Importing a world and managing backups

Already have a Terraria world in single player or on another server? You can bring it to your YorkHost server in a few minutes. This page also explains how to back up and restore your world.

World files

File	Content
MyWorld.wld	The world: terrain, buildings, chests, NPCs, progression
MyWorld.wld.bak	Safety copy created automatically by the game
MyWorld.twld	tModLoader only: the world's mod data

In the file name, spaces in the world name are usually replaced with _ (a world called "My World" becomes My_World.wld).

What about characters?

Characters (.plr files) are not stored on the server: each player keeps theirs on their PC and picks it when joining. Importing a world therefore only transfers the world. Exception: on a TShock server with Server-Side Characters (SSC) enabled, inventories are managed by the server.

Importing an existing world

1. Find the world on your PC

System	Terraria (vanilla)	tModLoader
Windows	Documents\My Games\Terraria\Worlds\	Documents\My Games\Terraria\tModLoader\Worlds\
Linux	~/.local/share/Terraria/Worlds/	~/.local/share/Terraria/tModLoader/Worlds/
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Terraria/Worlds/	~/Library/Application Support/Terraria/tModLoader/Worlds/

World saved to Steam Cloud

A world marked with a cloud icon in the world selection menu is stored on Steam Cloud, not in the folder above. In game, click the world's cloud icon to move it off the cloud: the .wld file then appears in the Worlds folder.

2. Upload it to the server

1. Stop the server from the Console of the Game Panel (game.yorkhost.fr)
2. Take a backup of the server
3. Open serverconfig.txt in the Files tab and find the world= line: it shows the server's worlds folder and the file being loaded
4. Drop your MyWorld.wld into that folder, using the Files tab or SFTP (credentials in Settings → SFTP Details). On a tModLoader server, upload the MyWorld.twld too
5. Edit the world= line so it points to your file, keeping the same folder:

world=<same folder as before>/MyWorld.wld

6. Start the server and check in the console that the world loads

Mind the capital letters

The server runs on Linux: file names are case-sensitive. MyWorld.wld and myworld.wld are two different files. If the name in world= does not match exactly, the server cannot find the world and may generate a new one (if autocreate is set) or show a world selection menu.

If the Worlds folder is inside a hidden folder (.local), enable hidden files in the file manager. If the Startup tab exposes the world name, set it there too: see Configure serverconfig.txt.

World compatibility

• Version: a world created or opened with a newer version of Terraria cannot be loaded by an older server. The server must be at least on the same version as the game that saved the world.
• Mode: a vanilla world can be opened with tModLoader (the .twld is then created). The reverse is possible, but mod content disappears from the world.
• Difficulty: a Journey world only accepts Journey characters, and vice versa.

Getting the world back from the server

To play the server's world in single player or keep an archive: stop the server (or type save in the console), then download the .wld (and the .twld on tModLoader) from the Files tab or over SFTP, and place them in the Worlds folder on your PC.

Taking a backup

From the panel

The Game Panel's Backups tab lets you create a server backup and restore it. Backups are included with every Terraria plan. Create one before any risky operation:

• updating the game, tModLoader or TShock
• adding, removing or updating mods (especially Calamity)
• switching modes (vanilla, tModLoader, TShock)
• importing or replacing a world

You can also automate backups from the Schedules tab.

Before backing up

For a consistent backup, type save in the Console to force the world to be written, or better, stop the server before backing up.

Keeping a copy off the server

Regularly download, using the file manager or SFTP:

• your world (.wld, plus .twld on tModLoader)
• serverconfig.txt
• on TShock: the tshock/ folder (including tshock.sqlite, which holds accounts, groups and regions)
• on tModLoader: your .tmod files and enabled.json

Restoring a backup

1. Stop the server
2. Restore the backup from the Backups tab, or replace the .wld (and .twld) with your copy
3. Check that the world= line in serverconfig.txt points to that file
4. Start the server

Recovering a corrupted world

If the world no longer loads after a hard shutdown, the game often keeps a MyWorld.wld.bak copy. With the server stopped, back up the current .wld, then copy the .wld.bak to MyWorld.wld (and likewise .twld.bak on tModLoader) and restart.

Starting a new world

1. Stop the server and take a backup
2. In serverconfig.txt, change the file name in the world= line (for example Season2.wld), as well as worldname, autocreate, difficulty and seed if needed
3. Start the server: it generates the new world

The old world stays on disk: you can go back to it by putting its name back in world=. Only delete it if you are running out of space.

See also

• Configure serverconfig.txt
• tModLoader: mods and Calamity
• Troubleshooting