If you are using Windows, consider installing this mod using [MODSTER](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=6497), a super simple mod installer that will take care of everything for you. If you are using MODSTER, skip directly to step 6 in the instructions below.
There is a nice installation guide over at the [Minetest Wiki](http://wiki.minetest.com/wiki/Installing_mods). Here is a short summary:
1. Download the mod from the [official releases page](https://github.com/Uberi/Minetest-WorldEdit/releases). The download links are labelled "Source Code". If you are using Windows, you will probably want to download the ZIP version.
2. You should have a file named `SOMETHING.zip` or `SOMETHING.tar.gz`.
3. Extract this file using your archiver of choice. If you are using Windows, open the ZIP file and move the folder inside to a safe place outside of the ZIP file.
4. Make sure that you now have a folder with a file named README.md inside it. If you just have another folder inside this folder, use this nested folder instead.
5. Move this folder into the `MINETEST_FOLDER/mods` folder, where `MINETEST_FOLDER` is the folder Minetest is located in.
6. Open Minetest to a world selection screen.
7. Select a world you want to use WorldEdit in by left clicking on it once, and press the **Configure** button.
8. You should have a mod selection screen. Select the one named something like `Minetest-WorldEdit` by left clicking once and press the **Enable MP** button.
9. Press the **Save** button. You can now use WorldEdit in that world. Repeat steps 7 to 9 to enable WorldEdit for other worlds too.
If you are having trouble, try asking for help in the [IRC channel](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#minetest) (faster but may not always have helpers online) or ask on the [forum topic](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=572) (slower but more likely to get help).
WorldEdit works primarily through the WorldEdit GUI and chat commands. Depending on your key bindings, you can invoke chat entry with the "t" key, and open the chat console with the "F10" key.
WorldEdit has a huge potential for abuse by untrusted players. Therefore, users will not be able to use WorldEdit unless they have the `worldedit` privelege. This is available by default in single player, but in multiplayer the permission must be explicitly given by someone with the right credentials, using the follwoing chat command: `/grant <player name> worldedit`. This privelege can later be removed using the following chat command: `/revoke <player name> worldedit`.
Certain functions/commands such as WorldEdit GUI's "Run Lua" function (equivalent to the `//lua` and `//luatransform` chat command) additionally require the `server` privilege. This is because it is extremely dangerous to give access to these commands to untrusted players, since they essentially are able to control the computer the server is running on. Give this privilege only to people you trust with your computer.
For in-game information about these commands, type `/help <command name>` in the chat. For example, to learn more about the `//copy` command, simply type `/help /copy` to display information relevant to copying a region.
The GUI adds a screen to each player's inventory that gives access to various WorldEdit functions. The [tutorial](Tutorial.md) and the [Chat Commands Reference](Chat Commands.md) may be helpful in learning to use it.
The chat interface adds many chat commands that perform various WorldEdit powered tasks. It is documented in the [Chat Commands Reference](Chat Commands.md).
This mod supports Minetest versions 0.4.8 and newer. Older versions of WorldEdit may work with older versions of Minetest, but are not recommended or supported.
WorldEdit GUI works with [Unified Inventory](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=3933) and [Inventory++](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?id=6204), but these are not required to use the mod.
If you use any other inventory manager mods, note that they may conflict with the WorldEdit GUI. If this is the case, it may be necessary to disable them.
WorldEdit exposes all significant functionality in a simple Lua interface. Adding WorldEdit to the file "depends.txt" in your mod gives you access to all of the `worldedit` functions. The API is useful for tasks such as high-performance node manipulation, alternative interfaces, and map creation.
If you don't add WorldEdit to your "depends.txt" file, each file in the WorldEdit mod is also independent. For example, one may import the WorldEdit primitives API using the following code:
AGPLv3 compatible mods may further include WorldEdit files in their own mods. This may be useful if a modder wishes to completely avoid any dependencies on WorldEdit. Note that it is required to give credit to the authors.
This API is documented in the [WorldEdit API Reference](WorldEdit API.md).
The coordinate system is the same as that used by Minetest; positive Y is upwards, positive X is rightwards, and positive Z is forwards, if a player is facing North (positive Z axis).
When an axis is specified in a WorldEdit chat command, it is specified as one of the following values: `x`, `y`, `z`, or `?`.
The value `?` represents the axis the player is currently facing. If the player is facing more than one axis, the axis the player face direction is closest to will be used.
Node names are required for many types of commands that identify or modify specific types of nodes. They can be specified in a number of ways.
First, by description - the tooltip that appears when hovering over the item in an inventory. This is case insensitive and includes values such as "Cobblestone" and "bronze block". Note that certain commands (namely, `//replace` and `//replaceinverse`) do not support descriptions that contain spaces in the `<searchnode>` field.
Second, by name - the node name that is defined by code, but without the mod name prefix. This is case sensitive and includes values such as "piston_normal_off" and "cactus". Nodes defined in the `default` mod always take precedence over other nodes when searching for the correct one, and if there are multiple possible nodes (such as "a:celery" and "b:celery"), one is chosen in no particular order.
Finally, by full name - the unambiguous identifier of the node, prefixes and all. This is case sensitive and includes values such as "default:stone" and "mesecons:wire_00000000_off".
The node name "air" can be used anywhere a normal node name can, and acts as a blank node. This is useful for clearing or removing nodes. For example, `//set air` would remove all the nodes in the current WorldEdit region. Similarly, `//sphere 10 air`, when WorldEdit position 1 underground, would dig a large sphere out of the ground.
Most WorldEdit commands operate on regions. Regions are a set of two positions that define a 3D cuboid. They are local to each player and chat commands affect only the region for the player giving the commands.
Each positions together define two opposing corners of the cube. With two opposing corners it is possible to determine both the location and dimensions of the region.
Regions are not saved between server restarts. They start off as empty regions, and cannot be used with most WorldEdit commands until they are set to valid values.
Entities are used to mark the location of the WorldEdit regions. They appear as boxes containing the number 1 or 2, and represent position 1 and 2 of the WorldEdit region, respectively.
To remove the entities, simply punch them. This does not reset the positions themselves.
The first is the WorldEdit Schematic format, with the file extension ".we", and in some older versions, ".wem". There have been several previous versions of the WorldEdit Schematic format, but WorldEdit is capable of loading any past versions, and will always support them - there is no need to worry about schematics becoming obselete.
The current version of the WorldEdit Schematic format, internally known as version 4, is essentially an array of node data tables in Lua 5.2 table syntax. Specifically:
The ordering of the values and minor aspects of the syntax, such as trailing commas or newlines, are not guaranteed to stay the same in future versions.
The WorldEdit Schematic format is accessed via the WorldEdit API, or WorldEdit serialization chat commands such as `//serialize` and `//deserialize`.
The second is the Minetest Schematic format (MTS). The details of this format may be found in the Minetest documentation and are out of the scope of this document. Access to this format is done via specialized MTS commands such as `//mtschemcreate` and `//mtschemplace`.
Most importantly, the Affero variant of the GPL requires you to publish your modifications in source form, even if the mod is run only on the server, and not distributed.
