How to Back Up and Restore Your Valheim World
Valheim worlds are two files that must stay in sync. Here's how to back them up properly and restore without corrupting your save.
The Two Files You Must Never Split Up
Your Valheim world is stored as two files that are tightly paired:
[worldname].db— the actual world data[worldname].fwl— the world metadata and spawn point info
Both files must come from the same save. If they're from different points in time, the world won't load. This is the number one cause of corrupted restores.
Where Your World Files Live
On a Linux dedicated server the default save location is:
~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local/
If you (or your host) launched the server with a custom -savedir parameter, your files will be in that directory instead. Check your startup arguments in the control panel if you're not sure.
How to Back Up
- Stop the server first. Downloading files from a running server risks grabbing a half-written save.
- Navigate to the worlds directory via your file manager or SFTP client.
- Download both
[worldname].dband[worldname].fwl. - Store them somewhere safe — a local folder, cloud storage, whatever you trust.
That's the whole process. Keep both files together in the same backup folder so you can't accidentally restore only one of them.
How to Restore
- Stop the server.
- Upload both
.dband.fwlfiles back to the worlds directory, overwriting the existing files. - Start the server.
If the world name in your files doesn't match what your -world startup parameter expects, the server will generate a fresh world instead of loading yours. Make sure the filenames and the -world value match exactly (case-sensitive on Linux).
Automatic Backups: The .old Files
Valheim automatically keeps one previous save on disk:
[worldname].db.old[worldname].fwl.old
These are the files from the previous autosave cycle. If your most recent save is corrupted or rolled back wrong, you can rename these — remove the .old extension — and use them as your restore point. Again, rename both.
The Rule You Can't Break
Never restore just one of the two files. Not .db alone, not .fwl alone — always both, always from the same backup. Mixing files from different saves will corrupt the world and there's no easy recovery from that.
Recommended Backup Schedule
- Before every server update — patches can occasionally cause world compatibility issues
- After major milestones — boss kills, new biome exploration, big builds
- At least once a week for any active server
For automated or more granular backup control, see the autosave and backup interval settings in your startup parameters.