The seed of a Minecraft server is the world upon which all else is built. Suppose you’ve ever stepped onto someone else’s server and found fascinating landscapes and easily-accessible biomes.
In that case, you know that creating a world with the same base as another player’s can be desirable. However, it isn’t always a simple matter to find the ID of a seed. The ease depends on who’s running the server.
What is a Minecraft Seed?
Minecraft seeds are unique values that tell the game exactly what kind of world to load in. Since the landscape in Minecraft is randomly generated, there are a quintillion possible seeds which mean there are just as many different worlds to explore. Not every seed has been used, so there are still many uncharted territories for adventurers to build on.
Minecraft seeds are case-sensitive. You must follow the exact structure, including positive or negative numbers and lowercase or capital letters. If the seed is a word or a phrase.
Minecraft seeds don’t automatically include structures. Turning on the “Generate Structure” option on the “Create New World” page where you input seed is the only way to create villages, temples, and other similar places.
Keep in mind that Minecraft seeds aren’t the same for different editions of the game. If you’re playing the Bedrock edition but want to copy a seed from Java, it likely won’t work.
Minecraft uses an algorithm called Perlin noise to generate the worlds for the game. Since the developers update the algorithm between versions, chunks from the old seed don’t match those on the new seeds. This is why seeds are often incompatible between versions.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Server
Finding the Minecraft seed of a server, you’re playing on depends on what level of access you have. For example, you might not be able to use the seed command on a server you don’t have admin rights.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Server: Java Edition
The simplest way to find the seed of a Minecraft server is to use the command box.
- Load into the Minecraft world with the seed you want to copy.
- Press “/” to open the console. The / should remain in the text line once it’s opened.
- Type “seed” without quotes. This should be immediately after the forward-slash. If the forward-slash doesn’t appear, type “/seed” without quotes.
- Press Enter.
- Copy down the seed code that appears in the chat window.
You must have admin rights to be able to complete these steps.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Server: Bedrock Edition
There is no command to find a seed in the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft. Instead, you have to use a specific menu to find it.
- Select the “Edit” option on the world with the seed you want.
- Scroll down and click on Download this World.
- Return to your offline worlds and find the saved realm.
- Click “Edit” on the saved world.
- Scroll down to find the seed.
Save the seed before deleting the world unless you want to go through the process again.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Multiplayer Server?
To get the seed of a Minecraft multiplayer server, you have two options. The first is to ask for it from one of the admins. The second is to become an admin yourself and use the commands or procedures for the version of the game you’re on.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Multiplayer Server Without Op?
Sometimes, your server admin with administrator rights cannot access the server and give you the seed. If this is the case, someone needs to log into the server settings and give someone else admin powers over the server. That person can then give you the seed. It is the only way to get the seed without express guidance from someone with those powers.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Server Without Being an Admin?
If you’ve tried to get the seed from people with admin powers and aren’t having luck, some use a mod to download the world and then get the seed. Since the world can be saved to your computer and opened while you have complete control, this might enable you to get the seed.
There are a few ways to install it, but the best one is probably using MultiMC, a popular Minecraft launcher.
Install MultiMC
Having MultiMC on your computer helps you do more than just manage mods. It’s also a good backup for when the launcher is down or broken.
- Navigate to the MultiMC download page and click “Download.”
- Right-click on the downloaded zip file.
- Select the option that extracts the archive to its own folder.
- Drag the folder to your desktop.
- Open the folder.
- Double-click “MultiMc.exe.”
- Choose your language and click “Next.”
- Choose your Java and memory allocation. You should use at least 4 GB of RAM.
- Follow the prompts to finish the process.
Install World Downloader Mod
Once you have MultiMC installed, you can use it to run World Downloader Mod.
- Start MultiMC.
- Click the New Instance button, which looks like a white rectangle under a yellow circle with a white star in the center.
- Enter a name like “1.9_WDL” and select a group if preferred. Make sure the mod and Minecraft versions match.
- Click “OK.”
- Choose “Edit Instance.”
- Click “Add to Minecraft.jar.”
- Confirm the action.
- Select the zip file for the World Downloader mod.
- Close the instance window.
- Double-click the file with the name you gave it in step 3 to start Minecraft.
Using World Downloader
Once you have it installed, you can navigate to a server and use World Downloader to save it on your computer, open it, and find the seed. It won’t always work because some servers have protections against this type of mod.
- Join the server with the seed you want.
- Pause the game.
- Click “Download this world.”
- Pause and then click the three-dot icon next to the download option to configure your options.
- Start traveling around the world. The mod has to gather data to identify where you are. It can only save what is loaded in.
- Open chests and other blocks to save them. You will want to do at least ten chunks.
- Pause the game.
- Press “Stop Downloading” when you think you have enough information.
You will have to open chests and containers to save them. Villager trades require opening the view menu if you want them. Command blocks also need to be opened, but only someone with access rights can do so.
Once you have the world downloaded to your computer, open it like any downloaded world and use the seed command to get your information.
While this may not get you the exact seed you want, it will copy all the areas that you traveled to and give you a full map of what’s in the overworld, above and below.
How to Find the Seed of a Minecraft Server Without Being Op?
There is no good way to find the seed of a server without being an operator. The best thing you can do is message the mods and other people with access and ask for the seed.
Why Do People Hide Multiplayer Minecraft Seeds?
People who keep their Minecraft seeds secret have one big reason to do so. Other players having access to the seed gives them the opportunity to open it in single-player, discover all the best locations to get top-tier materials, and then re-enter the multiplayer server with an unfair advantage. If you’re trying to get a seed and an admin denies you access, that is likely the reason why.