Arnis - Generate Real-World Minecraft Maps

What is Arnis?

Arnis is a free and open-source desktop application that transforms real-world geographical data into playable Minecraft Java and Bedrock Edition worlds. With an easy-to-use interface and customizable settings, it recreates streets, buildings, landmarks, and terrain from any location on Earth - bringing your favorite places to life in Minecraft.

Select Your Area

Choose any location on Earth using the interactive map and rectangle selection tool

Choose Your World

Generate a new world or select an existing one

Generate & Explore

Click 'Start Generation' and watch as your selected area is generated in Minecraft

Ready to Start?

Download Arnis for free on Windows, Linux or MacOS.

Meridian Update v2.7.0

This update delivers a major overhaul of Arnis' terrain engine with a new multi-source elevation pipeline. Regional high-resolution providers (USGS 3DEP, IGN France, IGN Spain, Japan GSI) now complement AWS Terrain Tiles for sharper coverage across North America, Europe and Asia. Buildings and mountains can finally reach above the vanilla build height through a bundled datapack for Java Edition and behavior pack for Bedrock Edition. Besides a GUI refresh, this release also introduces subway tunnel generation, redesigned traffic lights and minor new elements.

Read full release notes on GitHub

All downloads are hosted on our official GitHub repository.
For your safety, always ensure you are downloading from the official GitHub page.

Generate Worlds Online with MapSmith

Don't want to download anything? Use MapSmith to generate Minecraft worlds directly in your browser — on any device, no installation needed.

Mobile Ready

Generate worlds directly from your phone or tablet. Perfect for Minecraft Bedrock players on the go.

Fast Generation

Our optimized servers can generate worlds significantly faster than typical home computers.

Large Areas

Generate large regions up to 250 km² in size, more than four times the size of Manhattan.

No Setup Required

No download required. Just select an area and go.

Real-World Locations in Minecraft

Skylines, Mountains and Landmarks generated by Arnis within minutes.

Heidelberg, Germany

Munich, Germany

Heidelberg, Germany

New York, USA

The Alps, Austria

Taj Mahal, India

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Arnis

Is it free to use?

Yes! Arnis is completely free and open source, licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. There is a paid online generation service if you want to generate worlds on mobile devices. Since I work on this in my free time, donations are greatly appreciated to support ongoing development.

How large of an area can I generate, and how long does it take?

There is no hard limit, but practically the size depends on your computer's available memory and the density of map data in the area. Small towns and neighborhoods work great and typically take a few seconds. Larger areas like city centers are possible but require more RAM and may take several minutes. Factors like building density, terrain detail, and options like interior generation also affect the time. If an area is too large, try selecting a smaller region.

Which Minecraft versions and platforms are supported?

Arnis supports both Java Edition (1.17+) and Bedrock Edition (any up to date version). The desktop application runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. For mobile devices, generate a Bedrock Edition world (.mcworld file) and transfer it to your phone or tablet to open in Minecraft on iOS or Android. You can also use the online generation service from any device.

Where are the generated worlds saved to?

For Java Edition, worlds are saved directly to your Minecraft saves folder (e.g. %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves on Windows). For Bedrock Edition, a .mcworld file is saved to your Desktop. In both cases, you can choose a custom output location in the settings. Generated worlds appear as "Arnis World" in your Minecraft world list.

What data source does it use?

Arnis uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) for building footprints, roads, land use, and other map features, fetched via the Overpass API. Elevation and terrain data comes from open topographic datasets from AWS Terrain Tiles. Since it relies on community-contributed OSM data, coverage and detail vary by region — well-mapped cities will produce the most detailed worlds.

Is Arnis safe to use?

Arnis is 100% safe. The entire source code is publicly available on GitHub for anyone to inspect. It does not modify your Minecraft installation, it only creates new world files. Some antivirus software may flag unsigned executables as suspicious, but this is a false positive common with open-source tools. Various media outlets have reviewed Arnis, see the Recognition & Media section below.

Is Arnis AI-generated?

No. Arnis does not use AI or machine learning. It reads real geographic data from OpenStreetMap and elevation datasets, then deterministically converts that data into Minecraft blocks using rule-based algorithms. What you see in the generated world is a direct reflection of the actual map data, not an AI interpretation.

My area is missing buildings or roads. Why?

Arnis generates worlds based on OpenStreetMap data, which is community-contributed. Some areas, especially rural or less developed regions, may have incomplete or missing map data. You can help improve coverage by contributing to OpenStreetMap yourself, any edits you make there will be reflected in future Arnis generations.

Does it work with Minecraft Education Edition?

Yes! Generate a world in Bedrock format (.mcworld file) and import it directly into Minecraft Education Edition. This makes Arnis a great tool for classroom use. Teachers can generate real-world locations for geography, urban planning, or environmental science lessons. For an example of Minecraft in education, see the Floodcraft research paper on using Minecraft for K-12 flood mitigation education. Feel free to use Arnis in your classes!

Is Arnis affiliated with BuildTheEarth?

No, Arnis is not affiliated with BuildTheEarth. They are separate projects with different approaches — BuildTheEarth is a collaborative community effort to manually recreate the entire planet in Minecraft, while Arnis generates worlds automatically from map data. That said, we have a lot of ❤️ for the BuildTheEarth project. They're doing amazing work and we highly recommend checking them out!

Bring the Real World into Minecraft