How to Move a Sons of the Forest Save to a Dedicated Server (2026)

Your group has spent weeks on a base in co-op, and now you want a dedicated server so the island no longer depends on one person's PC. You do not have to start over. The world can move from the host's PC to the server, as long as it lands in the right folder with the right name and the server is told to continue it instead of making a new one.

This guide walks through the move step by step. It works the same on a Windows server, the jammsen Docker image and the Pelican or Pterodactyl egg; only the location of the user data folder differs.

Before you start: three warnings

1. Make a backup of everything first. Copy the save on the host's PC and anything already on the server to a safe place. If a step goes wrong, you put the copy back and nothing is lost.
2. Store your gear. Several hosting guides warn that the world (buildings, storage, progress) moves over while personal inventories may not. Put everything you cannot lose in a box at the base before the last co-op session.
3. Never use SaveMode new on the slot you upload to. Endnight's guide says new overwrites whatever is saved on that slot, again on every restart for as long as the setting stays on new.

Step 1: find the co-op save on the host's PC

Only the player who hosted the co-op game has the world. On their PC, press Win + R and open:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForest\Saves

Inside is a folder named after the host's SteamID64, a long number. In it:

• Multiplayer holds the co-op games this player hosted.
• SinglePlayer holds solo games.

Each save is its own folder with a numeric name. Pick the right one by its date, or by the thumbnail image in the folder, which shows where the game was saved. Some hosting guides say a single-player save can be moved the same way; if you try that, do it on a copy.

Have the host load the game one last time, save in a shelter or tent, and quit to the menu. Then copy the whole save folder somewhere safe.

Step 2: pick a slot and name the folder

The server keeps its saves in its user data folder, under Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer/. Each save sits in a folder named after its slot number with ten digits:

Pick a slot that is empty, so the server's current world stays as it is. Slot 2 is a good choice if the server already made a world on slot 1.

Where that Saves folder lives depends on how you run the server:

• Windows: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForestDS\Saves\DedicatedServer\Multiplayer, unless you started the server with -userdatapath.
• jammsen Docker image: game/userdata/Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer next to your compose file.
• Pelican or Pterodactyl egg: the egg starts the server with -userdatapath "/home/container/serverconfig", so it is serverconfig/Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer in the file manager.

If the DedicatedServer folder is not there yet, start the server once, let it create its first world and stop it again. Then the folder exists and you can see how a server save looks.

Step 3: upload the save

1. Stop the server. Never copy files into a save while it runs, because the next autosave overwrites them.
2. Create the slot folder, for example 0000000002.
3. Copy the contents of the co-op save folder into it. A save holds a SaveData.zip with the world and a thumbnail; copy all files, not just the zip.

On a VPS you can upload with SFTP, or with scp from the PC. In a panel, use the file manager or SFTP.

Step 4: point the server at the slot

Open dedicatedserver.cfg in the user data folder and set:

"SaveSlot": 2,
"SaveMode": "continue",

On the Pelican egg, set the Save Slot variable in the Startup tab instead. The egg writes it into the config, and its description says exactly this: if you uploaded an existing save from your PC, enter the save slot number there.

You do not have to match GameMode to the old game. Endnight's guide says the game mode is ignored when the server loads an existing save, and so are the custom game mode settings. The difficulty and custom rules come with the save. GameSettings such as tree regrowth and structure damage still apply.

Step 5: start and check before you celebrate

1. Make sure the game and the server run the same version. Update the server first if a patch came out.
2. Start the server and read the console or log. The self-test has to pass, and the server should load the slot you set.
3. Join with the old host first and walk to the base. Check buildings, storage boxes and story progress.
4. Let the others join and check their inventories.
5. Wait for one autosave (every 600 seconds by default), restart the server and check again that the base is still there.

Only after that last check is the move done. Keep the backup from the start for a while anyway.

When the server makes a fresh world instead

The server started on the right slot but you spawn on a new island. Check these in order:

• The folder name. It must be ten digits and match SaveSlot. 2 or Slot2 does not count, 0000000002 does.
• The folder location. It must be under Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer/ in the user data folder the server really uses. With -userdatapath, that is the folder in the start command, not the default one.
• SaveMode. If it was on new when you started, the server has overwritten the upload. Copy the backup in again, set continue and start once more.
• Nested folders. If you copied the folder itself into the slot folder, the files sit one level too deep. The zip must be directly inside 0000000002.

Moving the world back to a PC

The same folders work the other way. Stop the server, copy the slot folder from Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer/ and put it in the Multiplayer folder under the host's SteamID64 on the PC. Back up both sides first, the same as before.

Where to run the server

A dedicated server has to run somewhere that stays on. The Linux setups for Sons of the Forest ask for at least 8 GB of RAM, so a small 2 GB box is not enough. Our Sons of the Forest server guide covers the requirements and the install, and Sons of the Forest server settings explained covers every option in dedicatedserver.cfg.

We do not sell a ready-made Sons of the Forest server yet. A VPS from 8 GB, such as the Standard VPS-M, gives you root access to install it yourself with the Docker image or the egg.

FAQ

Where is the Sons of the Forest co-op save on Windows?

On the PC of the player who hosted: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForest\Saves\<SteamID64>\Multiplayer\, with one numbered folder per save.

Where does the save go on a dedicated server?

In the server's user data folder under Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer/, in a folder named after the slot with ten digits, such as 0000000001 for slot 1.

Do I need to set the game mode again after moving the save?

No. When the server loads an existing save with SaveMode on continue, it ignores GameMode and the custom game mode settings, so the save keeps the difficulty it was made with.

Will our inventories carry over?

Not reliably. Hosting guides report that the world moves over while personal inventories may not, so store important items at the base before you move.

Why did my server overwrite the uploaded save?

Most likely SaveMode was set to new. With new, the server creates a new game on the slot and overwrites what was there on every start. Put your backup back and set SaveMode to continue.