Minetest to Luanti Server Migration Guide

1. What actually changes

For most operators, the migration is about packaging and naming rather than a new save format. Worlds, player data, and most mod content can move forward, but the surrounding paths and service names often change.

• Older installs commonly use ~/.minetest/; newer Luanti packages commonly use ~/.luanti/.
• Your server binary may change from minetestserver to luantiserver or luanti --server, depending on the package.
• Systemd service names, package names, and branding in the server list may need to be updated.
• The world itself still needs a valid world.mt and a matching gamepack ID.

2. Back up before touching paths

Take a full copy of the old data directory before changing binaries or moving files. This is the point where you preserve your world, auth database, mods, and config in one shot.

systemctl stop minetest-server.service
mkdir -p ~/backups
rsync -a ~/.minetest/ ~/backups/minetest-pre-luanti/

If your server is already managed by a panel or container stack, use that stack's snapshot or volume backup mechanism instead of relying only on a file copy.

3. Move data into the Luanti path

If the new package expects ~/.luanti/, copy the old tree there and keep ownership consistent with the account running the server.

mkdir -p ~/.luanti
rsync -a ~/.minetest/ ~/.luanti/

After the copy, inspect these locations carefully:

• ~/.luanti/worlds/<worldname>/
• ~/.luanti/mods/
• ~/.luanti/games/ if you run a custom or bundled gamepack
• ~/.luanti/luanti.conf or any panel-managed equivalent

4. Validate the gamepack and mod set

This is where most migrations go wrong. The world must still point at a valid gamepack, and the required mods must exist where the new server build expects them.

cat ~/.luanti/worlds/MyWorld/world.mt

Check that:

• gameid matches an installed gamepack
• required mods are present and enabled
• custom media, translation files, and mod config were copied across
• file ownership still belongs to the Luanti service user

If you are moving from an old MineClone2 deployment to a newer VoxeLibre setup, do not assume the game ID is interchangeable. Verify the exact gamepack name the world expects before first boot.

5. Update the service or launch command

Once the files are in place, point your service at the Luanti binary and the migrated world path.

[Unit]
Description=Luanti Dedicated Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=luanti
Group=luanti
ExecStart=/usr/bin/luantiserver --world /home/luanti/.luanti/worlds/MyWorld
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

On some distributions the binary is /usr/bin/luanti and the headless flag is required:

/usr/bin/luanti --server --world /home/luanti/.luanti/worlds/MyWorld

6. Test before reopening the server

Do one controlled startup and watch the logs before inviting players back.

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start luanti-server.service
journalctl -u luanti-server.service -f

Look for missing gamepacks, mod dependency errors, path problems, and permission failures. If the server starts cleanly, join once with an admin account and verify:

• the world loads correctly
• inventories and player data survived
• mods behave as expected
• the correct UDP port is still exposed
• server listing settings match what you want publicly

7. Practical migration checklist

1. Stop the old Minetest service.
2. Back up the full data directory.
3. Copy data into the Luanti path expected by your package.
4. Validate world.mt, gamepack IDs, and required mods.
5. Update the binary path and service name.
6. Boot once, review logs, and test with an admin account.
7. Only then reopen the server to players.