How to Restore a Backup on Your Valheim Server
Learn how to restore world backups and character backups on your Valheim dedicated server.
Valheim automatically creates backup copies of your world files. You can use these to roll back to a previous save if something goes wrong — such as a corrupted world, accidental destruction, or an unwanted change.
Restoring a World Backup
Valheim creates automatic world backups in the same folder as your active world files. These backups are named with timestamps so you can identify when they were created.
Stop your server
Access the XGamingServer panel and stop your Valheim server.
Navigate to the worlds folder
In the sidebar, go to Files. Open the .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local folder.
Remove the current world files
Delete (or rename) your current Dedicated.db and Dedicated.fwl files.
Rename the backup files
Find the backup files you want to restore — they'll be named something like Dedicated.db.backup_auto_20240115. Rename the .db backup to Dedicated.db and the .fwl backup to Dedicated.fwl.
Start your server
Start your server from the Console page.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure both the
.dband.fwlfiles you restore are from the same backup timestamp. Mixing files from different backups can cause world corruption.
📝 Note:
Dedicatedis the default world name. If you've changed your world name inStartup, your files will be named accordingly.
Restoring a Character Backup
Character saves are stored locally on your PC, not on the server. Valheim has a built-in character backup system you can use from the main menu.
Open Valheim
Launch Valheim from Steam.
Open save management
From the main menu, click Manage Saves.
Select your character
Click the Characters tab and select the character you want to restore.
Restore the backup
Choose a backup from the list and click Restore Backup.
💡 Tip: Character backups are great for recovering from lost tombstones or accidental item deletion. Valheim keeps several automatic character backups so you can choose how far back to roll.
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