Stardew Valley Save Location (PC and Server), Backups and Save Editing

On Windows, Stardew Valley saves are in %appdata%\StardewValley\Saves. On macOS and Linux, they're in ~/.config/StardewValley/Saves. It's the same folder whether you bought the game on Steam or GOG. Each farm is one folder named after your farmer plus a number, like Abigail_123456789. To back up a farm, move it to another PC or put it on a server, you copy that one folder.

This page covers every PC path, where the save lives on a dedicated server, how to back up and restore, how to move a co-op farm onto your server, and what to watch for if you edit a save by hand.

Checked on 28 October 2026 against Stardew Valley 1.6.15

1.6.15 is still the current PC patch on Steam (released 20 December 2024). Paths come from the official Stardew Valley wiki. Server paths come from our own install script and SMAPI's source.

Stardew Valley Save Location on PC

The Steam Deck normally runs the Linux version of the game, so its saves are in /home/deck/.config/StardewValley/Saves. You only need the Proton path if you forced a compatibility tool in the game's Steam properties. Both .config and .local are hidden folders, so turn on hidden files to see them.

What's Inside a Save Folder

The wiki says a save is XML, stored outside the game install, so reinstalling or updating the game never deletes it. Each farm folder holds these files:

Both main files are needed to load the farm, and the folder name has to match the main file's name exactly. If you rename one, the farm disappears from the load menu.

The game only saves when the day ends

Stardew Valley writes the save when the farmer goes to bed or passes out, and in multiplayer once everyone has clicked through the end-of-day screens. Anything done since the morning only exists in memory. That applies to your server too: stopping it mid-day loses that day's progress, and a backup taken at midday only contains the farm as it was that morning.

Where the Save Lives on a Dedicated Server

A Stardew Valley server is the full game running as the farm's host, so it uses the same folder layout as a Linux PC: .config/StardewValley/Saves/ in the home folder of the account running the game. The game builds that path from the XDG_CONFIG_HOME setting, or from HOME/.config when that isn't set, and then adds StardewValley/Saves. It doesn't look anywhere else.

On a GameServerKings Stardew Valley server, our installer creates .config/StardewValley/ at the top of the File Manager, so your farm folders belong in:

.config/StardewValley/Saves/

Two things to know about that folder:

• It's empty until the first farm exists. Saves/ appears once you've created a farm over VNC and slept through its first day. The multiplayer guide walks through that first setup.
• A Saves folder anywhere else does nothing. A StardewValley/Saves you create at the top of the File Manager, outside .config, isn't a folder the game reads. If your farm isn't in .config/StardewValley/Saves/ after the first night, open a ticket before you upload anything.

The server's own backups from SMAPI go in a different place. That's covered in the next section.

Backing Up a Stardew Valley Save

On your PC

Close the game, then zip the whole Name_123456789 folder and keep the zip somewhere outside Saves. The wiki warns against leaving backup copies inside the Saves folder, because the game tries to load anything it finds there.

If you play with SMAPI, its bundled SaveBackup mod already keeps copies for you. Each time the game starts, it zips your Saves folder into save-backups inside the game folder, not the saves folder. It makes at most one backup per day and keeps the 10 newest.

On your server

The server is running the same SMAPI, so it makes the same backups: a save-backups/ folder at the top of the File Manager, written each time the server starts, at most once a day, with the 10 newest kept. A server that runs for a week without a restart makes one backup that week.

For a backup you control:

1. Wait for the in-game night, or make sure nobody is mid-day, so the files on disk are current.
2. Panel backup. In the Backups tab, click Create Backup. It snapshots the whole server, including .config/StardewValley/ and save-backups/. See How to create a backup.
3. A copy on your own PC. In the File Manager, open .config/StardewValley/Saves/, use Archive on your farm's folder, and Download the archive. The panel downloads files, not folders, so you have to archive the folder first.

Do this before you add or remove mods, before a game update, and before any save edit.

Restoring a backup

• Undo one day: stop the server, or quit the game, and back up the folder as it is now. Delete SaveGameInfo and the main Name_123456789 file, then remove _old from the end of the two _old files.
• From a SMAPI backup: unzip the newest file in save-backups, then copy the farm folder back into Saves.
• From a panel backup: in the Backups tab, restore the backup. That rolls back the whole server, not just the farm.

