How to Upload a Local World to Your Windrose Server

Investing hours into a local Windrose world means you have built a foundation worth sharing. Transitioning that hard-earned progress into a multiplayer environment allows you and your friends to continue building your pirate legacy without losing a single gathered resource or crafted item. In this Nitrado guide, we will walk you through exactly how to safely locate, transfer, and configure your local save data so your multiplayer pirate journey can begin right where your solo adventure left off.

Finding Your Local Windrose Save

Before moving any data, you need to locate where your PC stores your local world files. By copying this exact folder, you ensure all player data, map progress, and world configurations are preserved.

1. Open your File Explorer on your computer.
2. Navigate to your local AppData directory by entering this path: C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Local\R5\Saved\SaveProfiles\{YourProfile}\RocksDB\{GameVersion}\Worlds
3. Inside this folder, you will see a directory with a long string of letters and numbers. This is your WorldID folder. Copy this entire folder to a safe location on your desktop.

Uploading a Local World to a Windrose Server

Your dedicated server requires these save files to be placed in a mirrored directory structure so the game engine can recognize them.

1. Access your server’s file system via FTP. You can find the login credentials in your server’s dashboard. Note: We highly recommend clients like Cyberduck or WinSCP configured to Binary mode. Some clients, such as FileZilla, may default to ASCII mode and corrupt your save data.
2. Navigate to the matching server save directory: R5 > Saved > SaveProfiles > Default > RocksDB > {GameVersion} > Worlds
3. Upload the WorldID folder you copied earlier directly into this directory. For a complete walkthrough, follow our FTP guide.

Configuring the Server to Load Your World

Simply uploading the files will not change your active world. To ensure the server boots up your specific save, you must tell the main configuration file exactly which world folder to target.

1. From your server’s web interface, navigate to Settings > Config Files and select ServerDescription.json from the dropdown menu.
2. Locate the WorldIslandId setting.
3. Replace the existing ID with the exact name of your uploaded WorldID folder. This string must match perfectly.
4. Save changes and start your server.

Note: Always stop your server completely before making any file edits. The Windrose server automatically rewrites the ServerDescription.json file upon shutdown, meaning any changes you make while the server is running will be instantly erased!

Troubleshooting Transfer Failures

If your server launches cleanly with a fresh world but fails to load your uploaded save, your files were likely modified or incompletely moved during the transfer process. You can review the official Windrose Troubleshooting Guide for deeper technical insights.

To fix a corrupted upload and get your server running:

• Verify your server is fully stopped before touching any files. Downloading or uploading while the server is running guarantees file corruption.
• Switch to a reliable FTP client like Cyberduck or WinSCP.
• Confirm your transfer settings are strictly locked to Binary mode (not ASCII).
• Delete the corrupted server files, then re-upload your local save folder using the correct client and mode.

Set Sail in Windrose

Taking control of your server environment means your adventures are no longer bound to a single local machine. With your world successfully transferred, you are fully prepared to invite your crew, explore the depths of the ocean, and conquer new challenges together. Gather your supplies, check your coordinates, and prepare to expand your empire in a world that is truly yours.