MCA Selector and Amulet Editor are the two names that come up most often when a Minecraft world needs surgery, but they are built for different operations. MCA Selector is a free, open-source external tool for selecting chunks and regions on a top-down map of a Java Edition world and deleting, exporting or batch-editing them. Amulet Editor is a 3D world editor and version converter that works visually inside the world and supports both Java and Bedrock. This page compares them honestly — including the jobs where MCA Selector is simply the wrong tool.
The short answer
- Choose MCA Selector to prune, reset or slim down a Java world in bulk, to delete or export chunks by filter query, or to batch-change chunk fields across thousands of chunks. It is free (MIT licence) and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Choose Amulet Editor to edit a world visually in 3D — copy, paste, fill, replace and delete blocks by hand — to convert a world between Java and Bedrock or between versions, or whenever your world is a Bedrock world at all.
- Many world owners end up using both: Amulet for conversion and visual work, MCA Selector for bulk cleanup. A combined workflow is covered below.
Side-by-side
| MCA Selector | Amulet Editor | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Bulk chunk/region operations on a map: delete, export, import, filter, batch-edit fields | Visual 3D editing (copy/paste, fill, replace, delete blocks and chunks) and world conversion |
| Editions | Java Edition only — Bedrock is not supported and the author has stated there are no plans to add it | Java 1.12+ and Bedrock 1.7+, including converting worlds between versions and editions |
| View | Top-down 2D map with overlays; no 3D block placement | Full 3D view of the world you are editing |
| Batch work | Chunk Filter queries (DataVersion, InhabitedTime, biome, palette and more), NBT Changer across a whole selection, CSV selections, CLI mode | Editing operations in the 3D view; Python API for scripting |
| Price | Free | Compiled builds cost $10+/year (Windows and Docker); source code can be built yourself |
| Licence | MIT (free and open source) | A licence must be purchased to use the software, per the project’s current LICENSE |
| Runs | External desktop tool — the world must not be open in the game while you edit | External desktop tool — you edit the save files, not a running game |
Where MCA Selector wins
- Bulk cleanup is its home turf. Resetting every chunk players only flew over, deleting terrain generated by an old version before an update, or exporting a region to another world is a select-filter-delete job on a map — see the pruning guide and the chunk filter guide.
- It is genuinely free. MIT-licensed, no paid tier, no licence to buy, and the checksum-verified files are on the project’s GitHub.
- It scales to whole worlds. Selections can be saved as CSV, filters combine conditions with grouping, and a command-line mode can repeat the same operation without clicking through the interface.
- Field-level batch fixes. The NBT Changer can stamp a biome, replace a block type by name, or delete entities across an entire selection in one pass — work that would be one chunk at a time in a visual editor.
Where Amulet Editor wins
- Bedrock, full stop. MCA Selector cannot open a Bedrock world at all — the author has said Bedrock support is not planned. If your world is on console, mobile or Windows Bedrock, Amulet is the editor on this page that can work with it. Our MCA Selector and Bedrock guide explains the situation and the workarounds in detail.
- Version and edition conversion. Amulet can convert worlds between Java 1.12+ and Bedrock 1.7+ versions. MCA Selector edits Java worlds in their existing format; it is not a converter.
- Real 3D editing. If you want to place blocks — move a build, fill a volume, reshape terrain while looking at it — that is Amulet’s job. MCA Selector has no 3D building mode; its ReplaceBlocks swaps one block type for another by name across a selection, which is maintenance, not architecture.
- A Python API for scripted world manipulation, if you would rather write code than click.
Using both together
The tools overlap less than they complement each other. Two combinations that make sense with what each tool actually does:
- Convert first, clean up second. Use Amulet to convert a Bedrock world (or an old Java world) into a current Java world, then open the result in MCA Selector to prune unused chunks and batch-fix fields before you play or publish it.
- Design in 3D, maintain on the map. Do visual work — moving a build, patching terrain — in Amulet, and keep MCA Selector for the periodic bulk jobs: resetting explored-but-unused terrain and defragmenting region files, as in our world size guide.
Whichever tool you pick, back up first: world editors change your save files directly. Close Minecraft (and stop your server, if the world is on one), copy the whole world folder somewhere safe, and only then start editing.
Pick by task
| Your task | Pick |
|---|---|
| Prune or reset thousands of chunks in a Java world | MCA Selector |
| Delete or export chunks matching a filter (age, version, biome…) | MCA Selector |
| Batch-change a field across many chunks at once | MCA Selector |
| Open or edit a Bedrock world | Amulet Editor |
| Convert a world between Java and Bedrock, or between versions | Amulet Editor |
| Build, copy or reshape terrain visually in 3D | Amulet Editor |
| Budget: $0 | MCA Selector |
Download MCA Selector 2.9
If MCA Selector is the tool that fits your job, get the current release from the MCA Selector download page — the Windows installer, the cross-platform .jar, the macOS .dmg and the Linux .deb/.rpm, every button pointing at the official GitHub release files with the SHA-256 checksum listed, plus a clearly labelled site mirror as a fallback. It is free and open source under the MIT licence.
One last backup reminder: keep the copy of your world you made before editing until you have loaded the edited world in Minecraft and confirmed it looks right. Deletions and NBT changes in MCA Selector are permanent once applied.
Related guides
Read the other comparisons in this series, or go straight to the task guides: