--- title: "Project Zomboid Save Location: PC and Server Saves, and How Saving Works" description: "Where Project Zomboid saves on Windows, Linux and Mac, how saving works (there's no save button), where a server keeps its world, and moving a world." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/project-zomboid-save-location/" category: "Project Zomboid" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/" published: "2026-10-28T05:52:31.869Z" updated: "2026-10-28T05:52:31.869Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # Project Zomboid Save Location: PC and Server Saves, and How Saving Works Project Zomboid keeps its saves in the **`Zomboid` folder in your user's home directory**, not in the Steam install. On Windows that is `C:\Users\\Zomboid\Saves\`. On Linux and macOS it is `~/Zomboid/Saves/`. A dedicated server uses the same layout under its own cache folder: on a GameServerKings server, the world is in `.cache/Saves/Multiplayer//`. There is no Save button in the game. It saves as you play and when you quit through the menu. > [!NOTE] Checked against Build 42.21 (stable since 28 September 2026) > Paths and file names come from the 42.21 game files (`projectzomboid.jar` and the Lua menus in the public depot). ## Where Project Zomboid Saves on PC | System | Save folder | |---|---| | Windows | `%UserProfile%\Zomboid\Saves\` (paste it into the Explorer address bar) | | Linux | `~/Zomboid/Saves/` | | macOS | `~/Zomboid/Saves/` | | Linux, playing through Proton | `steamapps/compatdata/108600/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Zomboid/Saves/` | Inside `Saves` there is one folder per game mode, and inside each of those one folder per world: ```text Zomboid/ ├── Saves/ │ ├── / single-player worlds, e.g. Sandbox │ │ └── / one folder = one save │ └── Multiplayer/ │ └── / worlds hosted with the in-game Host button (default name: servertest) ├── Server/ the config files for Host worlds: .ini, _SandboxVars.lua, ... ├── db/ account databases for Host worlds └── mods/ local mods ``` Everything about a world lives in its folder: the map chunks, `map_t.bin` (world time), `map_sand.bin` (its sandbox settings), `players.db` (characters) and `vehicles.db`. To back up one world, copy the whole folder while the game is closed. To back up everything, copy the whole `Zomboid` folder. > [!TIP] The `Zomboid` folder survives an uninstall > Removing the game from Steam doesn't delete `Zomboid`, so your saves are still there after a reinstall. The game's launch option `-cachedir=` moves the whole folder somewhere else if you want it on another drive. ## How to Save in Project Zomboid There is no manual save, and there is no save slot to pick. The game writes the world to disk as you play, and when you leave it writes the rest: - **Single player:** press **Esc** and choose **QUIT** to save and go back to the main menu. **QUIT TO DESKTOP** asks you to confirm, then closes the game through the same exit save. **CONTINUE** on the main menu loads your latest world. - **Force-closing the game** (Alt+F4, killing the process, a crash) skips that exit save, so anything not yet written is lost. Quit through the menu. - **Death is permanent for the character, not the world.** When your character dies, the world save stays, and you can start a new character in it. On a server, players never save anything themselves. The server owns the world, and an admin can save it on demand: | How | What it does | |---|---| | `/save` (in-game chat) or `save` (server console) | "Save the current world". Needs a role with the SaveWorld capability (admin by default) | | `/quit` or `quit` | "Save and quit the server" | | Panel **Stop** button | Sends `quit`, so a normal stop saves first. **Kill** does not | | `SaveWorldEveryMinutes` in `.ini` | Default `0`. The game's own description: "Loaded parts of the map are saved after this set number of real-world minutes have passed. (The map is usually saved only after clients leave a loaded area)" | If players spend long sessions in one base, set `SaveWorldEveryMinutes` to something like `15` or `30`, so a crash doesn't cost the whole session. ## Where the Save Is on Your GameServerKings Server Our servers start Project Zomboid with `-cachedir=/home/container/.cache` and the **Server Name** from the Startup tab (default `Pterodactyl`). In the panel's **File Manager**: | What | Path | |---|---| | The world | `.cache/Saves/Multiplayer//` | | Characters only | `.cache/Saves/Multiplayer//players.db` | | Config and sandbox rules | `.cache/Server/.ini`, `_SandboxVars.lua`, and the two spawn files | | Accounts, passwords and roles | `.cache/db/.db` | | The game's own backups | `.cache/backups/startup/`, `version/` and `period/` (`backup_1.zip`, …) | Because every path includes the Server Name, changing that field points the server at an empty set of folders. You get a new world with default settings, and the old one is still on disk under the old name. Rename it back and the old world returns. The automatic zips in `.cache/backups/` are controlled by `BackupsOnStart` and `BackupsOnVersionChange` (both on by default), `BackupsPeriod` and `BackupsCount` (default 5). [Project Zomboid dedicated server setup](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/getting-started-with-your-server/) has the table. They are on the same disk as the world, so keep panel backups too ([How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/)). ## Move a Single-Player or Hosted World onto Your Server You can upload a world you started on your PC and keep playing it on the server. 