How to Upload Your Own World to a Game Server

Before you start: three rules and two ways to upload

1. Stop the server first. A running server holds the world open and writes over files you upload, or deletes them as leftovers.
2. Back up what is there. Take a backup from the panel's Backups tab, so the world the server generated can come back if you change your mind.
3. Match the version. Run the server on the same game version as the world, or a newer one. A world saved by a newer version usually will not open on an older server.

File manager or sFTP

• The panel's file manager uploads single files of up to 1 GB, but not folders. For a world that is a folder, zip it on your PC, upload the .zip, then use Unarchive on it in the file manager.
• sFTP suits large worlds and many files. Use a client such as FileZilla or WinSCP with port 2022 and the address and username from the panel's Settings tab, under SFTP Details; copy the username rather than typing it.

Valheim

On your PC the worlds are in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local. A world kept in Steam Cloud is elsewhere; move it to local with the game's Manage saves screen first.

Which files. Since Valheim 1.0 a world is a folder with the world's name, holding _main files (.fwl2, .db2, .chunks, .ok) and many .chunk files. Upload the whole folder, unchanged: on start the game keeps the newest complete set and deletes incomplete ones. A world last played before 1.0 is a pair, WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl — upload both, and the server converts it on the first start, making a backup first.

1. Stop the server.
2. Zip the world folder (or the .db and .fwl pair) and upload it to saves/worlds_local, then unarchive it there.
3. In the Startup tab, set World Name to the world's name exactly — the folder name, or the file name without the extension.
4. Start the server.

The World Name field takes letters, digits, - and _, up to 20 characters. If your world's name has spaces, send it to us and we move it for you. Characters are stored on each player's PC, so everyone keeps their own. Crossplay works with an uploaded world as with any other. Setting up from scratch? See how to host a Valheim dedicated server or Valheim hosting, from €4.36/mo.

Terraria

On your PC the worlds are in Documents\My Games\Terraria\Worlds, one .wld file each. tModLoader worlds are in Documents\My Games\Terraria\tModLoader\Worlds, as a .wld plus a .twld with the modded data.

1. Stop the server.
2. Upload the .wld to saves/Worlds on the server. For a tModLoader world, upload its .twld next to it.
3. In the Startup tab, set World Name to the file name without .wld. It takes letters, digits, - and _, so rename a file with spaces first (My World.wld to MyWorld.wld).
4. Start the server.

Versions: run the server on the same Terraria version as the world, or newer. tModLoader is still based on Terraria 1.4.4, so a world that has been played on Vanilla 1.4.5 cannot be opened in tModLoader. Characters stay on each player's PC. More in how to make a Terraria server, or see Terraria hosting.

Project Zomboid

What moves is a multiplayer world: one hosted with the game's Host button, or one from another dedicated server. On your PC it is in %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\<name>, and its settings are in %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\Server\ as <name>.ini, <name>_SandboxVars.lua and <name>_spawnregions.lua. Single-player saves use a different format and do not become a server world.

1. Stop the server.
2. Upload the world folder to Zomboid/Saves/Multiplayer/ on the server and rename it to servertest, replacing the one the server created. If there is a <name>_player folder next to it, upload it too as servertest_player.
3. Upload the three settings files to Zomboid/Server/ and rename them to servertest.ini, servertest_SandboxVars.lua and servertest_spawnregions.lua.
4. Start the server.

Build: the server must run the same build as the save — a Build 41 world does not open on Build 42. Choose it with Game Branch in the Startup tab. Max players, name, password, PvP and mods come from the Startup tab at every start, so set them there again. Characters from a hosted world may have to be created again. See how to host a Project Zomboid server or Project Zomboid hosting.

7 Days to Die

On your PC a save is in %APPDATA%\7DaysToDie\Saves\<World>\<GameName>\: a folder for the world, and inside it a folder for the save. A random (RWG) world also has its map in %APPDATA%\7DaysToDie\GeneratedWorlds\<World>\; Navezgane ships with the game.

1. Stop the server.
2. Upload the save to UserData/Saves/<World>/<GameName>/ on the server, keeping both folder levels. For a random world, also upload its map folder to UserData/GeneratedWorlds/<World>/.
3. In the Startup tab, set Save Name to the save folder's name. It takes letters, digits, - and _, so rename a save called My Game to MyGame first.
4. Set Game World: Navezgane for the hand-made map, or RWG for a random world — with World Seed and World Size set to exactly the values the world was generated with. The server derives the world's name from them and loads the existing world of that name instead of generating a new one.
5. Start the server.

Versions: saves from different versions do not mix, so pick the same version in the Startup tab (Stable, Experimental or an older one). For crossplay the map must be 8k or smaller. If your random world's seed is unknown, send it to us and we set it up. See 7 Days to Die admin commands or 7 Days to Die hosting.

Vintage Story

On your PC each world is a single .vcdbs file in %AppData%\VintagestoryData\Saves.

1. Stop the server.
2. Upload the .vcdbs file to data/Saves on the server.
3. Either rename it to default.vcdbs, replacing the world the server created (take a backup first), or keep its name and point SaveFileLocation in data/serverconfig.json at it, for example ./data/Saves/MyWorld.vcdbs.
4. Install the same mods the world was played with, then start the server.

Versions: run the server on the same Vintage Story version as the world, or newer; pick it in the Startup tab. Player progress is stored in the world file, so it comes along. More in Vintage Story server commands, or see Vintage Story hosting.

Minecraft

A Java Edition world is a folder — single-player worlds are in %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves\<World>. Zip it, upload it to the server's main folder, unarchive it, and set level-name in server.properties to the folder's name. On Paper and Spigot servers the Nether and the End live in separate <level-name>_nether and <level-name>_the_end folders, which matters when the world comes from single player.

Both steps are covered in detail, with the Nether and End rules for each version, in how to install a Minecraft map. Moving a whole server from another host is in our migration walkthrough. See Minecraft hosting for plans.

If the world does not load

Nearly every failed upload is one of these:

• The name does not match. The world name in the Startup tab (or level-name, or SaveFileLocation) must match the uploaded folder or file exactly, including capital letters. If it does not, the server quietly creates a new world with that name.
• The files are one folder too deep. Unarchiving can leave the world inside an extra folder. Open it and check the world sits directly where the section for your game says.
• A different game version. A world from a newer version, or from another major version, will not open. Match the version in the Startup tab.
• Missing mods. A world played with mods needs the same mods on the server — tModLoader, Vintage Story mods, 7 Days to Die overhauls, BepInEx mods.
• The server was running during the upload. Stop it, upload again, then start it.

The console usually says what went wrong in its first lines after the start. And if it still does not work, every game page here offers a free migration: send us the world and we put it on your server.