Valheim does not keep all of its player data in one folder. Your characters and worlds can sit in a local folder on your computer, in the Steam Cloud data folder for your Steam account, or in an older legacy folder left over from before the save system changed. Which one applies depends on your platform and on whether the save is set to local or cloud storage. On Windows, local and legacy saves are under %USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalLowIronGateValheim. On Linux, they are under ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim. Cloud copies are under the Steam userdata tree for Valheim’s Steam app ID, 892970.
Save locations at a glance
The table below lists every location the game uses. Find your platform and save mode, then open the matching character or world folder.
| Platform | Save mode | Location | What you will find |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Local (current) | %USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalLowIronGateValheimcharacters_local and ...worlds_local |
Characters and worlds saved with local storage after the save patch |
| Windows | Legacy | %USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalLowIronGateValheimcharacters and ...worlds |
Older saves that have not yet been used and saved again |
| Windows | Steam Cloud | Steamuserdata<numeric Steam account ID>892970remote |
Cloud-backed characters and worlds tied to that Steam account |
| Linux | Local and legacy | ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheim |
Local and legacy character or world folders; look for the folder matching your save |
| Linux | Steam Cloud | ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<numeric Steam account ID>/892970/remote |
Cloud-backed characters and worlds tied to that Steam account |
Three things separate one location from another: the operating system, whether the save is local or cloud-backed, and whether it is a character or a world. The Steam account ID is a number specific to your account, not your username. Valheim’s own save guidance describes these locations, and it is the most reliable reference for the current layout.
Find a save in the game first
Before opening any folders, check where the game thinks the save lives. This avoids guessing between local and cloud copies.
- From the main menu, open the character or world selection screen.
- Look for the save-management view for the save you want to check.
- Read the location indicator. It shows whether the save is local or in Steam Cloud.
- Use Move to Local or Move to Cloud to change where the save is kept. Use these actions rather than dragging files between folders.
If the indicator and the folder you expected do not match, search both the local folders and the Steam Cloud folder before assuming a save is missing.
Windows: where to look
- Press Windows key + R, paste
%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalLowIronGateValheim, and press Enter. Alternatively, paste the same path into the File Explorer address bar. - The
AppDatafolder is hidden by default. If the path opens but you see nothing, enable hidden items under the View tab in File Explorer. - Open
characters_localorworlds_localfor current local saves. - Open
charactersorworldsonly if the save you want is not in the_localfolders. These are the legacy folders. - For cloud saves, open the Steam installation folder, then
userdata, then the folder named with your numeric Steam account ID, then892970, thenremote.
The Steam folder is managed by Steam and is not intended for routine hand-editing. Use the in-game save manager when you need to move a save.
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Linux: where to look
- Open
~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheimin your file manager, or runls ~/.config/unity3d/IronGate/Valheimin a terminal to list its contents. - Look for the character or world folder that matches the save you want. Local and legacy saves are both stored under this path.
- For cloud saves, check
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<numeric Steam account ID>/892970/remote. Replace the placeholder with the folder name that exists under~/.steam/steam/userdata/on your machine. If you have more than one folder there, the one for the account you play with is the one that contains892970.
How local, cloud and legacy saves move
Local saves
The save patch introduced _local folders for local save files. According to the patch notes, local files are placed in a new _local folder beside the old save location. When you move a save to Steam Cloud, the game leaves a local backup behind, so a local copy may still exist after a cloud move.
Legacy saves
An existing legacy save starts out in the former folder structure. The first time you load it and save again, it moves to one of two places. If Steam Cloud saving is enabled, it goes to the cloud. If Cloud saving is disabled, it goes to the new _local folder. You do not need to move legacy saves by hand; they are migrated when they are used and saved.
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Steam Cloud saves
Cloud saves are tied to your Steam account. If you turn off Cloud saving, cloud-backed saves can become unavailable in the game until Cloud saving is enabled again. The local backup described above is what keeps the save reachable in that case, so check the location indicator before you assume a save is gone.
Valheim’s Steam Cloud save FAQ gives this reasoning for keeping it on: “If you play Valheim on multiple devices and want to access the same characters and worlds, we suggest that you have it enabled, it’s also good as a backup in case of a hard drive failure.”
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Dedicated servers
A dedicated server does not necessarily use the desktop save folders above. The official Valheim dedicated-server guide documents -savedir [PATH] as an override for where the server stores worlds and permission files. The guide also describes a default server data volume named valheim_server_data.
- Check the launch command first. If it includes
-savedir, the path after it is where the server writes its data. - If there is no
-savediroption, check the server’s configured data volume rather than the player’sAppDataor~/.configfolder. - Do not assume a player’s local save and a server save are the same files. They are stored separately.
Back up before you move or restore
Make a separate backup before moving, restoring or overwriting any save file. Valheim’s FAQ recommends manual backups, and the game creates its own backups when save files move between folders. Those automatic copies are a safety net, not a substitute for your own copy.
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A simple manual backup is to copy the whole character or world folder to a separate location, such as an external USB drive. The guidance does not specify a required drive size or model; any drive with enough free space for the save folder will do.
Use the in-game save manager as the first method for moving a save between Steam Cloud and local storage. Manual file copying is the second method, and it should come after your own backup exists.
If you cannot find a save
- Confirm the platform. Windows and Linux use different base paths.
- Check the location indicator in the character or world selection screen.
- Search the current
_localfolders, the legacy folders and the Steam Cloud folder for your numeric account ID. - If the save was last played with Cloud saving turned off, enable Cloud saving again and recheck the indicator.
- If you run a dedicated server, check the
-savedirpath or the configured data volume before searching the desktop folders.
Paths and save behavior can change after game updates. If a location in this guide no longer matches what you see, trust the in-game location indicator and the official Valheim save guidance over an older folder listing.
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