Valheim Backup and Restore Guide

How Valheim Saves Work

Each Valheim world consists of two files that must stay together:

WorldName.db: the world data file. Contains terrain, buildings, items, creatures, and all player-placed objects.

WorldName.fwl: the world metadata file. Contains the world name, seed, and version information.

Both files must share the same base name, which must match your -world setting. If the names do not match, the server will not load the world.

The server autosaves every 30 minutes by default (configurable via Save Interval in Settings). It also saves on graceful shutdown. If the server crashes or is force-killed, all progress since the last autosave is lost.

Save File Location

On GameGrid, world saves are stored in the worlds_local directory inside your server folder. You can access this from the Files tab.

Default path (self-hosted Windows): %USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/IronGate/Valheim/worlds

Default path (self-hosted Linux): ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds

With -savedir (self-hosted): wherever you specify. On GameGrid this is managed for you.

Inside worlds_local you will find the live .db and .fwl files and Valheim's own rolling backups.

The permission files - adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt and permittedlist.txt - are NOT in worlds_local. They sit one level up, at the root of your server folder beside valheim_server.exe. They are included in GameGrid backups along with BepInEx/config and BepInEx/plugins.

Automatic Backups

GameGrid provides two layers of backup protection:

1. Valheim's own rolling backups, kept alongside the live save in worlds_local. The number and interval are configurable from Settings under Performance (Number of Backups, Short Backup Interval, Long Backup Interval). Defaults: 4 backups, the first at 2 hours, then every 12 hours.

2. GameGrid backups, which are archived off the host, encrypted and checksummed. Automatic ones are taken daily and before every update and reinstall; they are retained as the last 7 backups or 7 days, whichever comes first, and they do not count against your storage quota.

You can also create one at any time with "Create Backup Now" on the Backups tab. Manual backups count against a 30 GB quota, can be labelled and noted, and can be deleted whenever you like - automatic ones cannot.

A Valheim backup covers worlds_local, the three permission lists, and BepInEx/config and BepInEx/plugins, so your mods and their settings come back with the world.

Restoring from a GameGrid Backup

1. Open the Backups tab in your control panel. Manual and automatic backups are listed separately, each row showing the date, what triggered it, its size and its state.

2. Only a backup in the "verified" state offers a Restore button. One still queued or in progress does not, and a failed one shows the reason it failed.

3. Click "Restore" on the backup you want.

4. Confirm. If players are connected the panel asks again before going ahead. The server is stopped, the backup applied, and the server started.

5. The restore runs as a job and can take a while. The panel polls it and reports the outcome; you can leave the page. If it does not complete, your server's files are left unchanged.

6. Connect and verify the world is in the expected state before deleting any other backups.

The restore replaces the server's files with the backup, including the permission lists and BepInEx. Any progress since the backup was taken is lost.

Restoring from Valheim .old Files

If you need to roll back to Valheim's own .old backup (and do not have a GameGrid backup available):

1. Stop the server from the control panel.

2. Open the Files tab and navigate to the worlds_local directory.

3. Rename the current WorldName.db to WorldName.db.broken (or similar).

4. Rename WorldName.db.old to WorldName.db.

5. Do the same for the .fwl files: rename WorldName.fwl to WorldName.fwl.broken, and WorldName.fwl.old to WorldName.fwl.

6. Start the server from the control panel.

7. Connect and verify the world loaded correctly.

On GameGrid, using the Backups tab is strongly preferred over manual .old file swapping. The panel restore is safer, faster, and includes the full server state.

Importing an Existing World

To upload a world from another server or from singleplayer:

1. Stop your GameGrid Valheim server.

2. Open the Files tab and navigate to the worlds_local directory.

3. Upload both the .db and .fwl files. They must have the same base name.

4. Update the World Name setting in the Settings tab to match the file base name (without the extension).

5. Start the server.

6. Connect and verify the world loaded correctly.

Never upload world files while the server is running - a save would overwrite your upload. Always stop first.

See the Import World guide for a detailed walkthrough.

Best Practices

Always stop the server gracefully (from the panel, never kill the process) so the final save completes.

Create a manual backup before making major changes: updating the server, installing mods, or changing world modifiers.

You do not have to manage retention. GameGrid keeps the last 7 automatic backups or 7 days of them, whichever comes first, and those do not count against your 30 GB manual quota. Take a manual backup before anything risky - those you control, and you delete them yourself.

If your world becomes corrupted (server hangs on load, players fall through the world), restore from the most recent backup immediately. Do not keep trying to boot a corrupted save.