How to Import a Save File to Your Factorio Server

Updated 10 June 2026 · By Host Havoc Technical Support Team

If you have an existing Factorio world you want to continue on your server, you can import it by uploading the save file via FTP. Factorio saves are .zip files and the server loads whichever file is named default.zip in the saves folder.

You will need FTP access configured before starting. See Connect an FTP Client if you have not done this yet.

Import your save

  1. Log in to the Game Control Panel and Stop your server.
  2. Locate the .zip save file on your PC that you want to upload.
  3. Connect to your server via FTP and navigate to the saves/ folder.
  4. If there is already a default.zip in the saves/ folder, rename or delete it first to avoid conflicts.
  5. Upload your save .zip file to the saves/ folder.
  6. Rename the uploaded file to default.zip.
  7. Start your server. It will load your imported save.

Troubleshooting

  • Server loads a different save: Confirm the file in saves/ is named exactly default.zip with no extra spaces or characters.
  • Upload fails or is slow: Large save files can take time. Keep the FTP connection open until the transfer completes, then verify the file size matches the original.
  • Server crashes on start: The save file may be incompatible with the server's Factorio version. Ensure your server is running the same version that created the save. You can configure the server version from the panel.