Whether you want a local backup just in case, or you're ready to bring an existing singleplayer world onto your server, managing your Starbound save comes down to moving two folders around. This guide covers both directions: downloading a backup of your current save, and importing an existing one onto your server.
Understanding Your Save Files
Starbound splits its save data across two separate folders, and it's worth knowing the difference before you move anything.
📁 storage (or your main server directory)
📁 universe (shared planets, systems, and outpost progress)
📁 player (individual character and ship data)
What Lives Where
universe— Every planet, system, and moon anyone has visited, plus your server's shared Outpost progress. This is what most people mean by "the world."player— Each character's inventory, quest progress, and ship, including everything built on that ship. This data is tied to the character, not the world.
Backing Up Your Save
- Log into your MintServers panel and click Stop to safely shut down your server.
- Navigate to the Files tab on the left-hand sidebar and open the
storagefolder. - Right-click the
universefolder and download it to your computer. - If you also want to preserve character progress and ships, right-click the
playerfolder and download that too.
Importing An Existing Save
This works whether you're bringing over a singleplayer world to continue on your server, or trying out a custom map someone else made.
- Back up your server's current save using the steps above, just in case.
- Log into your MintServers panel and click Stop to safely shut down your server.
- Navigate to the Files tab and open the
storagefolder. - Open the
universefolder and delete its existing contents. - Upload the contents of the
universefolder you're importing into this now-empty folder. - Start your server.
Importing the
universe folder brings over the world, but not your character or ship, those live in the player folder instead. If you want to continue on your server as the exact same character, with the same ship and everything you'd built on it, also clear out the server's player folder and upload your character's matching files there using the same steps above.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Import Issues
Server loads a fresh universe instead of your import:Double-check the files were uploaded directly into theuniversefolder itself, not into a subfolder inside it. Also confirm the server was fully stopped during the whole transfer.Your character exists but your ship is empty:Ship data lives in your character's.shipworldfile inside theplayerfolder, not in theuniversefolder. If you only imported the universe, your ship wasn't included.Everyone's bookmarks and Outpost progress reset:This usually means theuniverse.datfile was replaced or partially overwritten. This file holds your server's shared identifier, and losing it resets bookmarks and Outpost state for every player. Restore it from your backup if this happens unexpectedly.
Your save is now backed up and ready to import wherever you need it. If you run into any trouble getting your world transferred over, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will gladly help you get it sorted.