Valheim World Manager: Back Up, Restore, Import and Switch Worlds

The Valheim World Manager is the tool you use to look after your server’s worlds without ever touching FTP. From one page it lists every world you have with its size and backup count, shows which world the server actually loads, and gives you a button for each thing you might want to do: download a world to your computer, snapshot a backup on the server, restore from one of Valheim’s own automatic backups, import a world someone sent you, set which world is active, and delete a world you no longer need. This guide walks through each action, explains how Valheim stores worlds and backups, and flags the steps that need the server stopped. Whether you searched for how to back up a Valheim world, how to restore a Valheim world, or how to switch worlds on your server, everything you need is below.

What a Valheim World Is

A Valheim world is a pair of files: a .db file that holds the world data and a .fwl file that holds its metadata, both named after the world. They live together in the server’s worlds folder, and the World Manager treats that pair as a single world. The world the server loads when it starts is the active world, which is set by the WORLD launch setting — so “switching worlds” means pointing that setting at a different save. A fresh server that has never been started has no world files yet; starting it once generates the default world, which is named Dedicated unless you have changed the active world to something else.

Note: A world is a .db (world data) and a .fwl (metadata) pair named after the world

Note: The active world is whichever one the WORLD launch setting points at — that is what the server loads on start

Note: A brand-new server generates its world (named Dedicated by default) the first time it starts

Finding the World Manager

The World Manager works on every Valheim server type Loafhosts offers — vanilla, ValheimPlus and BepInEx. When it is enabled for your server it appears in the server’s sidebar as a World Manager item (with a globe icon). Opening it takes you to a page headed World Manager that shows an “Active world” bar at the top, a card for each world below it, and an Import box at the bottom.

Note: The World Manager is available on vanilla, ValheimPlus and BepInEx Valheim servers

Note: It shows up as a World Manager entry in your server’s sidebar once it is enabled for the server

Tip: The “Active world” bar at the top of the page always tells you which save the server will load on its next start

Reading the World List

Each world is shown as a card with its name, its total size on disk, and how many backups it has. The world the server currently loads carries an Active badge, and its card is highlighted. If a card says “no world data”, that world has a metadata .fwl file but no .db save behind it — usually a leftover, not a world you can play. Every card has its own set of action buttons, and the active world deliberately hides the Set active and Delete buttons, because you cannot delete the world you are currently running and there is nothing to switch to on a world that is already active.

Note: The active world wears an Active badge and hides its Set active and Delete buttons

Note: “no world data” means the world has a .fwl metadata file but no .db save behind it

Download a World

The Download button packages a world’s .db and .fwl into a single archive and opens a signed download link so you can save it to your computer. This is the right way to keep a copy you control: a personal off-server backup, a world you want to move to another server, or a save to hand to a friend. Download works while the server is running, so you can grab a copy without any downtime.

1. Sign in to LoafHub at hub.loafhosts.com
2. Open your Valheim server and open the World Manager from the sidebar
3. Find the world you want in the list
4. Click Download to package it into an archive
5. Let the signed link open and save the archive to your computer

Tip: Download a world before any big change so you have a known-good copy that lives off the server

Tip: Download works while the server is online — you do not have to stop it to grab a copy

Snapshot a Backup on the Server

The Backup button compresses a world into a single archive that stays on the server, in the worlds folder. It is a quick, on-server snapshot you can take before experimenting — and because it lives in the file manager, you can download it or pull files out of it later. Like Download, taking a backup does not require the server to be offline.

1. Open the World Manager and find the world
2. Click Backup to compress it into an archive in the worlds folder
3. To keep that snapshot off the server, open the file manager and download it

Note: Backup creates a compressed snapshot in the worlds folder; download or restore it from the file manager

Tip: Snapshot a backup right before you try something risky, so rolling back is just a file-manager restore away

Restore From Valheim’s Automatic Backups

Valheim keeps its own backups of every world as it plays: a “Previous save” (the last rolling copy) and timestamped “Auto” backups it writes on a schedule. When a world has any of these, its card shows a Restore from a backup dropdown listing each restore point with its size, plus a Restore button. Choosing one copies that backup back over the live world. Restore needs the server stopped, and before it overwrites anything it snapshots your current save first — so even a restore you did not mean to do is itself recoverable.

1. Stop the server from the Console tab
2. Open the World Manager and find the world
3. Pick a restore point in its “Restore from a backup” dropdown (Previous save, or an Auto backup)
4. Click Restore and confirm
5. Start the server, which now loads the restored save

Warning: Restore requires the server to be stopped first

Note: Restore points come from Valheim’s own rolling and scheduled backups — not from the Backup button’s snapshots, which you restore from the file manager instead

Note: Your current save is snapshotted before the restore overwrites it, so a bad restore can still be undone

Import a World

Importing brings in a world from an archive you upload yourself. First upload a .zip (or .tar.gz) containing the world’s .db/.fwl files to the server through the file manager, then enter that archive’s path in the Import box and the World Manager extracts it into the worlds folder. Importing needs the server stopped. After it extracts, the imported world will not load until you make it the active world.

