How to Add a Savegame to Your Colony Survival Server

A save in Colony Survival is a complete folder, not a single file. Every world lives in its own subfolder inside the savegame directory of your server, and the name of that folder decides which world is loaded.

/gamedata/savegames/<worldname>/

Important

The folder name has to match the value you enter in the World Name field in the dashboard exactly – including upper and lower case. If the server does not find a matching folder, it creates a new, empty world instead.

Files of a savegame

File	Content
world.sqlite3	The actual world as a SQLite database – terrain, buildings, colonies and settlers
world.sqlite3-wal	Write-ahead log of the database (not always present)
world.sqlite3-shm	Shared memory file of the write-ahead log (not always present)
worldconfig.json	Display name of the world, world type and the list of enabled mods
permissionusers.json	Optional: player permissions for this world
permissiongroups.json	Optional: custom permission groups for this world

Note

If the world comes from an older game version, it may still contain a regions/ folder and a settings_readonly.json file instead of world.sqlite3. In that case upload the complete folder as well – the server converts the world while loading it. Very old worlds (from before version 0.9) can no longer be loaded.

Upload the savegame

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard. While the server is running it constantly writes to the database and locks the savegame directory.

2. Connect via SFTP
   Connect to your server via SFTP.

3. Open the directory
   Navigate to the following directory:

   /gamedata/savegames/

   Note

   If the folder does not exist yet, start your server once so the folder structure is created. Afterwards stop it again.

4. Secure the current save
   Create a backup or download the existing world folder in case you want to switch back later.

5. Upload the world folder
   Upload the complete folder of your world including all files into this directory. Use a distinctive folder name without spaces or special characters, for example MyWorld.

   Warning

   If a folder with the same name already exists, delete it beforehand or rename your uploaded folder. Never mix the files of two worlds in one folder.

6. Enter the World Name
   Open the dashboard, go to the settings and enter exactly the folder name from step 5 into the World Name field.

7. Start the server
   Start your server. Your uploaded world is now loaded on startup.

Tip

Check the console in the dashboard after starting. If the server loads the intended world, its name shows up there. If it creates a new world instead, the folder name does not match the World Name field.

Move a world from another server

Switching worlds works most reliably when both of them come from a dedicated server – for example when moving to another host. Download the complete world folder there and then follow the steps above.

Do not forget the mods

The file worldconfig.json stores which mods are enabled for this world. If those mods are missing on the new server, the world can fail to load properly. Upload the matching mods as well: Add Mods.

Find your local savegame

If you hosted a co-op world on your PC and want to move it to the server, you can find it in the installation folder of the game:

...\Steam\steamapps\common\Colony Survival\gamedata\savegames\

If Steam Cloud synchronisation is enabled, your worlds are stored here instead:

...\Steam\steamapps\common\Colony Survival\gamedata\savegames\_cloud\<SteamAccountID>\

Single player worlds

Only transfer worlds you have already used in multiplayer. A pure single player world is marked as such in the game and has to be converted in the client first – whether a dedicated server loads it without that conversion is not documented. Always work with copies only.