Backing Up, Updating, and Restoring Your Palworld Server

Backing Up, Updating, and Restoring Your Palworld Server

Protecting your world is simpler when you understand where Palworld stores save data and how to keep it safe through updates. A small backup habit prevents catastrophic loss of player progress.

Save data location

Palworld stores each world under:

Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/{WorldGUID}/

Inside that folder you will find Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav, LocalData.sav, WorldOption.sav, and a Players/ directory containing individual {UID}.sav files. The WorldGUID is a unique identifier for that world. Keep it in a safe place because the server uses it to load the correct save.

How to back up

The safest way to back up is to stop the server, then copy the entire {WorldGUID} folder. Copying saves while the server is running can produce corrupt or incomplete backups because files are locked or mid-write.

Linux example:

cp -r Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/{WorldGUID} backups/palworld-$(date +%F)/

Windows users can use File Explorer or a batch script. Store the backup on a different drive or cloud location for redundancy. For automated Linux backups, create a cron job that stops the server, copies the folder, and restarts the server during off-peak hours.

Updating the server

Client and server versions must match exactly. To update through steamcmd, use:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

If you installed to a custom directory, add +force_install_dir /path/to/server before +app_update. Restart the server after the update. Always announce the restart to players and back up first.

Restoring a backup

Stop the server and replace the current {WorldGUID} folder with your backup. If the backup contains a different GUID, rename the folder or place it inside Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/ so the server can find it. Start the server and verify players can connect. If you restored an older version, make sure the client version matches the save's game version.

Testing and retaining backups

A backup is only useful if it restores correctly. Once a month, copy your backup to a test folder and start the server against it to confirm the world loads. Keep a rotation of at least three backups so a corrupted save does not overwrite your only good copy. Label backups with the game version; if a patch changes the save format, an older backup may not load on a newer server.

When moving a world to a new host, copy the entire {WorldGUID} folder and make sure the new server uses the same PalWorldSettings.ini values for PublicPort and ServerPlayerMaxNum. Migrating between Windows and Linux is possible because the save files are platform-independent.

Schedule

Make a backup before every patch, mod change, and major configuration edit. A few minutes of prevention can save days of player progress. Treat your save folder like any other critical data: keep multiple copies, verify restores, and update the server only after a successful backup.