Palworld Save Tools: Host Fix, Character Transfer and Converting Worlds

Palworld save tools are community desktop apps that open a world's Level.sav and do what the game can't: move the co-op host's character onto a dedicated server, convert an Xbox/Game Pass world for Steam, or copy one player between worlds. The list changed in September 2026. PalworldSaveTools, the most popular one, shipped its final release on 16 September and its own README now says it should no longer be used. Its developers point to Palworld Save Pal instead, which is actively maintained.

This page covers which tool to use now, the host-fix walkthrough for a GSK server, the Game Pass conversion, and the trap specific to switching between our Linux and Windows (Proton) Palworld servers.

Checked on 27 September 2026 against Palworld v1.0.5

Palworld Save Pal v1.4.3 (14 September 2026) and PalworldSaveTools v2.4.5 (16 September 2026, final). Save tools break when Palworld changes its save format, so check each tool's release page against your game version before running it.

Which Palworld save tool to use

The PalworldSaveTools README is blunt: "Version 2.4.5 is the final release. The project is outdated and several features are broken because Palworld has moved past what this version supports." It says the project has merged into its successor, which it calls PalStudio (formerly Palworld Save Pal). The GitHub project is still published as Palworld Save Pal at the time of writing, and that is where the downloads are.

Palworld Save Pal is a standalone program, not a mod. Nothing gets installed on your server. Its v1.4.3 notes are the reason to be on the current build: "Fixed Player UID Swap wiping every pal in a co-op save" and "Fixed saves from the latest Palworld update failing to load".

Back up before any tool touches a save

Download the whole world folder first, and take a panel backup (How to create a backup). Palworld Save Pal writes its own copy to a backups folder next to the program when you save, but that only covers the file it edited.

Why you need a save tool at all

Palworld identifies players by an internal ID, and a co-op world gives the host a special one. The host's character file is Players/00000000000000000000000000000001.sav (the 0001.sav in the tools' docs). A dedicated server has no host, so when you join your uploaded world, the server hands you a normal ID and a blank character. Everyone else keeps their progress, and the host starts from level 1.

The fix is to swap the two player records inside Level.sav, so your old character takes over your new ID. Swapping by hand isn't practical, because the IDs are referenced throughout the world file (guilds, Pals, bases). That is the job these tools do.

Fixing the host character on a GSK Palworld server

This assumes you have already uploaded the world and pointed the server at it. Managing your Palworld world and save files covers that part: the folder under Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, deleting WorldOption.sav, and setting DedicatedServerName.

1. Start the server and join once as the old host. Make a throwaway character; any name will do. Stay long enough for the world to save, or run /Save as admin (see Palworld Admin Commands & Moderation Guide).
2. Stop the server from the Console tab.
3. Download the world folder from /home/container/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<world ID>/. You need Level.sav and the Players/ folder. SFTP is faster for large worlds.
4. Open Level.sav in Palworld Save Pal (choose Steam as the save type).
5. Go to Tools → Player UID Swap. Swap the old host character (the …0001 player) with the throwaway character you just made.
6. Save in Palworld Save Pal, then upload the changed Level.sav and Players/ folder back over the originals on the server.
7. Start the server and join. You should load in as your old character, with your Pals and guild.

It is a swap, not a copy. The PalworldSaveTools guide explains the same operation: the tool "exchanges two player files (like trading seats), not a copy." After the swap, the throwaway character sits in the old host slot, where it does no harm.

The reverse move, taking a server world back to single-player, is the same swap run the other way. Copy the world into your local save folder, host it once to create a host character, and swap your server character into the …0001 slot.

Moving a world between our Linux and Windows servers

GSK offers Palworld on two server types: the native Linux server and a Windows server running under Proton. Their config lives in Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ and Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ respectively. The world folder layout is the same on both.

In 2024, before Palworld 1.0, the author of the original host fix documented that the two platforms assigned player IDs differently: "Moving a Windows dedicated server save to a Linux dedicated server will force all players to create a new character." We haven't re-tested this on the current version, so it may no longer apply. If you move a world between the two server types and everyone arrives as a new character, this is the likely cause. The fix is the same UID swap, run once per player. Player Transfer is the other route; see Transferring one character to another world or server below.

Transferring one character to another world or server

Palworld has no built-in way to move a character from one world to another. Your level, inventory and technology belong to the world they were earned in. The game only lets Pals travel, through the Global Palbox. To bring a whole character, you edit the saves with Palworld Save Pal, whose Player Transfer tool copies a player from one Level.sav into another.

