Skip to main content
iconPowerNukkitX
Migration

Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS)

Detailed guide on migrating from Mojang's official Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS) to PowerNukkitX.

If you are migrating from Mojang's official Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS), you can retain your worlds and resource packs, but you must manually configure server settings and replace BDS-specific add-ons.

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Set Up PowerNukkitX

Install a fresh PowerNukkitX server. Follow the Installation guide for your operating system. Once installed, run it once to generate configurations and then stop it.

2. Migrate Worlds

BDS stores worlds in the worlds/ directory.

  1. Locate your world folder inside the BDS worlds/ directory (e.g., worlds/MyBedrockWorld).
  2. Copy this folder into the PowerNukkitX worlds/ directory.
  3. Open pnx.yml in your PowerNukkitX server directory and find the baseSettings category. Set the defaultLevelName to match the exact folder name of your world:
    baseSettings:
      defaultLevelName: "MyBedrockWorld"

3. Translate Configuration

You must manually copy settings from the BDS server.properties file to pnx.yml:

BDS Settingpnx.yml Categorypnx.yml KeyDescription
server-portbaseSettingsportServer UDP Port.
max-playersbaseSettingsmaxPlayersMax player slots.
online-modebaseSettingsxboxAuthIf true, requires Xbox authentication.
allow-listbaseSettingsallowListEnable/disable server whitelist.
gamemodegameplaySettingsgamemode0: Survival, 1: Creative, 2: Adventure.
difficultygameplaySettingsdifficulty0: Peaceful, 1: Easy, 2: Normal, 3: Hard.
view-distancegameplaySettingsviewDistanceMaximum chunk rendering distance.

4. Migrate Resource Packs

If your BDS server uses resource packs:

  1. Locate the .mcpack or .zip files in BDS resource_packs/.
  2. Copy them to the PowerNukkitX resource_packs/ directory.
  3. PowerNukkitX will automatically load and offer them to clients when they connect.

Key Differences & Limitations

Behavior Packs

  • BDS: Supports client-side behavior packs containing custom entity logic, component scripts, and animations.
  • PowerNukkitX: Does not support behavior packs. All custom entity, block, and gameplay logic must be handled server-side in Java using PowerNukkitX's robust API or custom plugins.

Player Data & Inventories

BDS stores player inventories and locations within the LevelDB world database under player key entries. PowerNukkitX can read standard vanilla player profiles from LevelDB. However, to ensure inventory consistency:

  • Back up the worlds/ directory prior to testing client joins.
  • Set savePlayerData to true in pnx.yml (playerSettings).

On this page