Where are Minecraft save files?

Minecraft saves all save game files in a common folder on your computer. However Windows can make it a little tricky to it and lots of people get lost along the way! Also remember that the Minecraft Save Game files are in a different place on the MAC. We cover both instances here and point you in the right direction.

Windows Special Folders

Before we go into the details we take a look at Windows Special Folders and explain what they are and why programmers prefer to use them.

Special Folders provide a layer of abstraction that programmers can reference instead of referring to an absolute folder path. This technique makes it easy to store files such as Saved Games in a place relevant to the currently logged on user and independent of the operating system version.

As we all know, each version of Windows has its own file structure and these change as each new version comes out. If the Minecraft programmers used a specific folder path then they would have to create that folder during the install. Its possible that a user would delete this folder by mistake or an upgrade might wipe it all together. Referencing files using Special Folders makes more sense. The programmer can say Give me the current users data folder and I'll save the files in there.

Examples of Special Folders are My Documents, My Computer and My Network Places.

Ok onto the details..

Quick way to find save game files on Windows?

The quickest way to find Minecraft save files on a PC is to:

1. Hold down the Windows key on the keyboard (the one which looks like the Windows logo) and press R
2. This opens the Run window.
3. Type in %appdata%
4. Press return or click ok
5. The appdata folder will open
6. Open the .Minecraft folder
7. Open the saves folder

Alternatively, if you want to browse for the folders yourself follow these instructions..

Where are the Minecraft saved game files on my PC?

Note: To use the file paths below, just replace the YourUserName with your actual Windows or MAC username.

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\saves

Windows Vista

C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft

Windows 7

C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft