Setup · 8 min read
Move a Palworld co-op world to a dedicated server
Move a Palworld co-op or single-player world to a dedicated server: the save folder, DedicatedServerName, and what happens to the host's character.
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Short answer
Level.sav and a Players folder inside) from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<Steam ID>\ into the server's Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/. Set DedicatedServerName in the server's GameUserSettings.ini to that folder's name, and start the server. Everyone keeps their character except the co-op host: the host makes a new one, or swaps the old one over with a third-party tool.Read this first
A co-op world and a single-player world are the same thing in Palworld: a folder of save files on the host's PC. A dedicated server can load that folder. What it can't do is recognise the host.
| Part of the world | Comes across? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The map, buildings and bases | Comes across?Yes | NotesBases belong to a guild, so they stay with it |
| Other players' characters | Comes across?Yes | NotesLevel, items, Pals and guild, as they left them |
| The host's character | Comes across?No | NotesIt stays in the world, but nobody can log in as it. The host starts a new character or uses a fix tool |
| World settings chosen in the game | Comes across?Sometimes | NotesOnly if the folder has a WorldOption.sav, and then they can override the server's own settings file |
| Worlds on Xbox or PS5 | Comes across?No | NotesConsole saves aren't files you can reach, so there is nothing to copy |
| Worlds from the Microsoft Store or Game Pass on PC | Comes across?Not directly | NotesThey are kept in a different format and need converting first, with a third-party tool |
Copy the folder, never move it. Your original stays on the host's PC, so co-op still works if anything goes wrong on the server.
Find your co-op world
- On the host's PC, close Palworld, so the world is saved and nothing is writing to it.
- Press Windows + R, paste
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGamesand press Enter. - Open the folder named with a long number. That's your Steam ID, and it holds your worlds, one folder each.
- Each world's folder has a 32-character name of letters and numbers, such as
0A1B2C3D4E5F60718293A4B5C6D7E8F9. The names don't say which world is which: the one whoseLevel.savhas the newest date is the one you played last.
The right folder has Level.sav and a Players folder in it, with one .sav file for each player who has joined. Copy the whole folder, as it is, somewhere safe before you do anything else.
Where it goes on the server
| Where | Path |
|---|---|
| Co-op or single-player world (Steam, Windows) | Path%LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<Steam ID>\<world code> |
| Dedicated server's worlds | PathPalServer/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<world code> |
| Which world the server loads | PathPalServer/Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/GameUserSettings.ini (LinuxServer on Linux) |
- Start the dedicated server once, then stop it. The first start creates the folders above and a new, empty world, which you are about to replace. Our Palworld server guide covers installing it.
- Copy your world's folder into
Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, so its path endsSaveGames/0/<world code>/Level.sav. One folder too deep and the server won't find it. - With the server still stopped, open
GameUserSettings.iniand findDedicatedServerNameunder[/Script/Pal.PalGameLocalSettings]. It names the server's own new world. Change it to your folder's name, exactly. - Start the server and join it. You should be standing in your world.
The line you change, with your own folder's name:
[/Script/Pal.PalGameLocalSettings]
DedicatedServerName=0A1B2C3D4E5F60718293A4B5C6D7E8F9Leave the rest of the file alone. The server's empty world stays in SaveGames/0/; change the line back to its name and the server loads that one again.
WorldOption.sav and your settings
A world made in the game with custom world settings can have a WorldOption.sav in its folder. Pocketpair's guide doesn't mention the file, but hosts widely report that while it's there, its settings win over the server's PalWorldSettings.ini. If you'd rather run the server from the settings file, stop the server and move WorldOption.sav out of the world's folder, keeping a copy. The README of xNul's fix tool (see below) adds that players then have to choose their respawn point again. Our settings guide explains the file, and the PalWorldSettings.ini generator writes it for you.
The host's character
This is the part most guides skip, and the one that costs people their character. In a co-op world the host's character is saved in Players/00000000000000000000000000000001.sav, a fixed name kept for whoever hosts. A dedicated server gives every player an ID of their own, including the old host, and never uses that name. So when the host joins the server, the game doesn't find their character and offers to make a new one. Everyone else's character comes across.
Renaming the file isn't enough, because the world file refers to each player by the same ID. There are two real choices.
