How to Restore a Backup on Your Valheim Server

Published 9 June 2026 · By Host Havoc Technical Support Team

Valheim servers store automatic backup saves alongside the main world file in the worlds_local folder. You can roll back to any of these backups using one of three methods.

Before you start: Stop your server before attempting any rollback. The timestamp format in backup filenames is YearMonthDayTime (for example, 20230422023443 = April 22, 2023 at 02:34:43).

Method 1: Manual file rename

  1. Log into the Game Control Panel and stop your server.
  2. Click File Manager and navigate to the worlds_local folder.
  3. Locate the current main save file. By default this is savegame.db. If you set a custom world name, look for the .db file with that name.
  4. Rename the current save to something else, for example oldsavegame.db.
  5. Find the backup save you want to restore. Backup files include a timestamp in the name, for example savegame_backup_auto-20230422023443.db.
  6. Rename the backup file to match the main save filename, for example rename it to savegame.db.
  7. Start the server.

Method 2: Backup Save File Renamer script

  1. Log into the game control panel and stop your server.
  2. Click the ...More button in the server control panel.
  3. Click the Backup Save File Renamer script.
  4. Select the backup save file you want to restore from the dropdown list.
  5. Click Run. The script renames your current save and replaces it with the selected backup.
  6. Start the server.

Method 3: Restore Backup

  1. Log into the game control panel and stop your server.
  2. Click the Restore Backup icon in your server's control panel.
  3. Select a backup from the dropdown menu.
  4. Click Run.
  5. Start the server.

For information on uploading a local world to the server, see Upload World.