How to Move a Smalland World to a Dedicated Server
Move a Smalland Survive the Wilds world to a dedicated server: upload the .wld file to SaveGames/Worlds, match WORLDNAME, and what happens to Great Tree bases.
Updated Oct 3, 2026 · 5 min read
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To move a Smalland: Survive the Wilds world to a dedicated server, copy the world file from %LocalAppData%\SMALLAND\Saved\SaveGames\Worlds\ (for example TinyTitans.wld) into SMALLAND/Saved/SaveGames/Worlds/ on the server. Set the server's world name (WORLDNAME) to the file name without .wld, exactly, and start it. Characters, inventories and Great Tree bases are not in the world file: they stay with each player and come along when they join.
What you can and cannot move
| What | Does it move with the world file? |
|---|---|
| The world: placed structures, the map state, chests in the world | Yes, this guide |
| Your character, inventory and skills | No need. They are saved on each player's PC and travel with them |
| Great Tree bases | They travel with the player who claimed them, not the world |
| Tamed mounts in your group | They travel with the player too |
| World settings (friendly fire, peaceful, day length) | No. The server applies its own launch settings |
| Console worlds | No |
Before you start
- Quit to the menu so the world is saved, then close the game.
- Back up the whole
%LocalAppData%\SMALLAND\Saved\SaveGamesfolder. - Match the version. Keep the game and the server updated to the same build. Bigger patches can change save data, so do not move a world mid update.
- Turn on Cross Play. Every player needs Cross Play on in the game's settings to see dedicated servers at all.
Step 1: Find the world file
Press Windows + R and paste:
%LocalAppData%\SMALLAND\Saved\SaveGames\Worlds
| What | Where on your PC | Where on the server |
|---|---|---|
| The world | SaveGames\Worlds\<WorldName>.wld |
SMALLAND/Saved/SaveGames/Worlds/ |
Anything else in Worlds sharing that name |
Next to the .wld |
Same folder |
| Characters and Great Tree bases | Your local player data | Stays on each PC |
| Server settings | Not in the save | start-server.bat variables, or the panel |
The file name is the world name the server uses. If the folder holds several worlds, pick the one with the newest date.
Step 2: Stop the server and make sure the folder exists
Stop the server. If SMALLAND/Saved/SaveGames/Worlds/ does not exist yet, the server has never created a world: start it once, wait for it to finish loading, then stop it again. If it made a world of its own, download it as a backup.
Step 3: Upload the world
Upload your .wld file into SMALLAND/Saved/SaveGames/Worlds/. Keep the file name as it is. Linux servers are case sensitive, so TinyTitans.wld and tinytitans.wld are different worlds.
Step 4: Set the world name
Smalland has no ini files. Every setting is a variable in start-server.bat on a self hosted Windows server, or a field in a hosting panel. Set the world name to the file name without .wld:
set WORLDNAME=TinyTitans
If the name does not match a file in Worlds, the server does not complain. It creates a brand new world under the new name and your upload sits unused next to it.
While you are there, set the other options to how you played, because they are launch settings, not part of the world:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
WORLDNAME |
Which world file loads |
FRIENDLYFIRE |
Players can hurt each other |
PEACEFULMODE |
Creatures do not attack |
KEEPINVENTORY |
Keep items on death |
LENGTHOFDAYSECONDS, LENGTHOFSEASONSECONDS |
Day and season length |
CREATUREHEALTHMODIFIER, CREATUREDAMAGEMODIFIER |
Creature difficulty, 100 is normal |
Step 5: Start and check
Start the server and give it time to load. Players find it in the server browser with Cross Play on, since Smalland has no join by IP. Join, check the world's structures, then have each player check their character.
Where did our Great Tree base go?
This is the part that surprises almost everyone who moves a Smalland world. A Great Tree base is not stored in the world file. The developers confirmed on the Steam forums that Great Tree bases are part of the player data, which is saved locally, attached to the player and the mount grouped with them.
What that means for your move:
- The world file does not contain your tree bases, so uploading it does not bring them, and nothing is lost by moving it either.
- A tree base appears only while the player who claimed it is online. If the base builder is offline, the tree looks empty to everyone else. That is normal, not a broken upload.
- Each player can summon their tree base in a world they visit for the first time, so the base builder gets their base on the new server by joining and claiming it.
- Do not uninstall or wipe local data on the base builder's PC before the move. Their base lives there.
Structures built out in the world itself are part of the .wld and move with it.
Common problems
- Server makes a new world: the world name does not match the file name exactly, or the file is not in
SaveGames/Worlds. - The Great Tree base is missing: the player who claimed it is not online. Bases show only with their owner present.
- A player's character is new: they are on a different PC or lost their local data. Characters are stored locally, not on the server.
- Friends cannot find the server: Cross Play is off in their game settings.
- Settings did nothing: they load on start. Restart after every change.
Moving it to GamezServers
On a Smalland server from GamezServers, click Backup, stop the server, and upload into SaveGames/Worlds 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 World Name in the panel, where friendly fire, peaceful mode and the modifiers live too, and the world stays up for the group without anyone's PC on. Turn on sleep when empty if you want it to save and stop after 4 days with nobody on. More in how to host a Smalland server.
FAQ
Where are Smalland world saves stored?
On Windows in %LocalAppData%\SMALLAND\Saved\SaveGames\Worlds, one .wld file per world. Servers use SMALLAND/Saved/SaveGames/Worlds.
Will my friends keep their characters?
Yes. Characters are saved on each player's PC, so everyone joins the server with the character they already have.
Why is our Great Tree base empty on the server?
Tree bases belong to the player who claimed them and only appear while that player is online. Have them join the server and claim their base.
What should the world name be?
The .wld file's name without the extension, matched exactly, capitals included.
Skip the setup. Your own Smalland: Survive the Wilds server.
Then $14.99/mo. Just trying it? $3.75 for 3 days