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How to Setup Addons on a Bedrock Server

Last modified on Jan 17, 2025 in Control Panel

mc head By Nathan Young

Setup Behavior Packs Bedrock Server

Customizing your Minecraft Bedrock experience allows for many new features and tools to use in your world. This involves using behavior packs, addons that are installed in your world / server files. These are similar to mods or plugins, but are managed differently so everyone can enjoy them. Whether you’re wanting new mob heads or custom gamemodes, using behavior packs provides you with many options. Setting them up on your server can be difficult, especially if you’re unfamiliar with our panel. In some cases, players don’t know where to locate them for this process. Due to these challenges, we’ve created this Apex Hosting guide to show you how to find and install behavior addon packs on your Bedrock server.
 

Behavior Packs in Bedrock

Behavior Packs Bedrock

As mentioned above, there are countless features from behavior packs that you can implement into your server. However, locating them can be harder than finding datapacks or resourcepacks. The best area to look is on CurseForge, as they have a wide variety of addons to check out. Although, there are websites online that are directly from behavior pack developers for you to download. Make sure to keep safety in mind as you explore the internet for them. Once you’ve found suitable ones for your server, there are steps you can take to install it on your world. Ensure you’ve saved the behavior pack .mcpack or .mcaddon file(s) somewhere easily accessible on your computer. The subsections below will guide you through this lengthy process.
 

Bedrock Server Worlds

Due to recent changes from Mojang, the process to install addons for existing Bedrock server worlds is more complicated. With this in mind, make sure to follow the sections below carefully.
 

Preparation (1/2)

  1. Download your desired behavior addon pack from CurseForge or other safe websites.
  2. Afterward, make sure to save it on your desktop. (.mcpack or .mcaddon files)
  3. Proceed to change its filetype to .zip via renaming or using properties.

 
Use external programs like WInRAR or 7zip to make this process easier. Doing this allows you to open it up and see the hard files inside, required for the remainder of this tutorial.
 

Preparation (2/2)

  1. Open the zip file, then drag and drop behaviors & resources on your desktop.
  2. Use a notepad program to open the manifest.json file in the behaviors folder.
    Bedrock addon manifest.json file
  3. Copy the UUID and version values, located near the top.
    Bedrock behavior addon UUID version
  4. Paste that into a new text document or write it down somewhere for later reference.
  5. Compress the behaviors & resources folder into zip files via WinRAR or 7zip.

 

Upload Files to Bedrock Server

  1. Head towards your Apex server panel and click the Stop button at the top.
  2. Press FTP File Access near the top left and use your password to login.
    Apex FTP Panel
  3. Select the behavior_packs directory and press the Upload button on the left.
    Bedrock server behavior_packs
  4. Drag and drop the behaviors.zip file accordingly to upload it.
    Bedrock server upload behavior addon
  5. Wait for this to reach 100%, then click the Back button at the top left.
    *In the event that it fails to upload entirely, use an external FTP program.
  6. Click the box next to the zip file and press Unzip at the top right corner.
    Apex FTP unzip
  7. Confirm this by selecting Submit, then navigate to the resource_packs directory.
    Bedrock server unzip addon behavior pack
  8. Repeat this process, but with the resources.zip file.

 
We strongly recommend renaming each of the unzipped files to the behavior addon pack name. For instance, using Better on Bedrock from CurseForge – we can rename each uploaded file to “BetterMC” or something similar. This helps when you want to switch between packs or have multiple of them. You can do this by clicking on the box next to the uploaded file (behaviors / resources), then clicking Rename at the top.
 

Activating Behavior Addon Packs

  1. Navigate to your world folder, located in …/worlds on the FTP panel.
  2. At the top left, click New File and name it world_behavior_packs.json.
    Apex FTP New file
  3. Proceed to copy and paste the following code:
    [
    	
    	{
    		"pack_id" : "UUID",
    		"version" : [ version ]
    	}
    ]

  4. Enter the UUID and version accordingly - from the manifest.json file in previous steps.
    Bedrock server install addon behavior packs
  5. Press the Save button at the top and double check the code and values are correct.
  6. Repeat this for the resources, with the file name world_resource_packs.json instead.
  7. Head back to the main panel and click Start to begin loading the server!

 

Bedrock Singleplayer Worlds

If you have any existing worlds in singleplayer on Bedrock with addons, then you can relatively quickly get that on your Minecraft server. The following sections will show you how to do that!
 

Activating Behavior Addon Pack

If you haven’t already activated your behavior addon pack for the singleplayer world, follow these steps. Make sure to have your .mcpack or .mcaddon files ready, as they’re used for the importing process. However, if you’ve already done this before - skip to the “Exporting World” section below.

  1. While having the Bedrock client open, double click your downloaded pack file(s).
  2. Wait for this to import into your game, then press Play from the main menu.
    Import World Bedrock
  3. From here, locate your server world in the Worlds section and click the Edit icon.
    Edit Bedrock World
  4. Scroll down on the left-hand side of your screen, then select Behavior Packs.
  5. Press Available and choose your desired addon(s), then click the Activate button.
    Activate Behavior Pack
  6. If prompted to disable achievements, confirm this by selecting Continue.
  7. Once all your packs are enabled, they’ll be viewable from the Active list.

