Knowledgebase Palworld How to Restore a Lost Palworld World or...

How to Restore a Lost Palworld World or Character from Automatic Backups

If a base disappears, a player's progress vanishes, or something just looks wrong after a crash or a bad update, there's a good chance you don't need to panic. Palworld automatically keeps rolling snapshots of your world alongside your live save data, and restoring one is as simple as moving folders around in your file manager.

💡 Note: This is different from a full server backup made through your MintServers Backups tab. These are automatic snapshots Palworld itself takes of your world folder as you play, stored right next to your live save. Both are useful, but this guide covers restoring from these automatic snapshots specifically.

Step 1: Stop Your Server

Log into your MintServers panel, select your Palworld server, and Stop it completely before touching any files.

Step 2: Find A Backup From Before The Problem Started

  1. Go to the Files tab in the left sidebar.
  2. Navigate to Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, then open your world's folder (the one named with a long string of letters and numbers).
  3. Open the backup/world folder inside it. You'll see a list of folders, each named with a date and time, like 2026.07.27-16.59.36.
  4. Pick the most recent one from before things went wrong. If you're not sure exactly when the problem started, it's worth checking the contents of a couple of candidates before committing.
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Step 3: Restore The Backup

Each timestamped folder is a complete copy of your world's save data, so restoring it just means putting those files back where the live save normally lives.

  1. Open the timestamped folder you chose.
  2. Select everything inside it (Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav, the Players folder, and anything else present).
  3. Move these files up into your world's main save folder — the one directly under Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, three levels above where you are now — overwriting the current files when prompted.
⚠️ Important Warning: This overwrites your current save, and any progress made after the backup's timestamp will be lost. If there's a chance you'll want the current (broken) state later, copy it somewhere safe before overwriting it.

Step 4: Start Your Server And Check

Start your server and connect. Confirm your world, bases, and characters look the way you expect. If this particular backup didn't go back far enough, Stop the server again and try an earlier timestamp from the same backup/world folder.

💡 Pro Tip: These snapshots exist because of a setting called bIsUseBackupSaveData in your PalWorldSettings.ini. It's worth leaving enabled specifically so a folder like this is there when you need it. See our server settings guide for more on this and every other setting available.

If you can't find a backup recent enough, or something doesn't look right after restoring one, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will be happy to help you get your world back.

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