How To Upload an Existing World to Valheim

Already got a Valheim world worth keeping? You don’t have to leave it behind just because you’re moving to a Nitrado server. In this Nitrado guide, we’ll show you how to move your world’s files across, match the name exactly, and load it up before the September 9, 2026 launch.

The World File Pair

A Valheim world save is two files: WorldName.db holds the world itself (terrain, buildings, everything you’ve explored), and WorldName.fwl holds its metadata (name, seed, generator version). Both files travel together, and their names must match each other exactly.

If your world lives on Steam Cloud rather than on your PC, open the in-game world select screen, choose the world, and select Move to Local first. That pulls the .db and .fwl pair down to your PC so you can upload them.

Find Your Local Files

On PC through Steam, local worlds live at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local. Xbox console players cannot export their console saves as files, since consoles cannot host; playing the same save on a PC works through the Microsoft Store version of the game, which keeps its server files under C:\XboxGames\Valheim\Content\Server.

Upload via File Browser

Stop your server, then open Tools > File Browser in your Nitrado Web Interface. You’ll land in the server’s root directory with the valheim folder inside.

Open valheim, then savedata, then worlds_local, and upload both your .db and .fwl files into that folder. You can also upload the pair with an external client through your Nitrado server’s FTP; the files go to the same worlds_local folder.

Match the World Name

Your server loads a world by name, so the World name field under Settings > General must match your uploaded filenames exactly, without the .db or .fwl extension.

Select Save changes, then restart your server. It loads the matching world instead of generating a new one.

Your World After 1.0

Worlds made before the September 9, 2026 launch load fine afterward: your saved world receives the new Deep North content, though new biome generation only works in areas you haven’t explored yet. Iron Gate recommends starting a fresh world for the fullest 1.0 experience, but yours works either way. If you’d rather begin again with a specific layout, you can make a custom Valheim world from a seed and upload that instead.

Set Sail Into 1.0

With the file pair uploaded, the world name matched, and your server restarted, your old build is exactly where you left it. Load in before September 9, and your longhouse is ready for whatever the Deep North throws at it next! ⚔️