7 Days to Die Server Backup and World Transfer

Knowing where your world data lives and how to back it up is essential for any 7 Days to Die server. This guide covers save locations, manual backups, restoring from backup, and importing worlds from local play or another host.

Automatic Backups on WinterNode

WinterNode takes automatic backups of your server files every 12 hours with 45-day retention. These backups are managed through the backup system and can be restored through the Game Control Panel. See the backup system guide for details on how to browse and restore backups.

The automatic backups cover everything - world saves, configuration files, mods, and server settings. For most situations, these are sufficient for recovery.

World Save Location

7 Days to Die stores world data in a Saves directory within the server’s data folder.

Inside the Saves directory, you’ll find folders organized by world type, then by save name:

Saves/
└── [WorldType]/        (e.g., "RWG 6144" or "Navezgane")
    └── [GameName]/     (matches the GameName setting in serverconfig.xml)
        ├── main.ttw
        ├── players/
        ├── Region/
        └── ...

The GameName folder contains all your world data - terrain, player data, placed blocks, and entity states.

Taking a Manual Backup

For critical moments (before updates, major setting changes, or mod installations):

1. Stop the server through the Game Control Panel to ensure files aren’t being written to
2. Open File Manager or connect via SFTP
3. Navigate to the Saves directory
4. Download the entire GameName folder

Store the backup on your local computer. This creates an off-server copy that’s protected even if something happens to the server itself.

Restoring from a Manual Backup

1. Stop the server
2. Navigate to the Saves directory via File Manager or SFTP
3. Rename the current GameName folder (e.g., MyWorld to MyWorld_old) as a safety measure
4. Upload your backup folder to the same location with the original name
5. Start the server

The server will load the restored world on next startup.

Transferring a World from Local Play

If you’ve been playing on a local/singleplayer world and want to move it to a dedicated server:

Step 1: Find Your Local Save

On your PC, 7DTD saves are typically located at:

Windows:

C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\Saves\

You may need to enable “Show hidden files” to see the AppData folder.

Linux:

~/.local/share/7DaysToDie/Saves/

Step 2: Upload to the Server

1. Stop the server
2. Connect via SFTP
3. Navigate to the server’s Saves directory
4. Upload your local world folder, maintaining the same directory structure
5. Update GameName in serverconfig.xml to match your world folder name
6. Start the server

Migrating from Another Host

The process is the same as transferring from local play:

1. Download the world save from your current host (check their documentation for save locations)
2. Upload to WinterNode via SFTP
3. Match the GameName in serverconfig.xml
4. Ensure the same game version is running
5. Transfer serverconfig.xml and serveradmin.xml if you want to keep your settings and admin list

For a general guide on migrating servers, see our migration guide.