How to Move a HumanitZ Save to a Dedicated Server

To move a HumanitZ save to a dedicated server, copy your save from %LocalAppData%\HumanitZ\Saved\SaveGames\SaveList\Default\ (the Save_<name>.sav file, its companion files and its folder) into Saved/SaveGames/SaveList/Default/ on the server. Set SaveName in GameServerSettings.ini to the text between Save_ and .sav. Then rename the host's Host_Offline.sav to <SteamID>@<NetID>.sav from the server's PlayerIDMapped.txt, or the host starts over.

What you can and cannot move

Settings do not travel with the save. The server applies its own GameServerSettings.ini (PvP, permadeath, zombie difficulty, loot, seasons), so set those to match how you played.

Before you start

• Quit HumanitZ to the desktop so the save is fully written.
• Back up the whole %LocalAppData%\HumanitZ\Saved\SaveGames folder.
• Match the version. The server must run the same game version as your client. HumanitZ left Early Access with 1.0 in February 2026, and saves from much older builds can fail to load.
• Join the server once yourself before moving anything. That creates the IDs you need in Step 5.

Step 1: Find the save on your PC

Press Windows + R, type %LocalAppData%\HumanitZ, and open Saved\SaveGames\SaveList\Default. The save name is the one you typed when you created the game.

Copy every file and folder that carries your save's name. The world is split across them, so they only work together.

Step 2: Stop the server and back it up

Stop the server so it does not save over your upload. If it has run before, it already has its own save, named after DedicatedSaveMP by default, in the same SaveList/Default folder. Download it as a backup. That file also shows you the right folder: put your save next to it.

On a self hosted Windows server the folder is inside HumanitZServer. On Linux builds, ours included, it is under TSSGame/Saved/SaveGames/.

Step 3: Upload the save

Upload your Save_<name>.sav, its companion files and the save's folder into Saved/SaveGames/SaveList/Default/ on the server. Keep the names exactly as they are.

Step 4: Set SaveName

Open GameServerSettings.ini with the server stopped and set SaveName to the part of the file name between Save_ and .sav:

SaveName=OurTown

for a save file called Save_OurTown.sav. The HumanitZ wiki's server configuration page lists the other keys. On GamezServers this is the save name setting in the panel, which writes the ini for you.

Step 5: Rescue the host's character

This is the step most guides skip. In a co-op game, the host's character is not saved under their Steam ID. It is saved as Host_Offline.sav inside the save's folder, and a dedicated server has no host, so it never reads that file. Without this step the host joins as a brand new survivor while everyone else keeps theirs.

1. Make sure you have joined the server at least once (see Before you start).
2. With the server stopped, open PlayerIDMapped.txt in the server folder. It maps each player who has joined to two IDs: their SteamID first and a NetID second.
3. In the uploaded save's folder, rename Host_Offline.sav to those two IDs joined by @:

Host_Offline.sav  ->  76561198012345678@<NetID>.sav

4. Start the server and join. The host's character, inventory and skills come back.

Step 6: Start and check

Start the server and watch the console until it finishes loading. Join, check your base and storage, and have each friend check their character before anyone plays for long.

Common problems

• Server starts a fresh world: SaveName does not match the file name, or the files went into the wrong folder. It must be the text between Save_ and .sav, with the same capitals.
• The host is a new character: Host_Offline.sav was not renamed, or the IDs were copied from the wrong line of PlayerIDMapped.txt. SteamID first, NetID second.
• Settings reset after you edit the ini: you edited it while the server ran, or the panel wrote its own values over it on start. Stop, edit (or change the panel setting), start.
• Vehicles are missing or locked: players have reported vehicles behaving differently after moving from a local save. Claim them again in game.
• Save will not load: the server and the save are on different game versions. Update both, load the save once in the current game, and upload again.

Moving it to GamezServers

On a HumanitZ server from GamezServers, click Backup, stop the server, and upload over the SFTP login in Settings or in the file manager, which also extracts zips and can download a file from a link straight to the server. Set the save name in the panel, and the world keeps running with seasons turning without anyone's PC on. The developers do not offer mod support for HumanitZ servers, so plan on a vanilla server with its many world settings. For those, see how to host a HumanitZ server.

FAQ

Where are HumanitZ saves stored?

In %LocalAppData%\HumanitZ\Saved\SaveGames\SaveList\Default\ on Windows. Each save is a Save_<name>.sav file with companion files and a folder of player files.

Why did the host lose their character on the dedicated server?

The host's character is saved as Host_Offline.sav. Rename it to <SteamID>@<NetID>.sav using the IDs in the server's PlayerIDMapped.txt.

Will my friends keep their characters?

Usually yes, because their characters are stored in the save's folder by their IDs. Have each one check their inventory on first join.

What should SaveName be?

The text between Save_ and .sav in your save's file name, for example OurTown for Save_OurTown.sav.