Moving a Project Zomboid server you have been running at home, or one you are pulling off another host, is mostly a copy and paste job. The world, the sandbox settings, your mod list and even your players' accounts all travel. There is one rule about file names that decides whether any of it works, and it is worth understanding before you upload a single file.
What you need before you start
- The
Zomboidfolder from the PC that hosted the server, or a download from your old host - Your server in the game panel
- A few minutes with the server stopped
Where Project Zomboid keeps these files at home
Press Windows + R, paste the line below and confirm:
%USERPROFILE%\Zomboid
That is the folder everything lives in. Three parts of it matter for a move:
Server\holds the configuration. If you hosted from the game's own **Host** button, the files here are calledservertest.ini,servertest_SandboxVars.luaandservertest_spawnregions.lua.Saves\Multiplayer\servertest\is the world itself, every chunk your survivors have walked through.db\servertest.dbis the account database: usernames, passwords, access levels and bans.
servertest is just the default name the game gives a server you never named. If yours is called something else, the same files carry your name instead, and that name is what matters in the next step.
Where those files go on your server
Open your server in the game panel and go to the Files tab. Your Zomboid folder is mirrored by a folder called .cache, because that is where we point the game's data directory. Everything maps across one to one:
| On your PC | On your server |
|---|---|
Zomboid\Server\ |
.cache/Server/ |
Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\ |
.cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ |
Zomboid\db\ |
.cache/db/ |
Zomboid\Logs\ |
.cache/Logs/ |
The leading dot is easy to miss when you are scanning the file list. .cache sorts near the top, above the game's own folders.
Step 1: Match the server name first
This is the step that decides whether the rest works.
Project Zomboid does not look for a file called servertest.ini. It looks for a file named after the server, and on your server that name comes from the Server Name field on the Startup tab. New servers ship with SpillHosting in that field, so out of the box the game reads .cache/Server/SpillHosting.ini. Upload a servertest.ini next to it and nothing happens: the game never opens a file it was not told to look for.
You have two ways to line the names up, and the first is much less work:
- Rename the server, not the files. Go to the Startup tab, set Server Name to
servertest, or to whatever your files are called, and save. Every file keeps the name it already has. - Rename the files, not the server. Leave Server Name alone and rename every file and folder you upload to match it, including the world folder and the database.
Whichever you pick, the .ini, the two .lua files, the folder under Saves\Multiplayer\ and the .db file all have to carry the same name. A mismatch anywhere shows up as a fresh empty world rather than an error.
Step 2: Stop the server
Open the Console tab and press Stop, then wait for it to come to a full halt.
Do not skip this. Project Zomboid rewrites its configuration and flushes the world to disk as it shuts down, so anything you upload while it is running gets overwritten seconds later. This is the most common reason a migration silently does nothing.
Step 3: Upload the configuration
- Go to the Files tab and open
.cache/Server/ - Upload
servertest.ini,servertest_SandboxVars.luaandservertest_spawnregions.lua - Confirm the overwrite if the panel asks
The .ini carries your general settings: player limit, PVP, safehouse rules, the welcome message, your mod list. The SandboxVars.lua file is where the interesting numbers live: zombie population, loot rarity, how fast time passes, whether the power stays on.
One thing not to copy over: the port lines. DefaultPort and UDPPort in your old file point at whatever your home router was using. We hand the game its ports from the startup command instead, so the values in the file are not what your server runs on. Leave the ports that are already there, or ignore those lines entirely.
Step 4: Bring the world across
Skip this if you would rather start fresh in Knox County.
Upload the whole servertest folder from Saves\Multiplayer\ into .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ on the server. It has to keep its folder name, matching the name you settled on in Step 1.
These folders get large. A world a group has played for a few months can run to several gigabytes, and a browser upload of that size is slow and easy to interrupt. Send it over SFTP instead, using our SFTP guide, and drop it in the same place.
Step 5: Keep your players' accounts
Also optional, and easy to forget until someone complains.
Upload servertest.db from your db\ folder into .cache/db/. That one file carries every account on the old server, so your players sign in with the usernames and passwords they already have, keep their access levels, and your ban list comes with them.
Leave it behind and everyone makes a new account on their first connection. Their characters are still standing in the world either way, but a new account will not be attached to them, and you will be handing out admin again by hand.
Step 6: Start it and check
Press Start on the Console tab and watch the log. The line you are waiting for is:
SERVER STARTED
Then connect and look for two things: your own base standing where you left it, and your sandbox settings actually in force. If you set zombie population to a custom value, that is the quickest thing to eyeball in the first minute.
Your mods come with the config
The mod list lives in the .ini you just uploaded, on two lines:
WorkshopItems=2313387159;2392709985
Mods=tsarslib;raven_creek
So an existing server's mods carry over on their own. The server downloads each Workshop item on the first start after the upload, which makes that start noticeably slower than usual. Watch the console until the downloads finish. Our mod installation guide covers adding new ones and the load order rules.
Your players need the same mods subscribed on Steam, exactly as they did before the move.
Troubleshooting
The server started a brand new world and ignored everything I uploaded. The names do not match. Compare the Server Name field on the Startup tab against the file names in .cache/Server/. They have to be identical, including capital letters.
My settings reverted after I uploaded them. The server was running. Stop it, upload again, then start it. Project Zomboid rewrote your file from memory on shutdown.
I cannot find the .cache folder. It is in the root of the Files tab, sorted with the dot folders near the top. If the server has never been started it will not exist yet: start the server once, let it reach SERVER STARTED, stop it, and the folder will be waiting.
The world loads but every building is intact and my base is gone. A different world folder is active. Check that the folder under .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ carries exactly the name in your Server Name field, and that you uploaded the folder itself rather than its contents.
The save will not load at all. Your save is probably from a different game build. A world made in the unstable branch cannot be opened by a server running the stable one. Both sides have to be on the same build, and switching a server between branches means a reinstall, so open a ticket and we will sort it with you.
Players are told they are missing mods. They need to subscribe on Steam to the same Workshop items listed in your .ini. Send them the WorkshopItems= line.
Frequently asked questions
Do my survivors keep their skills and traits? Yes. Characters live inside the world save, so they come across with everything they had learned.
Can I move a server from another hosting provider? Yes. Download the same folders from their file manager or over SFTP, then upload them here. The layout is identical everywhere, because it is the game's layout rather than ours.
Do I have to upload the world and the config together? No. The config on its own is a perfectly normal thing to move if you only want your settings and mod list. The world on its own works too.
Can I change sandbox settings after the move?
Yes, edit _SandboxVars.lua with the server stopped. Some settings only apply to newly generated map areas, so a change to loot rarity shows up where nobody has explored yet rather than in your cleared out neighbourhood.
Should I back up before I overwrite anything? Yes. Take a backup from the Backups tab before you upload, so a mistake is one restore away rather than a lost campaign.
Will my old admin account still work?
Only if you uploaded the .db file in Step 5. Without it the server creates a fresh admin account from the Startup tab instead.
Stuck partway through? Open a ticket from the support page, tell us the name in your Server Name field and what you uploaded, and we will look at the files directly. Still shopping for somewhere to put the server? See our Project Zomboid server hosting plans.