Glossary

Concise definitions of common Minecraft world-file terms. Tap any entry for the full explanation.

.mcpack / .mcaddon

.mcpack is a single resource pack or behavior pack, .mcaddon is an add-on bundle that packs several packs together, and .mctemplate is a world template (a preset used when creating a new world) — they are all ZIP-style files for Bedrock, but none of them is a complete world, which is what sets them apart from .mcworld, which holds an entire save.

.mcworld

.mcworld is the packaged file Minecraft Bedrock uses to share and import worlds. It's essentially a world save (including level.dat, db/, etc.) compressed and renamed with a .mcworld extension instead of ZIP. Open it on a device that has Bedrock installed and the world is imported into the game.

level.dat

level.dat is the core metadata file found in the root folder of every Minecraft world save. Stored in the binary NBT format, it records information such as the world name, game mode, random seed, spawn point coordinates, and game rules. The game relies on it to identify and load the world, so if it's missing or not in the root folder, the world often won't import or open.

LevelDB (db/)

The db folder inside a Bedrock world save is a LevelDB key-value database that holds the real world content—chunks, blocks, entities, containers, and more. level.dat only records metadata, while db is the world itself, so once it gets corrupted you may end up with missing chunks or a world that won't open.

world save

A Minecraft Bedrock world save is a folder containing level.dat (world metadata), the db/ LevelDB database (chunk and block data), levelname.txt, and other files; its physical location varies by platform. On iOS it sits inside the app sandbox, so you have to export or share the world as a .mcworld file before you can take it out and inspect it.

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