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Paying too much, lagging too hard, or waiting days for support replies? Moving your Minecraft server to a new host is far less scary than it sounds, and your world, plugins and player data all come with you. On the Tension panel you don’t even download anything: our built-in Importer connects to your old host and pulls your whole server straight across.

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What actually gets moved?

Everything that makes your server yours lives in its files: the world folder, your plugins or mods and their configs, server.properties, the whitelist, ops, bans and player data. Move those files and you’ve moved the server. Your players won’t lose builds, inventories or progress. The only thing that changes is the IP address players connect with. If you use a custom subdomain like play.yourserver.com, you can point it at the new server and most players won’t even notice the move.

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Moving your server with the Importer

Get your new server

Pick a plan with at least as much RAM and storage as your current server. Not sure what you need? Check our RAM guide

Grab your old host's SFTP details

You need four things from your old panel: the SFTP host address, port, username and password. Most hosts show these on the settings or SFTP details page.
Watch the port. Lots of hosts use 2022 for SFTP rather than the default 22, so copy exactly what your old panel shows.
Stop your old server before you carry on, so nothing changes while it’s being copied.

Open the Importer tab

On your new Tension server, head to the ” Importer ” tab.
Import Tab

Enter the details and press Test

Fill in the Host, Port, Username and Password from your old host. Leave Source and Destination as / to copy the whole server, and keep the Mode on SFTP.Press Test to check the connection works before you commit.

Press Import

Hit Import and let it run. How long it takes depends on the size of your world and your old host’s connection, big modded worlds take a while, so leave it to it.

Match your version and start it up

Head to the ” Versions ” tab and set the same server software and version you were running before, Paper, Forge, whatever it was. Then start the server and check the console comes up clean.
Keep your old server running until you’ve joined the new one and confirmed everything’s there.
Rather not touch it at all? Open a Ticket or ask in our Discord and we’ll run the migration for you. Free, like everything else on this page.

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Migration FAQs

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Will my players lose their builds or progress?

No. Builds, inventories, ender chests and stats all live in the world and player data files, which move with the server.

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Does migration cost anything?

No. The Importer is included on every plan, from the cheapest Basic to a fully custom build, and if you’d rather we handled the move, that’s free too.

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Can I migrate a modded server?

Yes. Modded servers are just more files, the mods folder and configs come across the same way. Make sure your new plan has enough RAM for the pack.

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How long does a transfer take?

As long as the copy takes. Because the Importer pulls files directly from your old host, it’s usually much faster than downloading everything and re-uploading it yourself. Small servers are done in minutes, big modded worlds take longer.

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Still stuck?

If you need any more support, join our Discord or open a Ticket