Use Properties to configure how your Palworld server runs and Worlds to choose which save loads. Make these changes separately so you can confirm the intended settings and world before your group returns.
Change Properties with a test plan
Open Properties to edit the server name, description, password, maximum players, and community-server mode. Shared users need edit_properties permission to change settings. Save your changes and restart the server for them to take effect.
Before editing, note the current values and decide what outcome you want. For example, if the goal is to make a session private, check the password and community-server choices together rather than changing unrelated gameplay values. Save the change, restart if required, then test the actual behavior with one player. If it did not work, inspect saved values and logs before making another adjustment.
Let players know when a restart is planned. After the server starts again, check the setting and test the behavior with one player before the full group joins.
Understand world selection
The owner can use Worlds to keep multiple save directories and choose which one loads next. Stop the server before creating, switching, or deleting a world. A new save is initialized the next time the server starts.
Progress is attached to the selected save. Characters, inventories, bases, guilds, and map progress do not merge automatically between separate world directories. Before switching, tell the group which world will load and confirm that players understand where their characters and bases belong. Keep the old directory until you verify the intended world works.
Use backups before consequential work
The Backups tab in the Palworld manager is available to the server owner. Ask the owner to create a backup before switching worlds, deleting a save, changing important settings, or testing an update. This gives your group a known recovery point.
Record which world was active when you made the backup. If something goes wrong, pause further changes, check the selected save, and use Backups to restore the known point. Avoid deleting files or switching between saves until you have identified where the group’s progress is stored.
If you help manage someone else's server, coordinate backup and restore operations with the owner, who can access Backups. Let the group know before restoring because the selected recovery point replaces newer server state. Afterward, check the active world and progress before inviting players back.
A safe world-change procedure
- Tell players that the server will change and identify the target world.
- Stop the server and create an owner backup of the current state.
- Create a fresh world or select the intended existing save through the Worlds area. Use its supported rename or delete controls only when appropriate for that saved world.
- Start the server and verify the selected world before inviting the group.
- Confirm the expected bases, guilds, and map progress are present.
- Keep the previous world available until the group confirms the change.
If the server opens a fresh world unexpectedly, stop and inspect the selected save rather than playing into it. This avoids creating more state that can be confused with the original.
Troubleshoot settings and saves
If a property does not apply, save it again and restart the server. If the wrong world loads or a player cannot find their progress, check the selected save first. Characters, bases, and progress stay with their world.
Check Console and Logs for startup or runtime errors, and change one cause at a time. See the Palworld management guide for manager navigation. For costs, see Billing and Credits and Palworld hosting.
Before switching, verify the target save and tell players that their characters and progress remain with that save. After starting, confirm the expected bases and guild are visible. If they are missing, stop the server and check the selection before playing further.
