Where your world actually lives
Every world is a single .vcdbs file
Vintage Story saves are self-contained — one file per world, named <WorldName>.vcdbs. Easiest way to find yours: from the main menu, go to Single-player → Open Saves Folder, which opens it directly. On Windows, the same location is %appdata%/VintagestoryData/Saves. That single file is everything you’re moving — no separate player data or region files to track down.
Step by step
Moving your world to a server
1
Back up the save file first
Copy the
.vcdbs file somewhere safe before doing anything else. It’s the only copy of your world, and every guide for this process — including hosts’ own official ones — starts with the same warning.2
Stop the destination server
Whether it’s self-hosted or rented, stop it before uploading anything or editing its config — the same rule that applies throughout our server settings guide and map size guide applies here too: edits made while the server is running get silently overwritten when it shuts down.
3
Upload the .vcdbs file to data/Saves
Connect via SFTP/FTP (FileZilla is the most commonly recommended client) or your host’s File Manager, navigate to the
data/Saves folder — the exact root path varies slightly by host — and upload your file. Remove or archive any existing default world file already sitting there first, so there’s no ambiguity about which one the server should load.4
Point the server at it
Two ways to do this — pick whichever fits your host:
Option A — rename the file:
Rename your uploaded file to default.vcdbs
Option B — keep the original name, edit the config:
“WorldConfig”: {
“SaveFileLocation”: “./data/Saves/your world name.vcdbs”
}
Rename your uploaded file to default.vcdbs
Option B — keep the original name, edit the config:
“WorldConfig”: {
“SaveFileLocation”: “./data/Saves/your world name.vcdbs”
}
Option A needs no config edit at all and is the simpler route if you’re self-hosting or your host doesn’t expose a dedicated “World Name” field. Some panels offer a simpler middle ground — a World Name field under server settings that you just set to match your uploaded file’s name, without touching serverconfig.json directly.
5
Bring your mods too, if the world used any
A world built with mods active needs those same mods installed on the destination server, or it may fail to load correctly. See our mods guide for installing them — players connecting afterward won’t need to do anything extra themselves, since mod sync to the client is automatic.
6
Start the server
It should boot straight into your uploaded world. If it loads the wrong one, double-check the filename matches exactly what your config or World Name field references — this is the single most common mistake in this whole process.
Two valid approaches
Rename vs reconfigure — which should you use?
Rename to default.vcdbs
Simplest option — no config file editing at all. Best if you’re only running one world and don’t need to keep multiple saves organised by name on the server.
Edit SaveFileLocation or World Name
Keeps your original, meaningful filename intact and makes it easier to switch between multiple saved worlds later without renaming files each time.
FAQ
Uploading an existing world — common questions
No. Your world keeps whatever size, seed and settings it was generated with — those only matter for a brand new world. Our map size guide only applies if you’re starting fresh rather than bringing an existing save.
Yes, the process is identical — download your .vcdbs file from the old server via FTP or File Manager, then follow this same guide to upload it to the new one. The world file itself isn’t tied to any specific host.
Yes — this is a genuinely good way to use a free trial. Upload your existing world using this guide, and you’ll see exactly how it performs on real dedicated hardware with your actual builds and progress, rather than judging a host on a fresh empty world.
Almost always a filename mismatch — the server is still pointing at the old world’s name rather than your uploaded one. Double-check the exact filename against whatever your config or World Name field references. If that’s correct and it still won’t load, our troubleshooting guide covers world loading and corruption issues more broadly.
Yes — the .vcdbs file contains the entire world state, including your character, inventory, and everything you’ve built. You’ll pick up exactly where you left off, just with other people now able to join you.
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