Your Barotrauma world is the thing you cannot get back if it is lost, so back it up before you change settings, install mods or update.
Before you start: stop the server so the backup holds complete files. See How to start, stop, restart and force-stop your server.
Where the world is stored
Campaign saves are a pair of files per campaign in a folder named Multiplayer, which should be at .local/share/Daedalic Entertainment GmbH/Barotrauma/Multiplayer inside Files. Each campaign is a .save file plus a matching _CharacterData.xml file with the same name. The folder name .local starts with a dot, so it sits near the top of the file list, or you can find it with the Files search box. If you cannot find it, a panel backup copies it anyway.
Make a backup
- Open your server in the panel and click Backups in the left menu.
- Click Start backup with Files selected. The backup copies the whole server folder, so the world is included.
- To keep a copy outside PlayNHost, open the ... menu of the backup and choose Download.
The server folder also holds the game's own files, which can be large, so check the size on the Backups page. If it does not fit your backup space, ask support what to leave out. Do not guess an ignore pattern, because a wrong one can leave your world out of the backup. See How to create, download and restore backups for scheduling, locking and limits.
What to make sure is included
Back up both files of each campaign (the .save and the _CharacterData.xml). Also keep serversettings.xml and config_player.xml from the top level of Files, and clientpermissions.xml and bannedplayers.txt from the Data folder, so your settings, admins and bans come back too. Stop the server first so the files are not mid-write.
Restore a backup
A restore replaces the current files with the backup, and anything changed since is lost. Take a fresh backup of the current state first if you may want it back.
Choose Restore to server from the backup's ... menu, confirm, and start the server when it finishes.
To bring a world from another computer instead, see How to upload your own Barotrauma world.
