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Palworld – Restoring from a Backup

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PALWORLD

This page explains how to restore your world (save data) and server settings from a backup you have created. It also covers what a backup does and does not contain, and how the game’s own save generations differ from our backups.

About 5 min readUpdated 2026-09-12For Palworld

How to restore

  1. Open Backups from the left-hand menu of the server management screen.
  2. Click “…” → Restore at the right-hand end of the backup you want to restore.
  3. A confirmation dialog appears. Go ahead and click Restore.
The Backups screen. Choose Restore from the “…” menu at the right-hand end of the backup you want.
The Backups screen. Choose Restore from the “…” menu at the right-hand end of the backup you want.
The server stops automatically while the restore runs. Please avoid power and file operations until it finishes. Once it is done, start the server and you will be playing on the restored state.

Please be careful with the checkbox in the dialog

The restore confirmation dialog has a checkbox that reads “Delete all files before restoring the backup.”

The restore confirmation dialog. Leave “Delete all files before restoring the backup.” unchecked and proceed.
The restore confirmation dialog. Leave “Delete all files before restoring the backup.” unchecked and proceed.
Unless you have a specific reason, please leave it unchecked. It is unchecked by default.
If you tick it, every file on the server is deleted, including the game program files. On a server whose backups do not contain the game program files, restoring from that state will not bring the game back, and the server will no longer start.
Even if you have already run a restore with the box ticked, your world data is not lost. You can recover with “Restoring after a reinstall” below.

What a backup does and does not contain

Palworld backups come in two forms: the new format and the previous format.

You can tell which one you have from the size shown in the backup list.
A few MB means the new format (world and settings only). A few GB means the previous format (the game program files are included as well).
The new format applies to servers created on or after 12 September 2026 and to servers reinstalled after that date. Servers that have been running since before then continue on the previous format, exactly as before.
ContentsNew formatPrevious format
World data (save data)IncludedIncluded
Server settings (PalWorldSettings.ini and so on)IncludedIncluded
Files you have uploaded yourselfIncludedIncluded
Game program filesNot includedIncluded
The game’s own save generationsNot includedIncluded
Logs and temporary filesNot includedNot included

The game program files run to several GB, and they are identical for every customer. We can put them back at any time from our side, so the new format leaves them out of the backup.

As a result, backups are quicker to create and less likely to fail. Each generation is much lighter, so the same number of generations now reaches further back in time. Your world and your settings are protected exactly as before.

The game’s own save generations are not the same thing as our backups

Separately from our backups, Palworld itself saves your world automatically and keeps several recent generations. These are useful when you want to step back a little way. For the procedure, see Palworld - Rolling back your save data (recovering a world or character).

The game’s own save generations are still kept on the server, exactly as before. With the new format they are simply no longer bundled into our backup files. Nothing about the in-game generations themselves has been reduced or removed.

Because of that, restoring one of our backups does not roll the in-game save generations back to how they were. Once you carry on playing the restored world, new generations build up again from there.

The game’s own save generations live on the same server.
If something happens to the server itself, they are lost along with the world. Please do not treat the in-game generations as a reason to go without backups.
Backups are something you create yourself, and none are taken by default. Taking them by hand is easy to forget, so we recommend fixing a day and time by following Procedure for setting a regular schedule on a game server. Once it is set, backups are taken automatically.

Restoring after a reinstall

If the game program files have been lost and the server no longer starts, or if you restored with the checkbox ticked, the order matters.

  1. Reinstall first. See Reinstallation procedure when the server fails to start. This puts the game program files back.
  2. Then restore from a backup. This brings your world and settings back.
Please do not reverse the order. If you restore first and then reinstall, the world you have just brought back is replaced by the reinstall.
A reinstall on its own does not bring your world back. Please make sure you also complete step 2.

If something does not go to plan

SymptomWhat to check
The restore worked, but this is not the world I expectedCheck the date and time of the backup you restored. You may have chosen one from a different day.
The server will not start after a restoreYou may have restored with the checkbox ticked. Try reinstall, then restore.
My world disappeared after a reinstallYour backups are still there. Please restore after the reinstall.
I cannot create a new backupCheck whether you have reached the limit on stored generations. Deleting one you no longer need will let you create another.
The restore never finishesLarge worlds take a while. If nothing changes after waiting, please get in touch.

If the problem persists, send us the message shown on screen exactly as it appears and we will look into it.

How many generations you can keep

The number of backups you can keep depends on your plan.

PlanGenerations you can keep
Small3
Medium5
Large10
Enterprise30

When a scheduled backup runs while you are at the limit, the oldest one is replaced automatically. Creating one by hand at the limit returns an error instead, so please delete a backup you no longer need and try again.

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