Moving a Co-op Farm to Your Server

In co-op, the save exists only on the host's computer. Farmhands don't have a copy, so the person who hosted the farm has to do the upload.

1. Check the version. An older game can't load a newer save. The server's game version must be the same as the game that last saved the farm, or newer.
2. Back up the server from the Backups tab.
3. Zip the farm folder on the host's PC: the folder itself, not just the files inside it.
4. Stop the server. In the File Manager, open .config/StardewValley/Saves/, upload the zip, and use Unarchive on it. Check that you now have Saves/Name_123456789/Name_123456789, not one folder nested inside a second folder with the same name. Then delete the zip. SFTP works as well.
5. Load it once. Turn VNC on, load the farm from Co-op → Host, then restart the server so it loads that farm automatically. The multiplayer guide has the full steps.

The host's character stays with the server

The server plays as the farm's host. If you were the host, your character is now the server's character, and you join as a farmhand in a cabin. Read the host section of the multiplayer guide before you move a farm you care about.

A save from Android also works. Copy it to a PC first, then remove the .bin extension from every file in the folder before you upload it. If the farm used mods, install the same mods on the server first. How to mod Stardew Valley covers that.

Editing a Save

A save is plain XML, so you can fix things with a text editor that formats XML. Common fixes are changing the farm type (<whichFarm>) or removing a stuck NPC. The official wiki gives two warnings: a mistake "can permanently break your save", and "you should also avoid automatic save editor tools, since they often break the save." We haven't tested the community save editors, and we don't recommend any of them.

To edit a farm that's on your server:

1. Wait for the in-game night, then stop the server.
2. Archive and download the farm folder, and keep that download as your backup.
3. Edit the main Name_123456789 file on your PC. If you change the farmer's name, also change it in SaveGameInfo.
4. In the File Manager, delete the original main file in the farm's folder, upload your edited one, and start the server.

If you have SMAPI, some changes don't need an edit at all. The farm type, for example, changes with set_farm_type in the SMAPI console, according to the wiki. Stardew Valley console commands explains how to use that console.

Common Mistakes

• Uploading loose files instead of the folder. The game wants Saves/Name_123456789/ with both main files inside. Loose files directly in Saves/ don't load.
• Renaming the folder or the file. The folder name and the main file's name must be identical, number included.
• Files ending in _STARDEWVALLEYSAVETMP. Remove that ending from their names. If the ending keeps coming back, the wiki says to turn off Steam Cloud for the game first (Properties, then uncheck cloud sync).
• Older progress came back. Steam Cloud or GOG Galaxy put back the copy they had stored. The wiki's fix is to start the game without loading a save, put your copy back in the folder while the game is running, and then load it, so the cloud service treats your copy as the new one.
• Restarting the server mid-day. Progress since the morning is lost because the game saves only at night. Use the in-game night as your safe point.

Common Questions

Where are Stardew Valley saves on Steam?

Steam doesn't keep them inside its own folders. They're in %appdata%\StardewValley\Saves on Windows and ~/.config/StardewValley/Saves on Mac and Linux, the same as for a GOG copy. The exception is a Proton install on Linux or Steam Deck, which saves inside steamapps/compatdata/413150/.

Does a farmhand have a copy of the co-op save?

No. In multiplayer, the save exists only on the host's computer, or on the server if a server hosts the farm. To keep a copy, the host or the server owner has to back it up.

Where does SMAPI put its save backups?

In a save-backups folder inside the game folder. On your server, that's the top of the File Manager. SMAPI makes a backup when the game starts, at most once a day, and keeps the 10 newest.

Can I take my farm back off the server to play it solo?

Yes. Archive and download the farm folder from .config/StardewValley/Saves/, and unzip it into your own Saves folder. Your game must be the same version or newer. You load it as the host, so you play the farm's host character.

What to Read Next

• Stardew Valley Multiplayer: Play With Friends or Run a Dedicated Server 24/7: co-op options and the server's first setup over VNC
• How to Mod Stardew Valley: SMAPI, the Mods Folder, Co-op and Servers: SMAPI, the Mods folder and which mods everyone needs
• Stardew Valley Cheats and Console Commands (SMAPI, Debug and Chat): in-game alternatives to editing a save
• How to create a backup and How to upload files via SFTP

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