Your Valheim world is backed up automatically on Wilderack: every time the server sleeps, and every 10 minutes while it runs. You can also make, restore and download backups yourself in Backups, and bring in a world from single player or another host.
How backups work on Wilderack
| Backup | When | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Latest safe copy | Every time the server sleeps, and every 10 minutes while it runs | Always the newest one |
| Your own backups | When you press the backup button in Backups, with a label | Until you delete them |
| Scheduled backups | When a schedule in Schedules runs | Oldest replaced when your slots are full |
| Safety backups | Before risky steps: switching games, restoring, updating, installing mods | 7 days |
Backups hold your world, your admin, ban and allow lists, and your mods and their settings. They never hold game files, which always install fresh from Steam.
Characters aren’t on the server. Valheim keeps each character on the player’s own device, so they keep their gear when they visit other worlds.
Make, restore or download a backup
Make one: open Backups and make a backup. Give it a name you’ll remember, like “before the Deep North”.
Restore one: pick a backup in Backups and restore it. We make a safety backup of the current world first, so you can change your mind.
Download one: choose download on any backup. You get a zip of your world, lists and mods, with a link that works for 24 hours.
To get one file back, such as an old adminlist.txt, open it in Files and pick an earlier version by date.
Valheim saves the world every 10 minutes on our servers, and again when it shuts down. It also keeps a few backups of its own. See -backups in the config reference.
Where the world lives on the server
Worlds are in /data/home/valheim/worlds_local. Open it in Files, or over SFTP (works with FileZilla) with the details from the SFTP card in Files.
Since Valheim 1.0, each world is a folder named after the world, full of smaller files. Always copy or replace the whole folder, never single files.
Worlds saved before 1.0 are two files instead: <world>.fwl (the name and seed) and <world>.db (everything you built). The first time Valheim 1.0 loads one, it converts it to the new folder and keeps a backup of the old files.
Stop the server before you replace a world in Files. A running server writes its world from memory and overwrites what you uploaded.
Bring your single-player world
Find your world
| Platform | Where local worlds are |
|---|---|
| Windows | %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local |
| Mac | ~/Library/Application Support/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local |
| Linux and Steam Deck | ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local |
On Windows, paste the path into the File Explorer address bar and press Enter.
Steam Cloud worlds are kept by Steam, not in worlds_local. In Valheim, open Manage saves, select the world and choose Move to local. It then shows up in the folder above.
Game Pass on PC and the Microsoft Store: try Manage saves and Move to local the same way. Iron Gate says Xbox saves can be opened on a PC through the Microsoft Store version. If no files appear in worlds_local, the world can’t be moved out of the cloud.
PlayStation 5 and Switch 2: consoles don’t give you access to save files, so these worlds can’t be moved to a server.
Upload it
- Close Valheim, so the world is fully saved.
- Make a zip of your world. For a 1.0 world, zip its whole folder. For an older world, zip its
.fwland.dbfiles together. - In the panel, open Games > Bring your world and upload the zip. The panel checks it before it goes in.
- In Settings, set the world name to exactly the world’s name. Capital letters count.
- Start the server and join.
If the world name and the files don’t match, Valheim makes a brand-new empty world instead. Your upload is still there. Fix the name and restart.
Move a world from another host
- On your old host, stop the server.
- Download its
worlds_localfolder, or the world’s folder from inside it, as a zip. - Download
adminlist.txt,bannedlist.txtandpermittedlist.txttoo, if you used them. - Upload the world through Games > Bring your world, as above.
- Copy the IDs from the old lists into Settings, or upload the files in Files.
- If the old server used mods, install the same ones from Mods before you start.
Download your world for single player
- Download a backup from Backups, or download the world’s folder from Files.
- Unzip it into your own
worlds_localfolder (see the table above). - Start Valheim. The world shows up in your world list.
Questions
Where are Valheim world files saved on Windows?
In %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local for local worlds. Worlds saved to Steam Cloud live in your Steam folder under userdata, in a folder named 892970. In Valheim, Manage saves and Move to local puts a cloud world in worlds_local.
Can I move my Xbox or PlayStation Valheim world to a server?
Not from a PlayStation 5 or Switch 2, because consoles don't give you the files. Iron Gate says Xbox saves can be opened on a PC through the Microsoft Store version, so try Move to local there. If no files appear, the world can't leave Xbox's cloud.
Does a Valheim server backup include my character?
No. Valheim keeps characters on each player's own device, not on the server. Server backups hold the world, the admin and ban lists, and your mods.
What changed with Valheim 1.0 world saves?
Since 1.0, each world is a folder full of smaller files instead of two files. Older worlds are converted the first time 1.0 loads them, and Valheim keeps a backup of the old version.
Sources we checked
- Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived (patch notes)Iron Gate on Steam
- Valheim 1.0 FAQIron Gate
- Patch 0.209.8 (save folders)Iron Gate on Steam
- Dedicated serversValheim Wiki (community)
