How to Upload Worlds to a Sons Of The Forest Server
By Nathan Young

Overview
Starting up a dedicated server for Sons Of The Forest is a wonderful way to have more control, features, and time with friends. However, many players already have existing worlds and saves from their own multiplayer sessions. In some cases, they may want to transfer it over on the server to continue their progress. Fortunately, this is entirely possible and doesn’t take too much time since our panel simplifies this entire process. Newcomers to the SOTF hosting scene may be unfamiliar with our system and what files to upload, as it does require minor technical knowledge. With this in mind, we’ve created this Apex Hosting tutorial to show you how to upload worlds to a Sons Of The Forest dedicated server.
Getting Started – Upload Worlds to a Sons Of The Forest Server

As previously mentioned above, only worlds from multiplayer sessions can be used for this process. Keep in mind that players must save in-game via tents so the local files generate on their computer, which is required. However, all items from your inventory will not transfer over to the server. This cannot be bypassed, as it’s currently a feature from Sons Of The Forest or possibly a bug that must be fixed by developers. Besides this, the exact process for uploading your world is straightforward and simple. However, it may require you to take notes along the way since there are multiple steps for it. Whenever you’re ready, review the subsections below to get started.
Locating World Files
- On your keyboard, press
Windows + R
together to open the Run program. - Afterward, continue to type AppData in the text box and click
Ok
. - In the new window, navigate to:
…\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForest\Saves\76561198371917908
- Once there, enter the
Multiplayer
directory and locate your desired world folder.Note: If there are multiple folders, use
Date Modified
to find your most recent one. - Leave this window open for later, as you’ll need to perform other steps.
Uploading Worlds to a Sons of the Forest Server
There are two methods for uploading your world into a dedicated Sons Of The Forest server, using our online panel or an FTP client. This depends on the size of your folder, as smaller types can be done directly in our system. As for larger worlds, you’ll need to use an external program to accomplish this task. Keeping this in mind, follow one of the methods below to start this process.
- Use a zipping program like WinRAR or 7zip to compress your world’s folder.
Note: We encourage making a copy of your data to prevent any progress being lost.
- Head towards your Apex server panel and click
FTP File Access
near the top left. - Continue to type your
Password
in the text box, then press theLogin
button. - Once logged in, navigate to:
…/apex_sotf_server/Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer
- Inside of this directory, at the top left corner click the
Upload
button. - Drag and drop the zipped world folder into the respective area, then wait until it’s done.
- Return to the
Multiplayer
folder, then check mark the file and clickUnzip
. - Confirm this change by pressing
Submit
, and head back to the folder. - Check mark your world and click
Rename
, then type0000000002
.Note: Other values include,
0000000003
,0000000004
, and0000000005
. - Confirm these changes, then return to your main panel for the world activation process.
- Head towards the
FTP File Access
area and don’t log in, but copy the credentials. - Afterward, open your installed FTP program like FileZilla or Cyberduck.
- Proceed to enter the
Host
,Username
,Password
, andPort
values accordingly. - Once logged in, enter your server profile if enabled and navigate to:
…/apex_sotf_server/Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer
- While inside this area, drag and drop the world folder into it.
- Wait for this to finish, then
right-click
it andRename
the directory to0000000002
.Note: You can also use
0000000003
,0000000004
, and0000000005
. - After doing everything, return to your main server panel for the world activation process.
World Activation
Once you’re finished with the uploading stage of this process, it’s time to activate the world. The instructions below will guide you through this last portion of the setup. Keep in mind that the end numbers of your world’s folder determines which save slot you select.
- While on your main server panel, click
Customizations
on the left-hand side. - Locate the
Save Slot
section, then chooseSave #2
or the one matching your world.Note: The end number of your world folder relates to the save slot option.
- Afterward, return to the main panel and
Restart
the server to apply these changes. - Once it’s loaded, join with your account to confirm everything worked as intended.
Common Issues when Uploading Worlds to a Sons of the Forest Server
In cases where you or others alike cannot locate the world files, make sure you’ve saved the progress in-game. This means you have to build a tent and interact with it accordingly, which generates the needed files on your computer. However, remember that only multiplayer worlds can be transferred to the server. In other words, singleplayer saves cannot be used for this process. Essentially, only self-created multiplayer worlds in Sons Of The Forest can be uploaded to your dedicated server. This may change in the future, but as of right now, this is it.
After uploading the world into the SOTF server and you notice it’s not the same, then there could be a few issues. One of these is failing to rename the folder to 0000000002
or other similar values, as our panel only accepts these. If you’ve done this and the situation persisted, then double check you’ve selected the corresponding Save Slot
in Customizations
. Remember, the end number of your folder’s name determines which one should be chosen. For example, “0000000004” uses “Save #4” and other types won’t work. After correcting any mistake(s), Restart
the server from the main panel and join to see if that fixed the problem. On rare occasions, you may need to redo the uploading process if there was an error during the transfer.
As of writing this guide, Sons Of The Forest multiplayer worlds do not keep player inventories. This means you and others alike cannot have any previously saved items in-game after uploading the map to the server. Unfortunately, there’s no current solution or bypass method to resolve the situation. With this said you’ll need to settle for only having structures and other aspects saved in the world. Hopefully in the future this can be reworked by SOTF developers so player inventories can successfully transfer over without issues.
Useful Links
How to Join a Sons Of The Forest Server
Becoming an Admin on Sons Of The Forest Server
How to Set a Password on Sons Of The Forest Server
Changing the Name of a Sons Of The Forest Server