Yes, Palworld autosaves. A dedicated server writes the world every 30 seconds by default: that is the AutoSaveSpan=30.000000 Pocketpair ships in its own default settings file, and on our test server (v1.0.5) the world file was rewritten every 30 seconds even with nobody online.
So at the default, a crash costs you about half a minute of play. When a whole evening goes missing, look for something else first: a Kill instead of a Stop, a restore that left a file behind, or a server that quietly opened a different world. This page covers how saving works, how to force a save, where the files are, and how to back up and restore on a Connect server.
Does Palworld autosave in single-player and co-op?
It does, but Pocketpair doesn't document the interval for single-player or co-op worlds, so we won't quote one. Games-press guides report that there is no Save button, that Return to Title is the safe way to make sure your progress is written before you quit, and that a co-op world is saved on the host's PC rather than the guests'.
Everything below is about dedicated servers, where the interval is a setting you control.
How often does a Palworld server autosave, and can I change it?
Every 30 seconds unless someone has changed it. The setting is AutoSaveSpan on the OptionSettings=(…) line of Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini, in seconds. Pocketpair's configuration docs don't list it at all; the 30-second default comes from the game's own DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini.
On a Connect server you don't need to touch the file:
- Open World Settings and find the Performance group.
- Move Auto-Save Interval (10 to 3,600 seconds). Leave Save Backups switched on.
- Click Save. If the server is running, the panel offers Save & restart my server. Take it: Palworld rewrites its config file from memory when it shuts down, so a change written to a running server is lost at the next restart. The panel stops the server, writes the change and starts it again.
If World Settings shows Your server is ignoring these settings, your world folder has a WorldOption.sav, and Palworld reads its world settings from that file instead of the ini. The banner's Disable WorldOption.sav button renames the file (it doesn't delete it). Every setting in the tab then takes effect at once, so read through them first.
How do I force a save in Palworld?
Send Save. In the panel console it goes without the leading slash; in game it needs one.
| Where | What to send | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Panel: Overview → Server Console | Save | Complete Save |
| In game, as admin | /AdminPassword <your admin password>, then /Save | |
| REST API | curl -u admin:<admin password> -X POST http://<ip>:<port>/v1/api/save | HTTP 200 |
The console route is the one to use on a Connect server. It sends the command to the game over RCON with your server's admin password, and on our test server the world file was written the same second Complete Save came back. Pocketpair has marked RCON as deprecated in favour of the REST API, which is switched off on our servers by default and isn't a panel setting; if you need it, for a Discord bot for example, open a ticket. Our admin commands and REST API guide has the full command list.
Where are Palworld server saves stored?
Under Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/, one folder per world, named with a 32-character world ID:
Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<world ID>/
├── Level.sav the world itself
├── LevelMeta.sav
├── Players/ one <player ID>.sav per character
├── WorldOption.sav only on some servers (see above)
└── backup/world/
└── 2026.10.29-05.55.49/ Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav, Players/
Which world the server opens is decided by one line in Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini:
DedicatedServerName=<world ID>
If that line points at the wrong folder, or the file is reset, Palworld creates a fresh empty world and boots into it. Your real world is still on disk in the folder next to it. A server that suddenly asks everyone to make a new character, on day one of a fresh world, is this, not a wipe.
What does Save Backups (bIsUseBackupSaveData) actually keep?
With it on, the server keeps rolling copies of the world inside backup/world/. Pocketpair's documented schedule:
| Kept | How often |
|---|---|
| 5 | every 30 seconds |
| 6 | every 10 minutes |
| 12 | every hour |
| 7 | every day |
On our test server the folder held 25 to 26 snapshots, the newest 30 seconds old and the oldest six days. Each snapshot holds Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav and Players/.
It is a good undo button and a poor backup. It lives inside the same server folder, so anything that removes the server's files removes it too. Treat it as the thing that saves you from a bad last hour, and use panel backups for everything else.
