Force a World Save
Manually save your Valheim world to protect against data loss and crashes.
Valheim auto-saves every 30 minutes by default. You can force a save at any time to protect recent progress.
Force Save In-Game
Connect as admin
You must be on the admin list.
Open the console
Press F5.
When to Force Save
Force save before:
- Shutting down the server
- Making changes to mods or configuration
- Major events like boss fights or large builds
- Backing up your world files
📝 Note: The server saves automatically when it shuts down gracefully. However, if the server crashes or is force-killed, any changes since the last save are lost.
Change the Auto-Save Interval
Adjust how often the server auto-saves with the -saveinterval startup parameter.
Go to Startup and set the save interval (in seconds):
| Interval | Value |
|---|---|
| Every 10 minutes | 600 |
| Every 15 minutes | 900 |
| Every 20 minutes | 1200 |
| Every 30 minutes (default) | 1800 |
💡 Tip: Shorter save intervals protect more progress but can cause brief lag spikes when saving. Every 15–20 minutes is a good balance for most servers.
Backup Configuration
Valheim also creates automatic backup snapshots. Configure these with startup parameters:
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
-backups | 4 | Number of backups to keep |
-backupshort | 7200 | First backup interval in seconds (2 hours) |
-backuplong | 43200 | Subsequent backup interval in seconds (12 hours) |
Backup files are saved alongside your world files with a .old extension. To restore from a .old backup, remove the .old extension.
Related Guides
See also: World Save Files | Restore Backup | Scheduled Restarts
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