Valheim: Restoring a Backup
Valheim worlds can become corrupted due to crashes, bad mods, or version mismatches. Fortunately, the server keeps automatic backups.
1. The Files
A save consists of a pair: WorldName.db and WorldName.fwl. You must restore BOTH for it to work.
2. The .old Files
Valheim automatically creates .old copies every time it saves successfuly. These are your first line of defense.
3. The Auto-Backups
Supercraft takes daily off-site backups found in the "Backups" tab. These are safer than the local .old files.
Method 1: Using the ".old" Files (Immediate Rollback)
If your server just crashed and the world won't load:
- Stop the Server.
- Open **File Manager** and go to
/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim/worlds_local/. - Locate your broken save files (e.g., `Dedicated.db` and `Dedicated.fwl`).
- **Delete** or Rename them (e.g., `Dedicated_broken.db`).
- Locate the backup files: `Dedicated.db.old` and `Dedicated.fwl.old`.
- **Rename** them to remove the `.old` extension.
- `Dedicated.db.old` -> `Dedicated.db`
- `Dedicated.fwl.old` -> `Dedicated.fwl`
- Start the Server. You will lose about 20-30 minutes of progress.
Method 2: Restoring from Panel Backup
If the `.old` files are also corrupted:
- Go to the **Backups** tab in your Supercraft Panel.
- Find a backup from a date/time when the server was working.
- Click **Restore**.
- Confirm the action. This will overwrite the current `worlds_local` folder.
- Restart.
Warning: Never restore a database (.db) without its matching metadata (.fwl) file. Mixing them from different dates can cause permanent terrain glitches or reset your seed.
That matching problem is exactly what the free Valheim World Recovery tool solves: point it at your worlds_local folder in the browser and it pairs every .db/.fwl copy by variant (current, .old, dated auto-backups), checks each file for truncation, flags an orphaned or damaged half, and rebuilds the newest intact pair into a ready-to-upload zip. Nothing is uploaded and your originals are untouched.
Safety first. Host your Valheim server with Supercraft and rest easy knowing our enterprise backup system protects your Viking saga from digital Ragnarok.