WARPHOSTINGChoose a server
Project Zomboid guide

How to move your Project Zomboid world to a dedicated server

Hosted a game from Project Zomboid's Host menu, or moving from another server host? Bring the same world, with its players and sandbox settings. A Zomboid world is thousands of files, so it goes up as one zip.

Updated 28 October 2026

Find your world

On Windows, Project Zomboid keeps its files in the Zomboid folder in your user folder, C:\Users\<you>\Zomboid. A world you hosted is in Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer, in a folder named after the server (servertest unless you changed it).

Two more things belong with it: the player accounts in Zomboid\db\<server name>.db, and the sandbox settings in Zomboid\Server\<server name>_SandboxVars.lua. On another host, download the same three from its Zomboid folder.

Zip it

Make a new folder and put three things in it: the world's folder, the db folder and the _SandboxVars.lua file. Then zip that folder.

The world's folder on its own works too. The server then keeps its own player accounts and sandbox settings. If the db folder holds several servers' databases, the one named after the world's folder is used.

Upload it

  1. Choose the game version. A world only loads on the build it was made with. Servers run Build 42, Steam's current release. For a Build 41 world, set Game version in Settings to Build 41 and press Save configuration.
  2. Add the world's mods. Add the same Workshop mods on the Mods tab, and wait until each one shows Ready.
  3. Upload the zip. In your dashboard, open your server's Files & SFTP tab, choose world-imports/ as the upload folder and press Upload to world-imports. The browser takes files up to 96 MB. For a bigger world, press Generate SFTP credentials and upload the zip to the world-imports folder with FileZilla or WinSCP, up to 16 GB.
  4. Wait for the safety scan. Every upload is scanned before your server gets it. Press Refresh until the zip shows Passed safety scan.
  5. Stop and start the server. Press Stop, then Start. As the server starts, the world in the zip replaces the server's world, and the Console says when it's imported. The next backup keeps it.

Good to know

  • Characters are saved in the world's folder, so everyone carries on where they were. With the db file in the zip, players also keep the usernames and passwords they joined with before.
  • Settings files such as servertest_SandboxVars.lua can also be uploaded on their own, to config/.
  • Upload one zip at a time. If world-imports holds more than one, the server imports none of them and clears the folder.
  • If a zip can't be imported, the server starts with its current world and the Console says why. Fix the zip and upload it again.
Project Zomboid questions

Good to know.

My world is from Build 41. Will it work?

Yes. Set Game version in Settings to Build 41 before you stop and start the server. A Build 41 world, and its mods, only load on Build 41.

Do players keep their characters?

Yes. Zomboid saves characters inside the world's folder. Their logins come from the db file, so include it to keep their usernames and passwords.

How big can the zip be?

Up to 96 MB in the browser, and up to 16 GB over SFTP. Big worlds with hundreds of thousands of files import in seconds.