Move an existing Palworld world safely

A Palworld transfer needs the world and its related player saves together. A server that starts successfully can still load the wrong world or ask returning players to create characters. Keep the original installation until you have checked both the world and several existing characters.

Identify the source before copying

Record the game version, server operating system and whether the source is a dedicated server or a locally hosted co-op game. Moving between Windows and Linux, or converting a co-op host into a dedicated-server player, can require player-identity repair. A folder upload alone does not guarantee that characters will match.

On a dedicated installation, inspect Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/ beneath the server directory. The world normally occupies an ID-named folder containing Level.sav and a Players directory. If your installation uses a mounted save directory, confirm its mapping with support first. Do not choose a world solely because its folder is newest: compare modification times with a known recent save and retain all candidate folders.

Create a complete recovery copy

1. Announce maintenance and ask players to leave. An authenticated administrator can use /Save, then arrange an orderly shutdown. Wait until the process has exited.
2. Download the complete Pal/Saved directory, including configuration, all world files and available built-in backups. Keep an untouched copy outside the server.
3. Check that the download finishes and its archive opens. Compare the extracted folder structure and file sizes against the source. See our backup checklist.
4. Record the destination's existing configuration and take a separate backup before replacing anything there. Do not merge different worlds' player folders.

Prepare the destination while it is stopped

Confirm that the destination supports the source save version and required modifications. If a first startup is needed to generate directories, complete that before uploading and stop again. Transfer the complete selected world folder into the dedicated save directory, preserving its name and contents. An extra enclosing archive folder will leave the files in the wrong location.

Ask CloudExa support to confirm which world the destination selects before starting it; the configured world identifier must match the transferred folder. Do not guess a startup variable or overwrite every configuration file from the old host. Linux uses Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/; Windows uses Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/. Keep the destination's assigned network settings.

Check characters before reopening

Start the destination with a small test group. Check the expected bases, Pals, guild membership and player inventories. If an existing player receives character creation, stop testing and preserve both copies. Do not delete their save or repeatedly create replacement characters. Send support the source and destination operating systems, game versions and affected platform; identity conversion needs a reviewed recovery plan.

Once checks pass, give players the destination address and keep the old server stopped to prevent two diverging saves. Retain its recovery copy until the community confirms the move. Never upload world archives to an unfamiliar conversion website: saves can contain player identifiers and community data.

Further reading: Pocketpair's save and shutdown commands and configuration locations, plus the official Docker save-directory example.