What Surveyor Does
Surveyor is a lightweight library that powers many map and waypoint mods. It stores explored terrain, structures and waypoints on the client and can push that data to a server so other players see the same map. The library works on the client side only, on the server side only, or on both sides, giving you flexibility for single-player or multiplayer setups.
Who It Suits
If you run a server and want a shared map that all players can edit, Surveyor is the core you need. It also works well for solo players who want to keep their map data on a server so they can switch machines without losing progress. Mod developers can use Surveyor’s API to build custom map frontends or add new landmark types without handling the heavy lifting of data storage.
Core Features
- Shared terrain and waypoints - When installed on both client and server, players can see each other’s explored areas and waypoints in real time.
- Cross-mod landmark support - Compatibility addons expose landmarks from other mods such as Waystones or OPAC on the map.
- Frontend agnostic - You can swap between different map frontends (e.g., Antique Atlas 4, Hoofprint, Dead Reckoning) without losing data.
- Automatic waypoint migration - Existing Xaero’s Minimap waypoints can be moved into Surveyor’s system with a single action.
- Server-wide landmarks - Operators can create global waypoints for spawn, shops or warp hubs that all players see.
- Vanilla map copy - With a cartography table and a sneak-use, you can copy exploration data to and from vanilla maps.
- Configurable co-op - The
globalSharingsetting lets you enable or disable server-wide sharing, useful for public servers.
Installation and Compatibility
Surveyor supports the following Minecraft versions: 26.1.2, 1.21.1 and 1.20.1. It runs on Fabric, Neoforge, Quilt and Forge loaders. Real talk, the mod is optional on both client and server sides; you can choose to install it only where needed.
Developer Notes
The API is designed for developers who want to create new map frontends or add custom landmark types. One data system is component-based, making it easy to extend. Surveyor also ships with a set of commands for managing waypoints and landmarks, but most interaction happens through the chosen frontend.
Troubleshooting
If you run into issues, check the data folders in .minecraft/data/surveyor for client data or in the world folder for server data. Removing corrupted region files or disabling specific networking subsystems can resolve many problems.
Community and Contributions
The project welcomes pull requests for bug fixes, new features and compatibility addons. The repository is open source under LGPL-v3, encouraging other developers to build on top of it.
Bottom Line
Surveyor is a solid, loader-agnostic backend that lets you share map data and waypoints across clients and servers in the latest Minecraft releases. It works with popular map frontends and offers a flexible API for developers.