Pick the right method first, because the three cases are different jobs:

Pals only: the Global Palbox

The Global Palbox is a vanilla structure (Technology tier 3) that stores a Pal's genetic data so the Pal can be rebuilt in another world. Palworld's wiki lists what carries over: level, skills, passives, condensation rank, enhancement, trust and work-suitability boosts. The rebuilt Pal has limits: it drops Scrapped Tissue Sample when butchered, can't be used to feed condensation, and each world holds only one rebuilt copy of the same data.

Server owners control both directions with bAllowGlobalPalboxExport and bAllowGlobalPalboxImport in PalWorldSettings.ini. The PvP preset in our World Settings guide turns them off, so nobody brings in a team bred elsewhere. If the Global Palbox does nothing on a server, check those two keys first (World Settings).

Whole character: Player Transfer

Player Transfer copies a player between two saves. The README says you choose "which data to move (character, inventory, pals, technology, appearance)" and "whether to overwrite an existing player or spawn in a new one". That makes it the tool for "I want my level-40 character on my friend's server".

1. Get both saves. The source is the world your character is in now. A local world is under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<SteamID64>\<WorldID>\. A server world is under Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<WorldID>/. The *target* is the server's world. Stop the target server first, then download its whole world folder (Level.sav and Players/). SFTP is faster for large worlds.
2. Join the target server once first if you want to overwrite a player there. That creates your player record in the target world. Stop the server again before downloading.
3. Back up both folders. Take a panel backup of the target as well (How to create a backup).
4. Open Palworld Save Pal and use its Player Transfer tool on the source and target saves. Choose what comes across, and whether to overwrite your target character or create a new one. We haven't walked through the tool's menus ourselves, so follow its own prompts for which save to load first.
5. Save, then upload the changed Level.sav and Players/ back over the target world on the server. Start the server and join.

Ask the server owner first

Moving a character into someone else's world drops a fully progressed player into their economy and progression. On a shared server, treat it like any other save edit: the owner decides, and the server must be stopped while the file is changed. A running server keeps the world in memory, and its next save overwrites your edit.

You don't need a save tool, and can't use one, if the target is an official server or a world on a console. Console saves aren't browsable files, and official servers aren't yours to edit.

Xbox and Game Pass worlds

Game Pass saves aren't a folder you can upload. They sit in a container of GUID-named files under %LocalAppData%\Packages\PocketpairInc.Palworld_ad4psfrxyesvt\SystemAppData\wgs, with a container.index file. Palworld Save Pal can open that directly and convert the save format between Game Pass and Steam. Convert first, then upload the converted world folder to the server as described in Managing your Palworld world and save files, and run the host fix if the Game Pass player was the host.

Editing, and what to leave alone

Every tool on this list can also edit: Pal stats, inventories, levels, bases. On a multiplayer server that is effectively admin cheating, and vanilla Palworld has no command for it (see Palworld Item IDs and Why There Is No Spawn Command). If you do edit a server save, stop the server first. A running server keeps the world in memory, and its next save can overwrite your edited Level.sav.

Don't mix tool generations

Palworld Save Pal no longer converts JSON exported by the old Python palworld-save-tools (convert.py) back into a .sav. Its README says round-trips only work "within the same tooling generation". Export and re-import with the same tool.

Common Questions

Is PalworldSaveTools still safe to use?

Its developers say not to. v2.4.5 is the final release, it targets game version 1.0.4, and the README says several features are broken. Use Palworld Save Pal.

Why do I have a new character after moving my co-op world to a server?

Because the co-op host is stored under the special …0001 ID, and a dedicated server doesn't use it. Join once, then run a Player UID Swap between the old host and your new character.

Do I need a save tool to move a world to a dedicated server?

Only for the host's character, or when moving between platforms. The world itself (bases, Pals, other players) moves with a plain folder upload.

Does a save tool need to be installed on my GSK server?

No. They are desktop programs. Download the save, fix it on your PC, and upload it back.

Can a save tool convert an Xbox world for a Steam server?

Yes. Palworld Save Pal converts between Game Pass and Steam formats. Convert on your PC, then upload.

Can you transfer a character between worlds in Palworld?

Not in-game. Characters belong to the world they were made in. Only Pals can move, through the Global Palbox. To move a whole character, use Player Transfer in Palworld Save Pal on both worlds' saves, with the target server stopped.

Can I move my Pals to a friend's server without a save tool?

Yes. Upload them in a Global Palbox in your world, then rebuild them from a Global Palbox on the server. This works as long as the server allows Global Palbox import (bAllowGlobalPalboxImport).

What to Read Next

• Managing your Palworld world and save files: save paths, uploading a world, WorldOption.sav
• Palworld Crossplay & Cross-Save: which platforms can share a world
• Setting Up Your Palworld Dedicated Server: first boot and connecting

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