1. **Make sure the versions line up.** The server must be on the same build as the PC that made the save, or newer. A save from a newer build won't load on an older one; the game reports "Savefile is from a newer version of the game." Most worlds are on public 42.21. If yours was on `legacy41` or `pre-release`, set the same **Steam Beta Branch** on the server and reinstall first. 2. **Stop the server** and take a panel backup. 3. **Find the world folder on your PC.** A single-player world is in `Zomboid/Saves///`. A world from the in-game **Host** button is in `Zomboid/Saves/Multiplayer//`. 4. **Empty `.cache/Saves/Multiplayer//` on the server and upload the *contents* of your world folder into it.** Upload the files inside your world folder, not the folder itself. A world is thousands of small files, so use SFTP rather than the browser ([How to upload files via SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/)). 5. **Carry the rules across.** - For a **Host** world, upload `Zomboid/Server/.ini` and `_SandboxVars.lua` too, and rename them to your server's Server Name. - For a **single-player** world, edit `.cache/Server/_SandboxVars.lua` to the settings you played with before you start. The server reads that file at every start. [Project Zomboid server settings](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/configuration-overview/) explains the values. 6. **Match the mods.** Put the Workshop IDs and Mod IDs the world was played with into `WorkshopItems=` and `Mods=` in `.cache/Server/.ini` ([How to install mods for Project Zomboid](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/how-to-install-mods/)). 7. **Start the server** and watch the console for `*** SERVER STARTED ****`. > [!IMPORTANT] Single-player characters don't come across > `players.db` keeps single-player characters and server characters in two separate tables (`localPlayers` and `networkPlayers`), and a dedicated server only reads the server table. Your base, your loot and the explored map all come with the world, but everyone, you included, makes a new character when they first join. To take a world **off** the server, stop it and download `.cache/Saves/Multiplayer//` (or the newest zip in `.cache/backups/`) over SFTP. ## FAQ ### Where are Project Zomboid save files stored? In the `Saves` folder inside `Zomboid` in your home directory: `C:\Users\\Zomboid\Saves\` on Windows and `~/Zomboid/Saves/` on Linux and macOS. They are not in the Steam install folder. ### Does Project Zomboid autosave? Yes. The game writes the world as you play and does a full save when you quit through the menu. There is no manual save button. On a server, admins can force one with `/save`, and `SaveWorldEveryMinutes` adds timed saves of the loaded map. ### How do I save in Project Zomboid multiplayer? You don't. The server or host saves the world. On a dedicated server an admin can run `/save`, and stopping the server from the panel saves before it shuts down. ### Why did my server world reset after I changed the server name? Every save, config and account path is named after the Server Name. With a new name the server finds no world and creates one. Change the name back and the old world loads again. ### Where are my server's automatic backups? In `.cache/backups/` in the File Manager: `startup/` (one zip per start), `version/` (one per game update) and `period/` (timed, if `BackupsPeriod` is above `0`). `BackupsCount` sets how many of each are kept, 5 by default. ## What to Read Next - [Project Zomboid Dedicated Server: Setup, Ports, RAM and Updates (Build 42)](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/getting-started-with-your-server/): ports, memory, updates, wipes and the game's backups - [Project Zomboid Server Settings and Config Files](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/configuration-overview/): the `.ini` and sandbox file that go with a world - [How to install mods for Project Zomboid](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/how-to-install-mods/): matching a world's mods on the server - [Project Zomboid Multiplayer: How to Play With Friends](/knowledge-base/project-zomboid/project-zomboid-multiplayer/): branches, and the version mismatch behind most failed joins - [How to upload files via SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/) If you want the world to keep running when you log off, a [Project Zomboid server](/games/project-zomboid/) is set up for this layout out of the box. --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings