Palworld: move a co-op world to a server

To move a Palworld co-op world onto a dedicated server, copy the world's folder from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<SteamID>\<WorldID>\ on the host's PC into the server's Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, delete WorldOption.sav from it, set DedicatedServerName=<WorldID> in the server's GameUserSettings.ini, and start the server. Everyone's bases and pals arrive intact, and every guest keeps their character. The one person who does not is the host: in co-op their character is saved under a fixed placeholder ID, and on a dedicated server they are identified by their real account, so the server greets them with character creation. Getting the host's character back takes one extra step with a community tool. This post walks through all of it, including what to do when it goes wrong.

Why the host loses their character#

Palworld stores each player as a separate file in the world's Players folder, named with a 32-character ID. On a dedicated server, that ID is derived from the player's platform account. In co-op, guests get the same kind of ID, so their files carry over untouched. The host does not: in a co-op world the host is always saved as 00000000000000000000000000000001.sav, whoever they are.

<WorldID>/Players/    00000000000000000000000000000001.sav   the co-op host    4A7F2C1E000000000000000000000000.sav   a guest    9C21B08D000000000000000000000000.sav   another guest

When the host joins the dedicated server, the server looks for a file matching their real ID, does not find one, and starts a new character. The old one is still in the folder, attached to nobody. The guild, bases and pals still reference the old ID too, which is why simply renaming the file is not enough: the world itself holds that ID in many places inside Level.sav.

The fix is to rewrite those references from the old ID to the new one. That is what the host save fix tools do.

Before you start#

Gather four things first; the transfer is quick once they are ready.

The game version matters. A save from a newer client will not load on an older server, and the save format itself has changed more than once over Palworld's life. Update the server before you upload, and if the host's PC has not played since a big patch, load the world once in co-op first so it is saved in the current format.

Do this at a time when nobody needs to play. The whole job takes half an hour if nothing goes wrong and an evening if something does.

Finding the co-op save#

On a Steam copy on Windows, co-op worlds live here:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<SteamID64>\<WorldID>\

Paste the first part into the Explorer address bar. Inside the folder named after the host's SteamID64 there is one folder per world, each named with a 32-character hex ID. If there are several, open each one's LevelMeta.sav date or check which was modified most recently; the world you played last night is the one with today's timestamps.

A world folder looks like this:

<WorldID>/    Level.sav         the world: bases, pals, structures, items    LevelMeta.sav     name and metadata for the world list    WorldOption.sav   the settings the world was created with    Players/          one file per character    backup/           rolling backups, if enabled

Copy the whole folder somewhere safe on the PC before you do anything else. That copy is your rollback if every later step fails.

Uploading the world#

With the server stopped:

1. Upload the whole <WorldID> folder into Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/ on the server. The 0 folder is where the dedicated server keeps its worlds. Upload the folder, not its contents loose.
2. Delete WorldOption.sav from the uploaded folder. While it exists, it carries the co-op world's settings and can override your server's PalWorldSettings.ini. The Palworld server settings guide explains why this is the step that makes edited settings appear to do nothing.
3. You can delete the backup folder from the upload to save space. The server makes its own.
4. Point the server at the world. Edit Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini (WindowsServer on a Windows server):

[/Script/Pal.PalGameLocalSettings]DedicatedServerName=4F6A2D1B8C9E4E1F9A0B3C5D7E8F1A2B

The value is the folder name, exactly. If the file does not exist yet, start the server once with no world to let it create the folders, stop it, then edit. If the line already exists with another ID - the world the server generated on its first start - replace that ID with yours.

1. Start the server and watch the console. A successful load is quiet; the tell-tale sign of failure is a brand-new world folder appearing in SaveGames/0/ next to yours, which means DedicatedServerName did not match and the server created a fresh world.

For large saves, upload over SFTP rather than through a browser. SFTP and the file manager has the connection details.

At this point guests can join and will find their characters, levels, pals and bases. The host will be asked to create a character. Do not let the host play on the new character yet beyond creating it.

Restoring the host's character#

The common tool is the community "Palworld Host Save Fix", which uses the "palworld-save-tools" library to decode Level.sav, swap the host's old ID for the new one everywhere it appears, and write the save back. There are command-line and GUI versions, and forks appear when the save format changes. Use one that states support for your game version.

The procedure, in the order that works:

1. With the world uploaded and running, the host joins the server and creates a new character. Any name; it is a placeholder. Then they log out.
2. Stop the server. This writes the new player's file.
3. Look in Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<WorldID>/Players/. There is now a new file besides the ones you uploaded - the newest file by date. Its name without .sav is the host's new ID. The old ID is 00000000000000000000000000000001.
4. Download the whole world folder to your PC.
5. Run the fix tool against the downloaded folder with the new ID and the old ID. The command-line form looks like this; the exact arguments vary by version, so read the tool's README:

$ python fix_host_save.py "C:\palfix\4F6A2D1B8C9E4E1F9A0B3C5D7E8F1A2B" \    9D3E0F2A000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000001 False

1. Delete the server's copy of the world folder and upload the fixed one in its place.
2. Start the server. The host joins and should find their old character, items, guild and bases.

The fix rewrites a large file. On a big world it takes several minutes and enough memory to hold the decoded save, which can be several gigabytes on a mature Level.sav. Run it on a PC with memory to spare.

Guild and base quirks after the fix

The tools have a history of small, known issues that come and go with game versions: pals in the host's base not working until they are picked up and put back, ownership of certain containers or Viewing Cage pals not moving across, a guild that needs the host to be re-added. Some versions of the tool take a "guild fix" option for exactly this. Read the tool's list of known issues for your version before you run it, and do a quick check after: open the base, check the palbox, check the guild menu.

If you would rather not use a tool#

There is a simpler option that some groups prefer. The host accepts the new character, and the group spends an evening carrying them back up. Items can be dropped from the old guild chests to the new character; pals can be handed over in the palbox if the host's new character joins the guild. The host loses their own level and technology unlocks, which is the real cost. On a world where the host played much more than anyone else, the tool is worth it. On a world everyone has played equally, starting the host over is often less work than debugging a save rewrite.

If the tool cannot read your version's save yet, waiting is a legitimate third option. Upload the world, let the guests play, and have the host hold off until an updated tool appears - the old 00000000000000000000000000000001.sav stays in the folder untouched, and the fix can be run later from a fresh backup. The only thing the host must not do in the meantime is build up the placeholder character, because the fix replaces it.

Moving a dedicated world back to co-op#

The reverse trip has the mirror-image problem: in co-op the host must be 00000000000000000000000000000001, so whoever is going to host locally loses their dedicated character unless their file is renamed and the save rewritten. The same tools can do the swap in the other direction. The rest is the same in reverse: download the world folder, put it under the host's SaveGames\<SteamID64>\ folder, and it appears in the world list.

Settings after the move#

With WorldOption.sav gone, the server reads Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. If that file is empty, the server runs on defaults, which may be quite different from what the group played with in co-op - different death penalty, different rates, a different base camp limit. Before the first evening on the server:

• Copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini from the install root into PalWorldSettings.ini and edit it.
• Match the rates and the death penalty to what the co-op world used, unless the group wants a change.
• Check BaseCampMaxNumInGuild and BaseCampWorkerMaxNum. If the co-op world had more base camps than the server allows, the existing ones remain, but nobody can build new ones. The memory side of those limits is in Palworld server memory.
• Remember that OptionSettings=(...) must be on one line.

A server also needs an admin password before you need one. Palworld admin commands and RCON covers it.

Doing this on RE:NODE#

On RE:NODE, a Palworld server starts from 8 GB of memory, which is the minimum a moved co-op world with established bases needs to stay comfortable. Upload the world folder through the file manager - folder upload is supported - or over SFTP for a large save; edit GameUserSettings.ini and PalWorldSettings.ini in the in-browser editor; and watch the load in the live console. Take a backup from the Backups tab before uploading and another after the host fix, so each stage has a restore point. Backup slots are on every plan and restoring is a single button.

Troubleshooting a transfer#

The server made a new world instead of loading mine. DedicatedServerName does not match the folder name, or the folder is nested one level too deep (SaveGames/0/<WorldID>/<WorldID>/). Fix the path or the name and restart. Your world is still there.

My server settings are ignored. WorldOption.sav is still in the world folder. Delete it with the server stopped.

Guests also have new characters. The guests are joining from a different platform account than they used in co-op, or the world was loaded on an older server that did not read their files. Check versions.

The fix tool fails to read the save. The tool does not support your game version's save format. Find an updated version or fork, and do not hand-edit anything.

The host has their character but their pals do not work. A known tool quirk; pick the pals up into the palbox and place them again, or rerun from the original save with the guild fix option.

The world loads but takes minutes. A large Level.sav. That is normal for a mature world and improves only by trimming the world, not by tuning - see Palworld backups and world reset.

FAQ#

Do guests lose their characters when moving a Palworld world to a server?

No. Guests are saved under an ID derived from their account in co-op as well, so their files work on the dedicated server unchanged. Only the host is saved under a placeholder ID.

Where is the Palworld co-op save folder?

On a Steam copy on Windows, under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\, then the host's SteamID64, then one folder per world with a 32-character hex name.

Why should I delete WorldOption.sav?

It stores the settings the world was created with in co-op. While it exists, those settings can take priority over the server's PalWorldSettings.ini, so your server configuration appears to do nothing.

Can I merge two co-op worlds into one server?

No. A world is one Level.sav. You can run one or the other, and characters cannot be carried between worlds with the normal tools.

Will the host save fix work after a game update?

Only if the tool has been updated for the new save format. Check the tool's page before a transfer, and keep your untouched original save until the host has played on the fixed one for a while.