How Worlds Work
World status
Every managed world has one of three statuses, shown in /bp list:
| Status | Loaded? | Players can enter? | Players can build? |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPEN | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OPEN [LOCKED] | Yes | Yes | Only with blueprint.bypass.lock |
| CLOSED | No | No, open it first | - |
/bp open /bp lock
CLOSED ───────────► OPEN ───────────────────► LOCKED
▲ ◄─────────── ◄─────────────────── │
│ /bp close /bp unlock │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
/bp close
/bp lock also works on a closed world: it loads the world and locks it in one step.
Build-world rules
Every time Blueprint loads a world, it applies the same rules so the world is ready to build in:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Mob spawning | Off, including patrols, wandering traders, and wardens |
Phantoms (doInsomnia) | Off |
| Raids | Disabled |
| Mob griefing | Off, so creepers and endermen cannot damage builds |
| Time | Fixed at noon (doDaylightCycle off) |
| Advancement announcements | Off |
These are applied on every load, so changing one of these game rules by hand in a Blueprint world only lasts until the world next loads.
New worlds made with /bp create are also empty void, with a 3×3 glass platform at 0, 64, 0 and spawn set just above it. Worlds brought in with /bp import or /bp clone keep their existing terrain, but any chunk that was never generated stays empty.
These rules apply only to worlds Blueprint manages. Your main world is left alone.
Locked worlds
While a world is locked, players without blueprint.bypass.lock cannot:
- break or place blocks
- empty or fill buckets
- hit mobs, animals, armour stands, or other entities directly
Entity explosions in a locked world, such as TNT and creepers, still go off but destroy no blocks, whoever caused them.
Other interactions are not blocked. Players can still open containers, press buttons, flip levers, and use doors, and paintings and item frames are not reliably protected. Lock protects the blocks of a build, not its redstone, inventories, or decorations.
A player who tries a blocked action sees:
This world is locked. You cannot modify it.
Some operations clear a lock as a side effect. See When a lock is cleared.
When a world unloads
Blueprint unloads a world for close, delete, rename, snapshot create and restore, and for the source world during clone. Before unloading, it:
- Moves every player in the world to the spawn of
fallback-world, with a message explaining why. - Saves every chunk to disk, so the file copy or delete sees the world exactly as it was.
- Unloads the world.
For snapshots, restores, clones, and renames, the world is loaded again afterwards if it was loaded before. Players are not moved back automatically; they can return with /bp tp.
Taking a snapshot of an open world briefly unloads it, so everyone inside is sent to the fallback world. On a busy server, snapshot quiet worlds or let builders know first.
When a lock is cleared
When Blueprint reloads a world after a snapshot, restore, or clone, it marks the world as open, even if it was locked before. Closing a locked world also clears the lock. Run /bp lock again afterwards for worlds that need to stay protected.
One operation at a time
Clone, snapshot create and restore, rename, and delete each take a lock on the worlds involved while they run. If you start a second operation on the same world before the first finishes, Blueprint refuses with:
World 'castle' is currently busy. Try again later.
Clone locks both the source and the target name. The locks are held in memory and released when the operation finishes, whether it succeeded or failed.
Restarts
Blueprint worlds are not listed in server.properties, so Paper does not load them on its own. On startup, Blueprint reloads every world that was open or locked when the server stopped, and they keep their status.
Set close-on-restart: true to do the opposite: every world is marked closed on startup and stays unloaded until someone runs /bp open. This keeps startup fast on servers with many worlds. Locks are not kept, so re-lock protected worlds after opening them.
Joining the server
When a player logs in and would appear inside a Blueprint world, they are moved to the spawn of fallback-world and told:
You have been returned to spawn. Use /bp tp <worldname> to re-enter your world.
This stops players reappearing in a world that was closed, locked, or deleted while they were offline.
Portals are disabled
Blueprint disables portals across the whole server, not just in the worlds it manages:
- players cannot travel through Nether or End portals
- mobs and items cannot travel through portals
- Nether portal frames cannot be lit
Players who step into a portal are told to use /bp hub instead.
This includes your main world. Blueprint is designed for a dedicated build server. If you need working portals, Blueprint is not a good fit for that server.