A Palworld world you started solo or in co-op can move onto your server in one upload, and your panel handles the awkward parts for you. Bases, Pals, chests and technology all travel. The one thing that does not travel cleanly is the host's own character, and this guide explains why before you find out the hard way.
What you need before you start
- The save you want to move, on your PC or downloaded from a previous host
- Access to your server in the game panel
- A way to make a
.zipfile, which Windows already has built in
Where Palworld keeps your save
Steam stores local saves under your Windows user profile. Hit Windows + R, drop the line below into the box and confirm:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames
Two folder levels sit beneath it. First a long string of digits, which is your Steam account id. Beneath that, every world gets a folder named with 32 letters and numbers. The world folder is what you are after. Faced with several? Sort by date modified and take the freshest.
Open it and check that Level.sav is sitting there. Palworld and your panel both lean on that one file to decide whether a folder counts as a world. Its usual companions:
LevelMeta.savfor the name and picture in the world listPlayers/, holding a separate.savfor everyone who has playedWorldOption.sav, the ruleset the world was created under, which becomes important in Step 4LocalData.sav, minor local bookkeeping
Your server stores worlds the same way, under /Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, and loads whichever folder its configuration points at.
Step 1: Zip the world folder
Right-click the world folder, choose Send to, then Compressed (zipped) folder. Zip the folder itself rather than opening it and selecting the files inside. Either layout works, but zipping the folder keeps its name, and your panel turns that name into the label you will see in the list.
Do not zip the whole SaveGames folder. It buries the world too deep for the importer to find.
Step 2: Upload it in the Worlds tab
- Open the game panel and select your Palworld server
- Go to the Worlds tab
- Click Upload save and pick your
.zip - Watch the progress bar, then wait a moment while the panel unpacks it
The upload arrives as a new world in the list. It never overwrites what is already on the server, so the world you are playing now stays exactly as it is, and you can go back to it at any point.
There is no need to stop the server for this step. The upload lands beside your live world without touching it.
Save too large for the browser? Very long-running worlds can outgrow a browser upload. Send the folder over SFTP instead, into
/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, using our SFTP guide. It shows up in the Worlds tab once it is there.
Step 3: Set the uploaded world active
Your server only loads one world at a time.
- Still in the Worlds tab, open the menu on your uploaded save
- Choose Set active and confirm
The panel stops the server, repoints it at the new world and starts it again. That takes a moment, because Palworld only rewrites its configuration cleanly while it is offline. When the server comes back up, it is running your uploaded world.
Give it a friendly name with Rename while you are there. World folders are 32-character identifiers, and one of those looks much like another after a few uploads.
Step 4: Remove WorldOption.sav so your settings apply
This is the step nearly everyone misses.
A world created in solo or co-op play carries a WorldOption.sav file holding the settings it was made with. On a dedicated server that file wins: as long as it sits in the world folder, Palworld reads gameplay settings from it and ignores your server configuration entirely. Change your XP rate, your Pal capture multiplier or your day length and nothing happens.
Your panel spots this for you. Open the Config tab after switching worlds and you will see a notice that a world file is overriding these settings, with a Remove WorldOption.sav button.
- Stop the server, since Palworld rewrites its files on shutdown and would simply put it back
- Open the Config tab
- Click Remove WorldOption.sav and confirm
Your world, players and buildings are untouched. Only the settings source changes. Every gameplay value now comes from the Config tab, so read through it once before starting, then apply what you want. Our Palworld server settings guide explains what each option does.
Step 5: What happens to your character
Everything in the world comes across: bases, chests and their contents, Pals in your boxes, the technology you unlocked, the map you uncovered.
Player characters work differently, and the distinction matters:
- Guests who played the world with you keep their characters. Their saves in
Players/are tied to their platform account, and the server recognises them on arrival. - The host of a solo or co-op world does not. Palworld gives whoever hosts locally a fixed internal identity rather than one tied to their account, so a dedicated server sees an unfamiliar player and starts you with a fresh level 1 character.
Your base, your Pals and your gear are all still standing in the world. What you lose is your character's own level and skills. Community tools exist that rewrite the host identity inside the save to your account before you upload it, which preserves the character too. They are third party and unofficial, so make a copy of the save first if you go that route.
If a fresh start is fine by you, nothing else needs doing. Walk back to your base and pick up where you left off.
Troubleshooting
"No Palworld save was found in the upload." The importer looks for a folder containing Level.sav. You probably zipped SaveGames or your Steam ID folder rather than the world itself. Re-zip the folder that has Level.sav directly inside it.
The server came back on an empty world. The switch did not complete, or a different world is active. Reopen the Worlds tab and confirm the intended save is marked Active.
My settings changes still do nothing. WorldOption.sav is still in place, see Step 4, and it has to be removed while the server is stopped.
My Pals or items are missing. The save was made on a much older game version. Palworld upgrades saves forward on load, but very old worlds can lose data that no longer exists in the current version.
The upload finished but the world is not listed. Reload the tab. A world uploaded over SFTP appears only after the panel re-reads the folder.
I cannot delete a world. The active world is protected. Switch to another one first, then delete.
Frequently asked questions
Does uploading a save overwrite my current server world? No. Every upload is added as a separate world and the active one is left alone. Switching between them is a menu click in the Worlds tab.
Can I go back to my old world afterwards? Yes. It stays in the list until you delete it. Set it active whenever you want.
Can I move a save from another hosting provider? Yes. Download the world folder from their file manager, zip it, and upload it the same way. Server saves and local saves share the same layout.
Can I upload from Xbox or Game Pass? Not directly. Those saves are stored in a sandboxed platform format rather than as a normal world folder.
Do my friends have to do anything? Only connect to the new address. Their characters are recognised automatically.
Should I back up before switching worlds? Always worth it. Use Download in the Worlds tab to pull a copy first, and see our Palworld world management guide for a backup routine worth keeping.
Still stuck? Send our support team your server name and what the Worlds tab shows and we will sort it out. Looking for somewhere to put that world? See our Palworld server hosting plans.