file and load it. It becomes a placement you can move and rotate from Schematic Placements, then Configure.
3. To paste instead of building by hand: switch to Creative, switch to the Paste schematic in world tool mode, select the right placement, and use the executeOperation hotkey while you hold the tool item.

In single player the paste writes directly into the world. On a server it sends commands, so you need permission for /setblock and /fill, or for WorldEdit's //pos1, //pos2 and //set with the commandUseWorldEdit option. Large pastes are rate-limited by commandLimitPerTick and commandTaskInterval so the server is not flooded. The mod's documentation does not list the formats it loads, which is why the table above relies on its changelogs: if a .schem will not load, test the same file in WorldEdit or Axiom to know whether the file or the mod is at fault.

Structure blocks (.nbt)

Vanilla needs no mod, but it reads only .nbt structure files, not .schem. To get one, export from Axiom (Export Minecraft Structure NBT), or save it with a structure block in Save mode. Structures are searched in memory, then in the world's generated/<namespace>/structure folder, then in data packs. The Minecraft Wiki lists both structure and structures for that folder, so save one test structure in your world and copy your file next to it.

1. Place a structure block, set it to Load, and type the structure name (minecraft: is the default namespace).
2. Set the offset, then press Load. A redstone signal loads it too.
3. Without a block, run /place template <template> [pos], which does what the Load button does.

A structure block is limited to 48 by 48 by 48 blocks in Java Edition. Axiom's documentation says that structures of any size can be exported but only small ones loaded with a structure block, so for a large terrain use WorldEdit or FAWE.

Limits

• Permissions. WorldEdit documents worldedit.clipboard.load, worldedit.schematic.load and worldedit.clipboard.paste for this workflow. Nobody has them by default except operators.
• Size. WorldEdit's default change limit is -1 (no limit); //limit changes it per session, up to maxChangeLimit. FAWE adds per-player limits for changes, memory and regions in its Limits settings, so a big paste can be refused for a normal rank and allowed for an admin.
• Entities and biomes are pasted only with -e and -b, and only if the file contains them.
• Version. The file records the game version it was written for so the blocks can be converted. WorldEdit on Bukkit needs an update for every new Minecraft release, so a plugin older than your server can fail to load files.
• Clipboards expire. Your clipboard stays in your session for 10 minutes after you leave a server.

When it does not work

• File not found. Wrong folder: FAWE and WorldEdit use different ones, and so do single player and servers. Run //schem list. Check the name (no extension in the command) and that the extension is really .schem, not .schem.txt.
• It pastes far away, or inside the ground. The paste is relative to where you stand. Run //paste -n to see the box, stand at the point you want, undo, then paste again. For a terrain, stand at ground level at the corner.
• You do not have permission. Ask for the permissions above, or op yourself on your own server.
• The file loads but blocks are missing. The tool may be older than the file's game version. Update it, or generate the file again for your version.
• It is slow, or the server stalls. Paste in pieces, choose hollow ground in the terrain generator, or use FAWE.
• Nothing happens in Litematica. Check you are in Creative, in Paste mode, holding the tool item, with the right placement selected.

Where to go next

Need something to paste? Make custom trees, or shape land with the terraforming guide. For the choice of editor, read Axiom vs WorldEdit.