How to upload your own Project Zomboid world

You can bring a Project Zomboid world you already have, from your own computer or another host, to your PlayNHost server.

Back up first. Uploading a world with the same name as the one on the server replaces it. Create a backup of the current world (see How to create, download and restore backups), stop the server, and keep your own original files until the server loads the new world.

Upload and load your world

1. Stop the server.
2. Back up your current world first: it is replaced or mixed up with the upload if the names match. Download a backup, then delete the old world folder if you want a clean replacement.
3. Set Server Name to exactly the name of the world you are bringing (letters and numbers only), so the file names match. The files of the previous name stay on disk untouched but are no longer used.
4. Open Files, go into the .cache folder and upload the world folder into .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/ so it is named after the Server Name.
5. If you have them, upload the matching <Server Name>.ini and <Server Name>_SandboxVars.lua into .cache/Server/. The panel overwrites the settings it manages (player limit, PVP, RCON, Workshop, zombie and loot options) with your panel values at the next start.
6. If you also have the matching <Server Name>.db, upload it into .cache/db/. Player accounts, including the admin account, are kept in that file, so use the admin login from your old server.
7. Start the server and watch the console. A world made on a newer game build may not load on an older one.

Large files are best uploaded with SFTP. See How to connect to your server files with SFTP and How to upload, edit and manage your server files.

Start a fresh world

Starting fresh can permanently remove the current world. Back it up first.

1. Safest option: change Server Name to a new name and restart. This creates a separate fresh world with fresh settings and keeps the old one on disk; setting the name back returns to it.
2. To wipe the same name instead: stop the server, download a backup, then delete .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/<Server Name>/ in Files and start again. This permanently removes the world, every character and everything built in it.
3. Delete .cache/db/<Server Name>.db as well only if you also want to erase player accounts and bans. That also removes the admin account, so you may need to set it up again; if you cannot log in as admin afterwards, ask support.

See How to back up and restore your Project Zomboid world.