Upload a Valheim World to Your Dedicated Server

Overview

Valheim is great alone, but most worlds get better once friends can join without waiting for the original host to be online. If you already have a singleplayer world, you do not need to leave your builds, map progress, or questionable boar pens behind. You can move the save files to your dedicated server and continue from the same world.

Each Valheim world is made from several files that share the same world name. The important part is keeping those files together, uploading them into the correct folder, and setting the server to use the exact matching name.

Prepare the Save Locally

Before uploading anything, make sure the world is stored locally on your computer instead of only in Steam Cloud. Local files are easier to find and upload cleanly.

1. Launch Valheim and open the main menu.
2. Select Start Game, then choose Manage Saves from the character selection screen.

1. Open the Worlds tab at the top of the saves window.
2. Select the world you want to upload.
3. If the option appears, click Move to Local.

When the world icon updates and the button changes to Move to Cloud, the save is ready to locate on your computer.

Find the Valheim World Files

1. On Windows, press Windows Key + R to open the Run prompt.
2. Enter this path:

`%APPDATA%\..\LocalLow`

1. Press Enter to open the folder in File Explorer.
2. Navigate to:

`IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local`

1. Find every file that starts with the exact name of the world you want to upload.
2. Use an archive tool such as 7-Zip to compress those matching files into a `.zip` archive.

Do not rename the files inside the archive. Valheim is picky about world names, and it will happily make a new blank world if the names do not line up.

Upload the World to Your Server

1. Open your HolyHosting server panel.
2. Stop the Valheim server before changing world files.
3. Open your FTP client or panel file manager and log in.
4. Go into the `worlds_local` folder.

1. Click Upload.
2. Drag and drop your world `.zip` file, then wait for the upload to finish.

Extract and Select the World

1. Return to the `worlds_local` folder in your file manager.
2. Select the uploaded `.zip` file.
3. Use the extract option, then confirm to finish.

1. After extraction finishes, check the uploaded files and note the exact world name shown before each file extension.

1. Return to the main server panel page.
2. Find the world configuration section in your panel.
3. Use the option to change the active world.
4. Enter the exact world name you noted earlier, then follow the prompts.

1. Restart the server.

Once the server finishes starting, it should load the uploaded Valheim world. Join normally and confirm your buildings, explored areas, and world state are present.

Switching Between Uploaded Worlds

You can upload more than one Valheim world and swap between them later. Upload and extract the additional world files into `worlds_local`, then use the change world option again with the exact name of the world you want to load. Restart the server after changing it.

Character inventory is stored on the character rather than only inside the world, so players can often keep their personal progress while moving between worlds.

Common Issues

The world files are missing: Some older saves may be in the `worlds` folder instead of `worlds_local`. Check both locations under `IronGate\Valheim` and look for files that begin with the singleplayer world name.

The server starts with a blank world: This usually means the files were placed in the wrong folder, were not extracted, or the configured world name does not exactly match the file name. Confirm the extracted files are directly inside `worlds_local`, then re-enter the world name in the server panel with the same spelling and capitalization. Restart the server once corrected.

Helpful Links

• How to download a Valheim world
• How to connect with FTP