How to Move Your Satisfactory Save to a Dedicated Server (Without Losing the Factory)
What you're actually moving
A Satisfactory factory is one file: a .sav. Unlike Valheim or Minecraft there is no folder of chunks and no metadata sidecar; the whole world, every machine, belt item, milestone and vehicle, is in that single file. Big late-game factories reach 100 to 300 MB, early ones are a few megabytes.
Two names matter and they are not the same thing. The file name is what you see in Explorer, for example MyFactory_autosave_1.sav. The session name is stored inside the file and is what the game shows in the Load Game and Server Manager lists. You can rename the file freely; the session name only changes through the game's own Save As. Most transfer confusion comes from expecting one to update the other.
Your character's position and inventory are part of the save, tied to your account, so you'll spawn where you left off. Friends who never played that session spawn at the crash site, which is normal.
Where the save lives on your PC
| Where you played | Save location |
|---|---|
| Steam or Epic on Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames\<your account id>\ — paste the first part into the Explorer address bar, then open the folder with the long number |
| Steam on Linux (Proton) | ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/526870/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/ |
| A friend hosted it from their game | On the friend's PC, same folder. The host's save is the only complete copy; clients don't keep one. |
| Another hosting company | Their file manager or FTP, under …/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server/. Download it before you cancel. |
| Xbox / Game Pass on PC | Under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\ in the CoffeeStain package's SystemAppData folder. Searching that folder for .sav files gets you there. |
Pick the newest file. Autosaves rotate through _autosave_0, _1 and _2, and the newest one is not always _0; sort the folder by date modified. Better still, load the world once more, make a manual save with a clear name like ToServer, and quit. That gives you one obvious file and a clean save.
Method 1: upload from inside the game (no FTP)
This is the route almost everyone should use. It works on any dedicated server, it puts the file in the right folder automatically, and it handles large saves without an upload limit.
1. Add and claim the server. From Satisfactory's main menu open Server Manager, click Add Server, and enter your server address with the port. On HostSimple it's the address on your server page and in your welcome email. The first connection shows a certificate warning because dedicated servers use a self-signed certificate; accept it. Then claim the server: give it a name and set an admin password. Until a server is claimed nobody can play on it, so this step is not optional.
2. Upload the save. With the server selected in Server Manager, open Manage Saves and click Upload Save. Pick the .sav from your PC. Tick Load save game after upload so the server switches to it immediately. A 200 MB factory takes a minute or two.
3. Join. Once the upload finishes, the server loads the session and you can join from the same screen. Friends add the server the same way and join the running session; they don't need the file.
If you're moving between two servers you both control, the same screen can download a save from the old server to your PC, then upload it to the new one.
Method 2: drop the file in through the file manager
Use this when the in-game upload fails on a very large save, when you're migrating from another host and want to skip the desktop hop, or when you just prefer files. On HostSimple the panel login is in your order confirmation email under "Advanced access".
1. Stop the server from your HostSimple server page. The server autosaves every few minutes; uploading into a running server risks the next autosave overwriting your file or the game holding the old session open.
2. Open the panel's Files tab and navigate to .config → Epic → FactoryGame → Saved → SaveGames → server. Dot-folders are hidden in some views; typing /.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server into the path bar always works. This server subfolder is the only place the dedicated server reads saves from. A file left in SaveGames itself is ignored, which is the single most common reason a transfer "doesn't work".
3. Upload the .sav by dragging it in or using the Upload button. Keep the original file name. For saves above the panel's upload limit, the panel's Settings tab shows an SFTP address and login that any SFTP client can use.
4. Start the server, then in-game open Server Manager, select the server, and use Manage Saves → Load to pick your session. The server does not auto-load a newly uploaded file; you tell it which session to run once, and it remembers.
Mods, versions and the Experimental branch
Mods live outside the save. If the factory used Satisfactory Mod Manager mods, install the same mods on the server before loading it, or modded machines and items are stripped when the save loads and won't come back. Purely client-side mods (UI, visuals) don't matter.
Server and client must be on the same game version. A save made on the Experimental branch will not load on a stable server and vice versa. On HostSimple, switching the server to Experimental is a support ticket and a restart at the same price; the Satisfactory hosting guide covers what that involves. Back the save up first: Experimental builds occasionally change the save format in ways that don't roll back.
"Incompatible version" when joining after a game update means the server is behind. HostSimple servers pull the latest build on every restart, so hit Restart on your server page and try again a minute later.
Troubleshooting a transfer
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Manage Saves shows no sessions | File is in SaveGames instead of SaveGames/server, or the server was running when you copied it | Stop the server, move the file into the server folder, start it. Or re-upload from inside the game. |
| Server shows "not claimed" and won't load anything | First-connect claim step skipped | In Server Manager select the server, set the admin password and name. Then upload or load. |
| Old version of the factory loads | Wrong autosave picked, or the game was still open when you copied | Make a manual save, quit the game fully, copy that file, upload again. |
| Machines missing, holes in the factory | Mods the server doesn't have | Install the same mods on the server, then load from your backup copy. |
| "Incompatible version" | Server behind the client, or a stable/Experimental mismatch | Restart the server to update it. If the save is Experimental, the server must be too. |
| Certificate warning every connection | Self-signed server certificate | Expected on every dedicated server. Accept it; nothing is wrong. |
Nothing in this process deletes the copy on your PC. A failed attempt just means trying again, so keep the local file until you've joined the server and walked through your factory.
Related guides
Satisfactory server hosting: requirements and real costs covers how much RAM a growing factory needs and what cheap hosting hides. Plans are on the Satisfactory server hosting page: Standard is $11.99/month with 8 GB RAM and 25 GB of NVMe, enough for most factories, and Large is $19.99/month with 16 GB for mega-builds. Both include nightly backups, so the save you just moved is protected from the first night.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is my Satisfactory save file on PC?
- On Windows, paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames into the Explorer address bar. Inside is a folder named after your Steam or Epic account ID, and inside that are your .sav files. Autosaves are named SessionName_autosave_0.sav, _1 and _2; manual saves use the name you typed.
- Do I need FTP to upload a save to a dedicated server?
- No. Satisfactory's in-game Server Manager can upload a save from your PC straight to the server: open Server Manager, pick your server, choose Manage Saves, then Upload Save. FTP or a file manager is only the fallback for very large saves or when you're moving between hosting companies.
- Why does the server say it has no saves after I uploaded one?
- Usually the file went into the wrong folder. On a Linux dedicated server the game only reads saves from .config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server. A save dropped in the SaveGames folder one level up is ignored. Move it into the server folder and restart, or use the in-game upload, which always puts it in the right place.
- Will my milestones, inventory and vehicles transfer?
- Yes. Everything is inside the .sav file: milestones, MAM research, inventories, vehicles, trains, drones and every belt item. Player position and inventory are tied to your account, so you spawn where you left off. Only mods are separate, and the server needs the same ones installed.
- Can I move the save back off the server later?
- Yes. Download the .sav from the server folder through the panel's Files tab or the Server Manager, drop it into your local SaveGames folder, and it shows up in Load Game. On HostSimple, servers are also backed up nightly and are suspended rather than deleted if you cancel, so the factory is never gone.