 

Exporting World

The exporting process for your server’s world from singleplayer requires you to install a zipping program. This is used to transform the .mcworld filetype into a .zip format, allowing you to upload it on the panel. We strongly recommend using WinRAR or 7zip, as these are entirely safe and secure to try out. The steps below will help you export and zip the world file accordingly.

  1. Locate your server world in the Worlds section of Bedrock, then click its Edit icon.
  2. From here, scroll down and select the Export World option from File Management to start this process.
    Export Bedrock World
  3. In the newly opened window, save this .mcworld file somewhere easily accessible.
  4. Right-click this and rename its filetype to .zip, then make sure to save the changes.
    Bedrock World ZIP

 
You can also use Properties on your computer to change the filetype, if required. Additionally, you can change the world’s name to anything you want, as it’ll be used for the server. Just make sure it’s using standard characters and not special ones.
 

Uploading to Server

When the behavior addon pack is activated for your world, it’ll need to be uploaded on the server via an external FTP program. These may include FileZilla or Cyberduck, you decide which application to use for this process. Once you’re prepared, follow along below to get started.

  1. Head towards your Apex server panel and click FTP File Access at the top left.
  2. Copy the FTP Address, Host, Port, and Username for later use.
    Apex FTP info
  3. Proceed to enter your saved FTP information in your installed program, then connect.
    *This is typically located near the top, but may differ depending on the application.
  4. Afterward, locate and click on the worlds directory in the file list.
  5. Once there, drag and drop your zipped world in this area and wait for it to finish.
    Upload World to Bedrock Server
  6. When this completes, head towards your server panel and log into the FTP area.
  7. Enter your worlds directory, then check mark the uploaded zip and press Unzip.
    Unzip Bedrock World
  8. Confirm this by clicking Submit on the next page, then wait for everything to finish.
  9. If done successfully, you’ll see the folder of your behavior pack world.

 

Enabling the World

With your behavior addon pack world uploaded in the server, you’ll need to activate it through the panel to begin playing it. This is a straightforward process, which is shown down below.

  1. Return to the main server panel, then scroll down until you see the World section.
    Bedrock Change World Server
  2. Once found, press the Change World button and enter your uploaded map’s name.
  3. Continue to click Change World again to confirm the changes.
    Bedrock Server Change World
  4. Afterward, simply press Restart Now in the next prompt to begin loading the world.
    Bedrock Server Restart
  5. When it’s finished, join the server from your Bedrock client to confirm this worked.

 

Common Issues

Cannot Install Multiple Bedrock Behavior Addon Packs

In cases where you want to install more than two packs for your Minecraft Bedrock server, it requires you to tweak the world_behavior_packs.json & world_resource_packs.json files. This would look like the following code:

[
    {
        "pack_id" : "40d18d86-f454-4361-bbcf-b118274dec17",
        "version" : [ 1, 2, 6 ]
    },
    {
        "pack_id" : "16b646cb-98eb-41b2-a9e0-dd7f088caab4",
        "version" : [ 5, 0, 1 ]
    }
]


You would want to replicate this for every desired behavior addon pack. Just make sure that the code is valid and doesn’t have any errors. For instance, common issues include missing commas, incorrect placement, etc.. Contact our Support Team for extra assistance if you need.

Cannot Upload Behavior Addon Pack(s) to Bedrock Server

If you’re unable to upload using the FTP panel, consider using an external program instead. These may include FileZilla or Cyberduck, requiring your FTP information to login. Afterwards, you’ll be able to navigate as you would on the panel.

Unable to Establish an FTP Connection

In some cases, users may be unable to make any FTP connections to their server. This tends to be caused by using invalid login credentials, such as your password or address. Make sure everything you’re entering in the FTP program matches what you see in the panel. If the situation persists, then this could mean you’ve downloaded the wrong application to use for this process. Ensure you’re using FileZilla, Cyberduck, or similar ones that allow for client connections to FTP servers. Otherwise, try resetting your password to see if that works.

Cannot Find World in Bedrock Client

After uploading the server’s world into your local game files, make sure to Restart the client if you’ve had this open while doing it. Otherwise, simply start it up and confirm it’s in the Worlds section. On rare occasions, the world may be uploaded in the wrong directory or isn’t valid for it to load. Double check you’ve transferred this into the …\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds area on your computer. If the problem still continues, then verify it’s a functional map on your server and redownload it again for the process.

Inability to Activate World

While trying to activate your world on the server, make sure you’ve assigned a different name compared to the old counterpart. This is required, as you’ll be entering this new one into your World section of the panel so it can load. However, the map must be in a folder and not in a .zip or .mcworld file. Only use the zipping function to upload and unzip it from the panel, rather than to play on it. Essentially, you’ll want the contents of “.mcworld” into a folder on the server to load properly. After you’ve verified this is completed, Restart from the panel with the correct map name selected to begin enjoying your behavior packs.

Behavior Packs Aren’t Working

Most behavior packs should work in your world, unless they are broken or completely outdated. If you’ve confirmed that your desired addons are functioning in singleplayer, then it’ll work on the server. Unfortunately, problems may arise during the uploading process. For example, some users may forget to activate the packs in their Bedrock client. This results in few or all behavior packs not working properly on the server. However, if these don’t work anywhere, then it’s likely broken for the latest version of Bedrock.
 

Useful Links

How to Download a Minecraft World
How to Upload a Bedrock World
Connecting to a Server via FTP
Setup Crossplay on Minecraft Servers

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