How to Add a Savegame to Your Unturned Server

An Unturned save is not a single file – it consists of the folders Level/ (the world) and Players/ (the characters) inside your server folder under /Servers/. You do not have to enter a world name anywhere: the folder inside Level/ is always named after the map the save was created on.

Tip

Create a backup of your current save before uploading, in case you want to switch back later.

Structure of a save

/Servers/<ServerID>/
        ├── Level/<MapName>/   ← structures, vehicles, objects
        └── Players/           ← characters, one subfolder per player

Which folder is mine?

<ServerID> is the folder name inside /Servers/. It comes from your server's startup parameter – usually there is exactly one folder there.

Upload the savegame

1. Stop the server
   Stop your server via the dashboard. While the server is running it writes to the save files itself and would overwrite your files on shutdown.

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

3. Open the directory
   Navigate to the folder of your server:

   /Servers/<ServerID>/

   Note

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

4. Remove the old save
   Delete the existing folders Level/ and Players/ if you want to replace the current save completely. Leftovers of the old world can lead to a mixed state.

5. Upload the folders
   Upload the folders Level/ and Players/ of your save completely into this directory.

6. Set the map
   Open the following file:

   /Servers/<ServerID>/Server/Commands.dat

   and enter the map that matches the folder name inside Level/ – one instruction per line:

   Map Washington

7. Start the server
   Save all changes and start your server. Your uploaded save is now loaded on startup.

Map and folder name must match

If the folder inside Level/ is called Elver, for example, then Commands.dat has to contain Map Elver. If the names do not match, the server generates a new, empty world and your uploaded save is ignored.

Workshop maps need an extra entry

If your save comes from a Workshop map (e.g. Elver, Carpat or Hawaii), the Map entry alone is not enough. The map also has to be listed in WorkshopDownloadConfig.json so your server downloads it. See Add mods for how to do that.

Keep the characters

The Players/ folder holds the player saves. If you only want to keep the world and let all players start fresh, upload Level/ only and leave Players/ out. The other way round, the characters stay intact if you leave Players/ untouched and only replace Level/.

Single player worlds

Whether a single player world from the Worlds folder of your local Unturned installation can be used on a dedicated server is not documented. There is no official procedure for it. Always work with copies only and create a backup beforehand – an attempt can fail or lead to unexpected behaviour. Switching between two saves works reliably when both of them come from a dedicated server.

Note

Unturned does not save automatically. To keep your progress, enter save in the console before stopping the server, or shut it down using shutdown.