What actually loses progress on a Palworld server?
| What happened | What you lose | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
A crash, a Kill, or /DoExit | Whatever happened since the last autosave: up to 30 seconds at the default | Use Stop. Pocketpair describes DoExit as a force stop |
| Stop does nothing, so you press Kill | Same as above, every time | This is the WorldOption.sav problem: Stop sends the game's Shutdown command over RCON, and a blanked admin password makes it fail silently. Use the banner in World Settings |
| The Weekly Deep Clean schedule template | Up to 30 seconds, every week | It kills the server rather than stopping it. On Palworld use Daily Restart instead |
| "Our world is gone" after a restart | Usually nothing | The world pointer moved (see above). Don't restore a backup over it, which can make it worse; open a ticket |
Restoring Level.sav without its Players/ files | One player's character: they hang on a black screen while the log says they joined | Always copy all three from the same snapshot |
| Mods | Pocketpair's own warning: crashes or save corruption | Back up before installing any |
Panel Stop sends shutdown 15: Pocketpair's normal shutdown, after a 15-second countdown. Pocketpair doesn't say whether that writes a final save, so if the last few seconds matter (a boss just went down), send Save in the console first.
How do I back up and restore on a Connect server?
Backups are in the Backups tab, on any plan that includes backup slots. The header shows how many you've used.
Take a backup:
- In the Server Console, send
Saveand wait forComplete Save. A panel backup copies the files as they are on disk; it doesn't ask the game to save first. - In Backups, click New Backup. It is named "Manual Backup" plus the date; use the ⋮ menu to Rename backup to something you'll recognise ("before 1.0.5 update").
- Use Lock backup on any you never want deleted by accident.
Take one before you change difficulty or death penalty, before a Palworld update, and before a region move. New Backup greys out when every slot is used or a backup is still running; delete an old one to free a slot.
Back up automatically: in Schedules, enable the Daily Backup quick template, or add a Create Backup task to a schedule of your own.
Restore a whole backup:
- Hover the backup card and click the Restore this backup icon, then Restore Now.
- The server stops, all current files are replaced with the backup, and it starts again on its own. Anything since that backup is gone, so take a fresh one first if the present state might still matter.
- Once it's back up, open
GameUserSettings.iniin Files and checkDedicatedServerName=still matches a world folder that has aPlayers/folder in it. A restore brings back the config files as they were too.
Roll back just the world from the game's own backup folder: stop the server, take a panel backup, then copy Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav and the Players/ folder from one snapshot in backup/world/ over the ones in the world folder, all three from the same snapshot. Start the server and have one player join alone first.
If a backup or restore says Another operation is in progress, another backup, restore, transfer or settings restart is still running on the server. Wait for it to finish and try again.
Moving a co-op world onto your server is a separate job with its own traps; follow moving your co-op world to a dedicated server.
When to open a ticket
If progress is missing and you haven't restored anything yet, stop the server and open a ticket before you try anything else. Tell us roughly when the world was last right and whether anyone has restored or reinstalled since. Several "lost" Palworld worlds we've investigated were still on disk, and each extra restore made them harder to find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Palworld autosave?
Yes. A dedicated server autosaves every 30 seconds by default (AutoSaveSpan=30 in Pocketpair's default settings file). Single-player and co-op worlds autosave too, but Pocketpair doesn't publish their interval.
How often does a Palworld server autosave?
Every 30 seconds unless AutoSaveSpan has been changed. On a Connect server it's Auto-Save Interval in World Settings → Performance, from 10 to 3,600 seconds.
How do I manually save in Palworld?
On a dedicated server, send Save in the server console (it answers Complete Save), or use /Save in game after /AdminPassword. In single-player and co-op there is no Save button; guides recommend Return to Title before quitting.
Does stopping a Palworld server save the world?
The world has already been written within the last 30 seconds by autosave. Panel Stop sends Pocketpair's normal Shutdown command rather than the DoExit force stop, but Pocketpair doesn't document a final save on shutdown, so send Save first if the last few seconds matter.
Where is the Palworld server save file?
In Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<world ID>/: Level.sav is the world and Players/ holds each character. The world the server opens is named by DedicatedServerName= in Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini.
Is the built-in Save Backups setting enough?
It keeps rolling snapshots (5 at 30 seconds, 6 at 10 minutes, 12 hourly, 7 daily), which is great for undoing the last hour. It sits inside the server's own folder, so keep panel backups as well.