Stardew Valley
Already have a Stardew Valley farm you've been growing in single-player? You don't have to start over - you can upload that save to your MintServers server and keep playing with friends. This guide covers the upload itself, plus an optional advanced method for anyone who wants to keep playing their imported character specifically as a farmhand.
Before You Start: Cabins
Multiplayer needs one cabin per player who'll join - the farmhouse itself doesn't count toward this. You can add more cabins either by setting the number when the world was first created as multiplayer, or afterward by having Robin build them at the Carpenter's Shop for 100g each.
Step 1: Upload Your Save
Your single-player save lives in a folder on your PC, containing a few files. You'll create a matching folder on your server and upload those files into it - not the folder itself.
- On your PC, open
%appdata%/StardewValley/Savesand find your save's folder - it's named_ - Stop your server on the MintServers panel, then open the Files tab and navigate to the
Savesfolder below.
📁 server (your main server directory)
📁 .config
📁 StardewValley
📁 Saves
📁 _ (create this folder, named exactly like your save folder)
📄
📄 SaveGameInfo
📄 SaveGameInfo_old
- Inside
Saves, use Create Directory to make a new folder with the exact same name as your save folder, then open it. - Use Upload (not Upload Directory) to upload the files from inside your save folder - you should end up with the four files shown above sitting directly inside this new folder.
(1) added to its name instead of overwriting it. If that happens: delete the old file, then rename the new one to remove the (1). You'll run into this anywhere this guide says to upload a file that replaces another one.
_old file, SaveGameInfo, and SaveGameInfo_old. If you see a folder inside instead of these files directly, you uploaded the folder itself rather than its contents - delete it and try again with the files.
Step 2: Set the Farm Name
Your server loads whichever save matches the Farm Name in its settings, so this needs to match your uploaded save.
- Go to the Game Settings tab on your panel.
- Change the Farm Name field to match your farm's name - the part of the folder name before the underscore and numbers.
- Save your settings, then Start your server.
Advanced: Keep Your Character as a Farmhand
When you upload a single-player save, your character becomes the server's host data by default. If you'd rather join and play as a regular farmhand yourself - for example, so you're not tied to the host slot specifically - you can move your character's data into a farmhand slot. This keeps all of your skills, inventory, and relationships intact. It's entirely optional; skip this section if you're happy playing as the host.
- After uploading your save and setting the Farm Name, start the server.
- Connect and create a new character - this becomes a fresh farmhand.
- Once you spawn in, walk to a bed and sleep to save the game.
- Stop the server.
- Open the Files tab and download your save file (it has the same name as the save folder).
Drop that file below and this will move your imported character's progress into the farmhand slot for you:
Once you've got your corrected file, upload it to the Files tab, replacing the original (see the tip above if it lands with a (1)), then start the server and join using the same account you used to create your character in step 2 above.
Prefer to edit the file by hand instead?
- Open the downloaded file in a text or code editor, such as VS Code.
- Find the top-level
«player»...«/player»block near the start of the file - this holds your imported character's data. Cut everything from the opening tag to the closing tag, tags included. - Paste it inside
«farmhands», right before the closing«/farmhands»tag. - Inside
«farmhands», find the«Farmer»...«/Farmer»block for the fresh character from step 2. If you see several«Farmer»blocks - your server can pre-allocate one per cabin - look for the one whose«name»field matches the character you just created; the others are empty, unclaimed slots and should be left alone. Cut your character's block out the same way. - Paste it back at the top of the file, right before the
«farmhands»opening tag - this is where your original«player»block used to be. - Rename that block's tags from
«Farmer»/«/Farmer»to«player»/«/player». - Rename the block you moved into
«farmhands»from«player»/«/player»to«Farmer»/«/Farmer». - Find the two
«UniqueMultiplayerID»values, one inside each block you just relabeled, and swap them: the top block should end up with the ID that was in the farmhand block, and the farmhand block should end up with the ID that was in the top block. - Save the file and upload it back to the Files tab, replacing the original (see the tip near the top of this guide if it lands with a
(1)). - Start the server and join using the same account you used to create the character in step 2 - you'll load in with your imported character's full progress.
This is a simplified view of the swap - your real save file will have far more data inside each block. The idea is just to trade places: your imported character moves into the farmhand slot, and the fresh character takes the top-level slot. Swapping the two «UniqueMultiplayerID» values (previous step) is what actually connects the right account to the right data.
If you still get that error after following the steps above, the host can type
/unlinkPlayer in the in-game chat to free that character up so the matching account can claim it.
Once you're in, all your skills, relationships, and inventory should be exactly where you left them. Haven't connected to the server at all yet? Check out our Join Server guide. If anything doesn't look right after the swap, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will help you sort it out.