Move an existing server to uniz.host — bring the whole world with you
Move an existing server to uniz.host — bring the whole world with you
Last updated 2026-08-14
Short answer
The order that works is: create the new server to match the old one (same game, same version, same server type), then **stop it completely**, upload the world files through the Files tab, and only then start it. Never upload over a running server — the game holds its files in memory and writes them back over yours when it shuts down. Bring the world folder from the old server, plus the config and player-list files if you want those preserved, and if the old server ran mods you must install the same mods at the same versions before it will boot. Uploads are capped by the new server's disk size and require the account owner to have made at least one real top-up.
Steps at a glance
Create the new server to match the old one
Stop the new server before touching any files
Upload the world folder
Start it and watch the console from the first line
Contents
Contents
If you already run a server — on a PC at home or rented somewhere else — there is no reason to start a new world. A world folder is ordinary files, and a server on uniz.host will take yours directly. The whole job comes down to . Get the order wrong and your upload vanishes silently, with nothing on screen to warn you.
order
First: collect everything from the old server
Go to the old server, shut it down, and only then copy the files out. Copying a world folder while the server is running risks half-written files that will not open.
What to take:
Bring
Leave behind
the entire world folder
the game's own program files, including anything installed by Steam
the game's config file
the logs folder
player-list files — whitelist, operators, bans
temporary and cache files
a note of your mods and their versions
anything belonging to the old operating system
Write down two things in particular, because you need them to match: the game version and the server type the old one was running.
The migration
Create the new server to match the old one
Create a server as normal, matching three things:
Same game — self-evident
Same version — match it or go newer; a world from a newer version cannot open on an older one
Same server type — a world built on a modded server needs the same kind of server to open at all
If the old server ran mods, install the same mod set and confirm the server boots with an empty world before you bring the world across. It looks like a detour and it saves time: bring both at once and a failure leaves you unable to tell whether the mods or the world caused it.
Stop the new server before touching any files
Press "Stop" on the Overview tab and wait for the badge to settle on stopped.
This is the step people skip and then lose a day to. A running game holds world data in memory and writes its own files back out when it shuts down. Upload a world into a running server and, the moment it stops, it overwrites what you put there — with no error anywhere. What you experience is "the upload succeeded but the world did not change".
A stopped server still opens the Files tab normally; the first load may take ten to thirty seconds.
Upload the world folder
Open the "Files" tab and look at the structure that is already there. Your job is to put your world folder in the same place the new server keeps its own. Match what you can see; do not guess.
Minecraft — the world folder sits at the root of the volume, alongside server.properties and the player-list files
Palworld — saves live deeper inside the game's own folder, under Pal/Saved. Follow the existing structure until you find the save folder and place yours at the same level
Other Steam-installed games — your data is usually under a server-data folder kept separate from the game's program files
Navigate to the destination folder before pressing "Upload folder", because everything lands in the folder you currently have open, and the folder you pick becomes the first folder at the destination.
For anything large, upload it as a folder rather than uploading an archive and extracting it here. In-browser extraction handles .zip only, runs on your own machine, and has a size ceiling that a long-played world will often exceed.
A counter shows progress while it runs. If any file fails the whole batch stops and reports how far it got; everything already uploaded is intact, so fix the cause and continue with the rest.
Two conditions cause most failed uploads: the file must not exceed the new server's disk size, and the account owner must have made at least one real top-up. Coupon and referral credit do not count.
Start it and watch the console from the first line
Press "Start" and leave the Console tab open. The first boot after a migration is the one most worth watching.
If it comes online, join and go stand where your base was, to confirm you got the right world rather than a new one that looks similar
If it boots and dies, read the server won't start guide. The number one cause after a migration is a missing mod or a version mismatch
The other route: if you already have one of our backup files
The Backups tab also has an upload button, but it accepts only the format our own system produces — .tar.zst. Anything else is rejected outright.
That makes it genuinely useful in two cases: you downloaded a backup from here earlier, or you are moving between two servers within uniz.host. The second is very clean — download from the old server, upload to the new one, restore.
For a world coming from anywhere else, use the Files route above.
Per-game traps
Minecraft — the most straightforward. Watch two things only: the server type has to support the same mods or plugins, and if the old world came from a newer version you must create the server on that version or newer.
Palworld — the world and everything built in it moves, but if the save came from a self-hosted co-op game, player characters usually do not reattach, because the player identifiers recorded there are a different set from the ones a dedicated server uses. The map and bases are intact while everyone has to create a character again. If that happens, contact support. Do not use the identifier-conversion formulas found online; several of them produce the wrong value and leave the save worse off.
Every Steam-installed game — do not upload the game's own files over the new server's. It installed its own; add only your data.
After the move
Two things to do immediately:
Take one backup while everything is known good, so you have a restore point you trust
Send players the new address. The old server's address has nothing to do with this one, and if you have your own domain that pointed at the old server, repoint it
And do not delete the old copy until you have confirmed everything works.
Create a server — building the new server to match the old one
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to bring from the old server?
At minimum the world folder, which holds the map and everything built on it. To make the new server truly identical, bring the config file and the player-list files too — whitelist, operators and bans. What you should not bring is the game's own program files or the logs; the new server has its own and uploading over them only breaks things.
Can I upload while the server is running, to save the downtime?
You can upload, but not world files. A running game holds world data in memory and writes it back over whatever you just put there when it shuts down, so your upload disappears with no error message at all. There is exactly one safe order — stop it fully, upload, then start.
Do the versions have to match exactly?
They must match or be newer. A world created by a newer version cannot be opened by an older one, and trying usually means the server will not boot or the world is damaged. The safe path is to create the new server on the same version as the old one, get it running, and treat upgrading as a separate step afterwards.
My old server had a lot of mods. How does that move?
The mod set and their versions have to match on both sides or the server boots and dies immediately. Set the new server to the same mod-capable type, install the same mods, and confirm it boots with an empty world first. Then stop it and put the world in. Doing both at once leaves you unable to tell whether the mods or the world broke it.
Can I bring a Palworld save from a game we hosted ourselves?
The world and everything built in it comes across, but player characters usually do not reattach, because a self-hosted save records a different set of player identifiers than a dedicated server uses. What you see is the map and bases intact while everyone has to create a character again. If that happens, contact support and say where the save came from — we have fixed this for customers before. Do not use the identifier-conversion formulas floating around online; several of them produce the wrong value.
My files are too big and the upload fails.
The ceiling is the new server's disk size, so if the old world is larger you need a plan with a big enough disk first. The other frequent cause is an upload that stops because the account owner has never made a real top-up, which is a condition of bringing world data in. Coupon and referral credit do not count.