How to Import an Existing Valheim World

Before You Start

You need both files for your world: WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl. Both must have the same base name (the part before the extension). Without both files, the world will not load.

If your world was saved to Steam Cloud, you need to move it to local storage first. In Valheim settings, toggle "Cloud Saves" off, then launch your world once to write the files locally.

Stop your GameGrid server before uploading. Never upload world files while the server is running.

Finding Your Local World Files

Steam (Windows): %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds (or worlds_local)

Steam (Linux): ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds

Steam (Mac): ~/Library/Application Support/IronGate/Valheim/worlds

Microsoft Store / Game Pass (Windows): C:\XboxGames\Valheim\Content (or check the app data folder)

Look for two files with your world's name: WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl. Copy both.

Uploading to Your GameGrid Server

1. Stop your server from the control panel. Wait for it to show as Offline.

2. Open the Files tab.

3. Navigate to the worlds_local directory.

4. Upload both WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl into this directory. You can drag and drop or use the Upload button.

5. Wait for the upload to complete. Verify both files are present and have the same base name.

6. Go to the Settings tab and update the World Name field to match the file base name (without the .db or .fwl extension).

7. Start the server.

8. Connect and verify the world loaded correctly. Check that your buildings, items, and progress are intact.

9. Once confirmed, create a manual backup from the Backups tab so you have a clean restore point.

Importing from Another Dedicated Server

The process is the same - you need the .db and .fwl files from the old server's save directory.

If the old server used a custom -savedir, look in that directory instead of the default path.

If the old server used a different world name, rename the files to match the new world name you want to use, or set the World Name setting to match the old files.

Admin and permission lists (adminlist.txt, bannedlist.txt, permittedlist.txt) are separate from world files, and they live at the ROOT of the server folder, not inside worlds_local. If you want to carry over your admin list, upload those files there - and remember Valheim reads them at startup, so they take effect on the next start.

Common Issues

World does not load: verify the World Name setting exactly matches the file base name. Case matters on Linux.

World loads but is empty: you uploaded only the .db file without the .fwl, or the files have different names. Both must match.

Server hangs on startup: the world file may be corrupted. Try uploading the .old backup files instead, or restore from a GameGrid backup.

Players see a different world: the server may have generated a new world because the uploaded files were in the wrong directory. Verify the .db and .fwl are in worlds_local, not in the server root.

Once you have confirmed the world loads, take a manual backup from the Backups tab. That is the point you want to be able to come back to.