Start with one question: do you want to play together at the same time?

There are two routes to sharing a world, and they differ on exactly this point:

  • Send the file directly (.mcworld) — your friend gets a copy, can play offline once imported, and it’s free. But you’ll each be playing separately: the house they build in their copy won’t show up in yours. Good for “here’s this map as a gift—play it on your own.”
  • Upload to Realms / a server — everyone enters the same world, can play together live, and sees each other’s changes. The trade-off is that Realms requires a monthly subscription and a self-hosted server requires hosting. Good for “we want to settle into one world and build together.”

The call is simple: to just hand over a save, sending the file is easiest; to play in one world at the same time, you need Realms or a server. The two aren’t mutually exclusive either—you can send the file so your friend can try it first, then decide later whether to go online. To weigh the online options, see How to choose between Realms and your own server.

Send the file directly: simplest, free, and leaves your original save untouched

If you choose to send the file, the flow is to export the world as a separate .mcworld and then send it:

  1. Confirm the edition — .mcworld is a Bedrock format. If your friend uses Bedrock, they can import it directly; if the original map is a Java Edition world and you’re sharing it with a Bedrock friend, you need to do a Java Edition to Bedrock conversion first.
  2. Export a copy — use TopoBlocks to export the world as a .mcworld. There’s a product hard rule here: what you send is the copy, and your original save is never overwritten. A traceable new version is generated every time, so no matter how you share this map, it stays unchanged.
  3. Send it to your friend — AirDrop, the Files app, a chat app, or cloud storage all work; for the exact steps using AirDrop, see Send a world to a friend with AirDrop.
  4. Friend imports it — on a device running Bedrock, they tap the .mcworld to import it and can play offline.

Sending the file requires no subscription and no hosting. It’s the easiest way to do “here, I’m sharing this map with you”; for more sharing tips, see Share a Minecraft world with friends.

To play together: sending the file isn’t enough—you need a server

Here’s an honest clarification of a common misconception: sending the file does not let two people play in the same world live. A world save is a single-player file; when two devices each import it, you get two copies that don’t sync with each other—your progress won’t show up on your friend’s side, and vice versa. For the reasoning behind this, see Can two devices play the same world together?.

To play online in the same world at the same time, you need a server (or Realms). You can deploy this world with one-tap hosting, then send your friend the address and port to join. A few things to keep in mind:

  • Hosting and full management are paid features, and they require your explicit authorization to run. Prices are as shown in the App, and paid tasks are automatically refunded on failure.
  • Deployment follows a safe process (snapshot → verify → atomic swap → health check → automatic rollback on failure), and likewise never overwrites your source file.

In one sentence: to hand over a save, send the file; to settle into the same world together, put it on a server. Choose based on how you actually want to play—there’s no need to spin up a server just to “share a map.”