Minecraft Experimental Features are a per-world, client-side toggle. You turn them on for a world in your Bedrock client, then upload that world to your server. There is no server-side switch and nothing to change in the Game Control Panel.
Quick answer
- New world: create it in your Bedrock client, turn on the experiments you want in the world settings, then load in once so it saves.
- Existing server world: download it over SFTP first, then enable the experiments on it in your Bedrock client.
- Then upload the world to your server’s
worldsfolder and setlevel-nameinserver.propertiesto match the folder name exactly. Full steps: How to Import a World to Your Minecraft Bedrock Server.
Microsoft’s Experimental Features documentation lists which experiments are currently available and how the toggle behaves in each client. These steps apply to any hosted Bedrock server.
Enable Experiments on a New World
- Open your Bedrock client and start creating a world.
- In the world settings, open Experiments and turn on the features you want, accepting the warning when it appears.
- Create the world, load into it, and give the game a few seconds to save.
The world now sits in your client’s saves folder, ready to upload.
Enable Experiments on an Existing World
If the world is already on your server, download it first. Connect using SFTP, download the world folder from the On Windows, paste this into the run box (Win+R) or a File Explorer address bar: Other platforms may require special device privileges, a third-party app, or a pre-existing configuration to store worlds somewhere you can reach. Use Windows if you have access to it. If you are working from a server backup instead, the world folder is the one containing a worlds directory, and move it into your Bedrock client’s saves folder.Where the Bedrock saves folder is
%LocalAppData%/Packages/Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe/LocalState/games/com.mojang/minecraftWorldslevelname.txt file.
- In your Bedrock client’s world list, click the pencil (edit) icon next to the world.
- Open Experiments and turn on the first feature you want, then accept the warning. Minecraft creates a copy of the world at this point.
- Switch to that new copy, enable any remaining experiments on it, then load in once so it saves.
If the world is already in your client with the experiments you want, open the pencil icon to confirm they are on and skip straight to uploading.
Upload the World to Your Server
Stop your server, replace the world folder inside worlds, and set level-name in server.properties to the exact folder name (spaces and capitalization included). Otherwise the server generates a blank world and loads that instead.
Those steps, including how to reach server.properties and what the folder should look like, are covered in How to Import a World to Your Minecraft Bedrock Server. Nothing about the upload changes for a world with experiments enabled.
Addons That Need Beta APIs
Beta APIs is the experiment that Script API addons rely on. Without it, packs referencing @minecraft/server or @minecraft/server-net fail to load. Enable it the same way as any other experiment, then follow How to Install Addons on Your Minecraft Bedrock Server to register the packs.
Need a hand?
Not sure whether an experiment is worth the risk to your world, or want us to handle the upload? Reach out to our team anytime. We are happy to take a backup and walk it through with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
There isn't one. Experiments are stored inside the world itself, not in server.properties or any panel setting. You enable them on the world in your Bedrock client, then upload that world to the server.
Not directly. Download the world from the server's worlds directory over SFTP, place it in your Bedrock client's saves folder, enable the experiments there, then upload the world back to the server.
No. Once a world has an experiment enabled it stays flagged permanently, and it may stop opening in future game versions. Back up the world before you start.
Beta APIs is one of the toggles under Experiments in the Bedrock client's world settings. Script API addons that reference @minecraft/server or @minecraft/server-net will not load without it.
Yes. The toggle lives in the world files, so the server only sees it once you upload that copy of the world and point level-name at its folder. See the world import guide for the upload steps.