How to load a schematic

A downloaded schematic is just a file. Litematica has to load it, and then you place it in the world before anything appears.

Where the file goes

Litematica reads from .minecraft/schematics. The folder is created the first time you save a schematic, so on a fresh install you may have to make it yourself. Put the .litematic, .schem, .schematic or .nbt file straight in there — subfolders work and Litematica will show them.

Load and place

1. Press M to open the Litematica menu.
2. Choose Load Schematics. Your schematics folder is listed; pick the file.
3. Press Load Schematic. It is now in memory but still invisible.
4. Go to Schematic Placements and the loaded schematic appears as a placement at your position. Move, rotate and mirror it from there.

The ghost blocks you now see are the build. Nothing has been placed in the world yet — that is the point. You can walk through it, check the footprint and move it before committing a single block.

Getting the position right

A placement has an origin corner, not a centre. If a build lands half inside a hill, move the placement rather than terraforming — it is far quicker. Hold the placement's Y value in mind too: most builds are made from their lowest block up, so the origin sits at ground level.

Then build it

In creative, Litematica's Easy Place mode lets you click the ghost blocks and it places the right block in the right orientation. In survival you need the material list first — see building from a schematic in survival.