How to Upload an Existing World to Your Project Zomboid Server

Upload an existing Project Zomboid world to your server

Project Zomboid will happily run a world you already started, whether that is a singleplayer save or a co-op "Host" game you ran from your own PC. The trick is putting the world in the right folder and making the folder name match your server name. This guide covers both cases on your DoomHosting server, with the exact paths our setup uses.

Where your world lives on your PC

Your saves are under C:\Users\<YourName>\Zomboid\Saves\ (on Linux or Mac it is ~/Zomboid/Saves/). Inside there is one folder per game mode:

Zomboid\Saves\Sandbox\      custom-rules singleplayer worlds
Zomboid\Saves\Survivor\     default difficulty singleplayer
Zomboid\Saves\Apocalypse\   apocalypse singleplayer
Zomboid\Saves\Builder\      builder singleplayer
Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\  co-op "Host" games and joined servers

Open the matching folder and find your world. The folder name is the world name you picked (co-op Host games default to servertest). That whole folder is your world: map chunks, vehicles, and built structures.

Where it goes on your DoomHosting server

Our Project Zomboid servers store their data under /home/container/.cache/. The world for a running server lives here:

/home/container/.cache/Saves/Multiplayer/<YourServerName>/

<YourServerName> is the value of the Server Name field on your server's Startup tab. On a fresh DoomHosting server it defaults to Pterodactyl, so the folder is Saves/Multiplayer/Pterodactyl/. The matching files are:

/home/container/.cache/Server/<YourServerName>.ini
/home/container/.cache/Server/<YourServerName>_SandboxVars.lua
/home/container/.cache/db/<YourServerName>.db

This is the number one thing people get wrong: the save folder name has to match your Server Name exactly, or the server ignores it and generates a fresh world.

Step 1: stop the server and back up

1. Open your server in the panel and click Stop. Never copy save files while the server is writing to them.
2. If the server already has a world you care about, take a backup first via the Backups tab. See our backup and restore guide.

Step 2: connect over SFTP

1. In the panel, open the Settings tab and find the SFTP Details.
2. Connect with FileZilla or WinSCP using that host, port, and your panel password.
3. Browse to /home/container/.cache/. If there is no Saves folder yet, start the server once, let it finish booting, then stop it. That generates the folder structure.

Step 3: upload the world

For a co-op or existing multiplayer world:

1. On your PC, open Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer\ and find your world folder (often servertest).
2. Upload that entire folder into /home/container/.cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ on the server.
3. Rename the uploaded folder to match your Server Name exactly, or change the Server Name on the Startup tab to match the folder.
4. To keep characters, also upload your PC's Zomboid\db\<oldname>.db into /home/container/.cache/db/ and rename it to <YourServerName>.db.

For a singleplayer world:

1. Find your world under the mode it was created in (Sandbox, Survivor, Apocalypse, or Builder).
2. Upload that folder into /home/container/.cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ and rename it to your Server Name.
3. The map, buildings, and vehicles carry over. Player characters do not: singleplayer stores your character inside the save, while a server keys characters to Steam IDs, so everyone starts fresh on the server. That is expected.

Tip: large worlds upload faster as one archive. Zip the folder, upload the single file, then unzip it on the server using the file manager's Unarchive option. Thousands of small chunk files transfer slowly one by one over SFTP.

Step 4: match build, mods, and sandbox settings

A world only loads cleanly if the server matches the game it came from:

• Build must match. A Build 41 save will not load on a Build 42 server, or the other way around. If your world is Build 42, switch the server first: see how to switch to Build 42.
• Map mods must match. If your world used a map mod (Eerie Country, Raven Creek, and similar), the server has to load the same mods, or those chunks come back blank or crash on entry. See how to install mods.
• Sandbox rules. Loot, zombie population, and time settings live in <YourServerName>_SandboxVars.lua. To reuse your world's rules, copy your local _SandboxVars.lua into /home/container/.cache/Server/ and rename it to match.

Step 5: start and verify

1. Click Start and watch the Console.
2. Connect and check a location you recognize, like your base, to confirm the right world loaded.

Common issues

Server generated a brand-new world instead of loading mine. The folder name does not match your Server Name. Stop the server, check the Server Name on the Startup tab, and rename the folder to match exactly. Capitalization counts.

World loads but my base is gone. Either a map mod is missing or only part of the folder uploaded. Re-upload the complete folder and confirm the mod list matches.

Crash when joining near a modded area. The server is missing a map mod the world depends on. Install the same Workshop map mods, then restart.

Upload is extremely slow or times out. Zip the world folder and upload the single archive, then unzip on the server.

Need more RAM for a big world?

A heavily explored or modded world needs more memory than a fresh one. Use our Project Zomboid RAM calculator to size your plan.