How to Transfer a Palworld Co-op or Single-Player World to a Dedicated Server
Many groups start in co-op and later want a server that stays online. You can bring the world with you by copying its save folder, but there are a few details to get right.
Find your local save
On Windows press Windows + R and enter %localappdata%. Then open Pal, Saved, SaveGames, and the folder named after your Steam ID. Inside are one or more world folders. Load the world you want, play briefly, quit, and note which folder was most recently updated.
Steps to upload
- Stop your server from the Console tab.
- Make a backup of the current server save.
- In Files, open Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0 and note the name of the existing world folder.
- Upload your local world folder into that location.
- Open GameUserSettings.ini in Pal/Saved/Config and set DedicatedServerName to the name of your uploaded folder, or rename your folder to match the old one after removing the old files.
- Start the server and join.
Exact file locations and key behaviour can differ by version, so confirm them on your own server.
The host character issue
In co-op the host's character is stored under a special identifier. On a dedicated server the host usually connects with a normal account ID, so the game may treat them as a new player and start a fresh character. Guests normally keep their characters. Community tools exist that reassign the host save to a real player ID, but they edit save files directly. Use them only on a copy and read their instructions carefully. We cannot guarantee results for third-party tools.
Tips
- Always keep an untouched copy of the original local save.
- Have each player join once so their character file is created or matched.
- Check base and Pal ownership after the first login.
If the world does not load
- The folder name does not match DedicatedServerName.
- The upload was incomplete. Re-upload the whole folder.
- The save came from a much newer game version than the server.
For a simple copy job, our team can help over Discord. Share the folder structure you see and we will guide you.