Your Valheim world lives in two files, a .db file and a .fwl file, and you back it up by snapshotting on the Backups tab or downloading both files together.
The two files that make up your world
Every Valheim world is stored as a matched pair:
- <worldname>.db is the actual world. It holds the terrain, every base and structure, containers and their contents, dropped items, and the map you have explored.
- <worldname>.fwl is the world metadata. It holds the world name and the seed.
You need both files, and they must be the matching pair. A .db on its own, or paired with the wrong .fwl, will not load correctly. Valheim also keeps .db.old and .fwl.old files next to them as automatic safety copies.
Where the files live
On the Files tab, open the worldslocal folder inside your save directory. On a dedicated server this is commonly at .config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worldslocal. Both files share the same world name.
Easiest backup: a panel snapshot
Go to the Backups tab and click Create backup. This snapshots the whole server, including your world, in one click. Restoring a snapshot overwrites your current files, so always take a fresh snapshot before any risky change like a mod update or a config edit.
Download a copy to your own PC
For an off-server copy you control:
- Download both files from the Files tab, or connect over SFTP with FileZilla using the SFTP details on the Settings tab (SFTP is a secure way to move files between your computer and your server).
- Always keep the .db and .fwl together as a pair.
- Store dated copies so you can roll back to a specific day.
Restore a world
Upload both files back into worldslocal with their original names, make sure the world name on the Startup tab matches the .fwl name, and restart. You can also restore a snapshot from the Backups** tab, which overwrites the current world.
Good backup habits
- Snapshot before installing mods, updating the game, or wiping anything.
- Keep a few generations rather than one, in case a problem goes unnoticed.
- The .old files are your emergency net. If a save corrupts, rename the .old copy to replace the broken file.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.