
The level.dat_old is kept as a backup file in case of errors or if the new level.dat file gets somehow deleted before creating a new one. Then, a new level.dat file is created in the world’s folder. When you save, the existing world’s level.dat file is renamed level.dat_old. That world doesn’t even show up in the Select World menu when launching the game, and if it is the only one that you had you will be sent directly to the Create New World menu. This means that the level.dat file is saved constantly every time you save your game.Ī common problem that players can experience is that, after their game crashed while saving one of their Minecraft worlds, they can’t play that world anymore. It also stores other things that change throughout the game: information like the time of the day and the player’s inventory. If instead you just want to edit your world (maybe by copying and pasting buildings or changing landscapes) you don’t need to care about the level.dat file, you can just look at these MCEdit alternatives and see how you can do it.Įvery Minecraft world has its level.dat file used for storing several information about this world, such as the world seed and the level generator used to create it.
Level.dat nbtexplorer how to#
If you need to do anything with this file you can keep on reading as we are going to see what this file is, where to find it and how to edit it.

Many players need to access this file, most of the times because the game crashed and their world save is now corrupted.

If you tried to open it and see what’s inside, you saw a bunch of weird looking symbols. If you ever tried to dig in your Minecraft folders and take a look, maybe you already stumbled upon the level.dat file.