1. Stop the server from the Console tab
2. Open the file manager and upload your world archive (for example to /uploads/MyWorld.zip)
3. Open the World Manager and find the “Import a world” box at the bottom
4. Type the path to the archive you uploaded (for example /uploads/MyWorld.zip)
5. Click Import and let it extract into the worlds folder
6. Set the imported world active (see below), then start the server

Warning: Import requires the server to be stopped first

Note: Upload the archive through the file manager first, then give the World Manager its path — the archive should contain the world’s .db/.fwl files

Tip: A newly imported world is not loaded until you set it active, so follow Import with a Set active

Set the Active World (Switch Worlds)

The Set active button changes which world the server loads by updating the WORLD launch setting to the world you choose. This is how you keep several worlds installed and flip between them — a main world and a separate building world, say. Set active appears on every world except the one that is already active. The change is to a startup setting, so the new world loads on the next start: set it active, then restart. (You can also change the active world from the Startup tab, since both look at the same WORLD setting.)

1. Open the World Manager
2. Click Set active on the world you want the server to load
3. Restart the server so it loads the newly selected world

Note: Set active updates the WORLD launch setting; the world loads on the next server start, so restart after switching

Note: The active world already loads, so it has no Set active button — switch by setting a different world active

Tip: Setting a world active does not touch any other world, so you can always switch back later

Delete a World Safely

The Delete button removes a world and all of its backups, and it is wrapped in three safeguards. It only appears on worlds that are not active, because you cannot delete the world the server is currently set to load — switch the active world first. It needs the server stopped. And it asks you to type the world’s exact name to confirm, so a mis-click cannot wipe a save. Before it deletes, it also saves a compressed snapshot of the world first, so the files are not gone the instant you remove them.

1. Stop the server from the Console tab
2. If the world you want to remove is the active one, set a different world active first
3. Open the World Manager and click Delete on the target world
4. Type the world’s exact name when prompted to confirm
5. Confirm to snapshot and then remove the world and its backups

Warning: Delete requires the server stopped and cannot target the currently active world — switch active first

Warning: Delete removes the world and all its backups; type the exact world name to confirm

Note: A compressed snapshot is saved before deletion, but download a copy first if you want to keep the world for sure

Which Actions Need the Server Stopped

It is worth grouping your work so you only take the server down once. Listing worlds, downloading a world, snapshotting a backup, and setting a world active all work while the server is online (the world you set active simply loads on the next restart). Restoring a backup, importing a world, and deleting a world all need the server stopped, because those operations write directly over the world files. Plan any restore, import or delete together, stop the server, do them, and start back up.

Tip: List, download, backup and set active can all be done while the server runs

Warning: Restore, import and delete each require the server to be stopped first

Note: Viewing and downloading worlds use the read-level world permission; backing up, restoring, importing and deleting use the manage-level one — relevant if you share access with subusers

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I back up my Valheim world?

You have two quick options in the World Manager. Click Download on the world to package it into an archive and save it to your own computer — this works while the server is running. Or click Backup to make a compressed snapshot that stays on the server in the worlds folder, which you can later download from the file manager. Download gives you an off-server copy you control; Backup is a fast on-server snapshot.

How do I restore a Valheim world from a backup?

Stop the server, open the World Manager, and find the world. If Valheim has made backups of it, its card shows a “Restore from a backup” dropdown listing a Previous save and any Auto backups. Pick a restore point, click Restore, and confirm. Your current save is snapshotted first, then the chosen backup is copied back over the world. Start the server to play the restored save.

How do I switch which world my server loads?

Click Set active on the world you want in the World Manager. That updates the WORLD launch setting, which the server reads at startup, so restart the server for the change to take effect. Setting a world active leaves your other worlds untouched, so you can switch back any time. You can also change the active world from the Startup tab.

How do I import a world someone sent me?

Stop the server, then upload the world archive — a .zip or .tar.gz containing the world’s .db/.fwl files — through the file manager. Open the World Manager, type that archive’s path into the “Import a world” box, and click Import. It extracts into the worlds folder. Then set the imported world active and start the server, since a freshly imported world is not loaded until you make it active.

Do I have to stop the server to manage worlds?

Some actions, yes. Restoring a backup, importing a world, and deleting a world all need the server stopped because they write over the world files. Listing worlds, downloading a world, snapshotting a backup, and setting a world active all work while the server is running — the world you set active just loads on the next restart.

Can I delete the world my server is currently running?

No. Delete only appears on worlds that are not active, because the server cannot remove the world it is set to load. Set a different world active first, then delete the old one. Deletion also needs the server stopped and asks you to type the world’s exact name to confirm, and it saves a compressed snapshot before removing the files.