1. Start a new character
Nothing can break this way. The old character, with its level, items and party, stays in the world where it logged out, but nobody can play it. Before the move, while you are still in co-op, the host can hand the guild leader role to another player, so the guild isn't led by a character nobody can play. The new character then joins that guild, and the guild's bases come with it.
2. Swap the old character over with a fix tool
Community tools can move the old character onto the host's new ID. They are third-party tools, so keep a copy of the world before you run one. They all work the same way:
- Copy the world to the server and get it loading, as above.
- The host joins and creates a new character, so the server writes a new file in
Players. Its name is the host's new ID. - Stop the server, and copy the whole world folder somewhere safe.
- The tool swaps the old
…0001.savcharacter into the new ID, editingLevel.savas well as the player file. - Put the fixed folder back, start the server, and the host joins as their old character.
Where the tools stand on 11 November 2026:
- xNul's palworld-host-save-fix, the one most guides name. Its code last changed in February 2024. Its issue tracker has reports from 2025 and 2026 of it stopping with
found b'PlM' instead of b'PlZ'on saves from newer versions of the game, which means it can't read them. - Palworld Save Tools had a Fix Host Save option. Its README now says version 2.4.5 is the final release and that several features are broken, and points to PalStudio, whose feature list includes a player ID swap for exactly this move.
Whichever you use, run it on a copy. xNul's README calls its script experimental and lists side effects after a fix: guild membership can break, and a fixed player's Pals may stop working at the base until each one is dropped and picked up again from the Party menu. It also says to take any Viewing Cage out of the co-op world first, as the cage isn't supported on dedicated servers. That README dates from 2024, so treat it as a guide to what can go wrong, not a list for 2026.
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A brand-new world | Likely causeDedicatedServerName doesn't match the folder, or the folder sits one level too deep | What to doCheck the path ends SaveGames/0/<code>/Level.sav and the name matches character for character. Edit with the server stopped |
| Your edit to GameUserSettings.ini is gone | Likely causeThe file was edited while the server ran | What to doStop the server, edit, start |
| The host gets the new character screen | Likely causeExpected: see The host's character | What to doMake a new character, or use a fix tool |
| Every player gets the new character screen | Likely causeSome server types make player IDs differently. xNul's README lists Windows and Linux servers among them | What to doEach player needs the fix-tool steps, or a new character |
| Settings you changed have no effect | Likely causeWorldOption.sav | What to doMove it out of the world's folder, with the server stopped |
| A fix tool stops with "found b'PlM' instead of b'PlZ'" | Likely causeThe tool can't read the save format newer versions write | What to doUse a tool that is still maintained, on a copy |
| No SaveGames folder on your PC | Likely causeThe Microsoft Store and Game Pass version keeps its saves elsewhere, in its own format | What to doConvert the save with a third-party tool first, or start fresh on the server |
| Friends can't join at all | Likely causeA different game version, or the server isn't reachable | What to doRestart the server after a Palworld update. The server guide covers ports and joining |
Questions people ask
Do my friends need to do anything?
No. Their characters are in the world's Players folder, so they join the server and carry on. They need the server's address and password, and the same game version as the server.
Can I move the world back to co-op later?
Yes, by copying the folder from SaveGames/0/ back into your SaveGames folder. The host problem runs the other way: co-op expects the host in …0001.sav, so the host's server character needs the same kind of swap, or a new character.
Can I move a world from one dedicated server to another?
The steps are the same: copy SaveGames/0/<world code> and set DedicatedServerName on the new server. Players keep their characters when both servers give them the same IDs. If everyone gets the new character screen, see the table above.
Moving a world to one of our servers
On our Palworld servers, the panel's Files page does the server side for you. Zip the world's folder (the one with Level.sav and Players in it) and use Bring in a world. The upload is checked before anything is replaced. The import is then built to stop the server, put the world in place, point DedicatedServerName at it and start the server again if it was running. The old world stays on the server for 7 days, and Undo puts it back until then. You can also upload the folder over SFTP and change the line yourself, as above.
The host's character works the same way on our servers as anywhere else, so use one of the fixes above after the import. Keep your own copy: download your files from the panel's Files page, as one .zip or over SFTP.
Game facts checked against Palworld v1.0.5 on 11 November 2026.