How to Upload a Satisfactory Save to a Dedicated Server

You do not need to restart Satisfactory to move from a player-hosted session to a dedicated server. The factory is stored in a .sav file, and the game can upload that file through Server Manager. The safe route is to create one clearly named manual save, preserve an untouched copy, claim the destination server, upload through Manage Saves, and verify the world before anyone builds.

Move your factory to a managed Satisfactory server that stays online

What moves with a Satisfactory save

The save carries the world and factory state: buildings, belts, trains, vehicles, creatures, milestones, research and player state recorded in that session. The dedicated server's own name, administrator password, join password, certificate and identity are separate. That separation is useful because you can move the factory without overwriting the server you just claimed.

Before starting, update the source game and dedicated server to compatible builds. A server on an older build may reject or fail to load a save written by a newer game. If the factory uses third-party mods, check every mod's dedicated-server support and version before loading. Do not test a modded original without first copying it, since saving after missing content has loaded can make the loss permanent.

1. Create a clean source save

Open the player-hosted factory, ask everyone else to leave, and make a new manual save with an unmistakable name such as BeforeDedicatedServer-2026-08-14. Wait for the save notification to finish, return to the main menu, and close the game before copying the file.

Do not begin with the latest autosave unless you have checked its timestamp and contents. Several autosaves can share similar names, and cloud synchronization can make the most recently modified file different from the factory you meant to move.

2. Find the correct .sav file

On Windows, open this folder in File Explorer:

%LOCALAPPDATA%FactoryGameSavedSaveGames

Inside is normally a platform or account-specific directory containing the session's .sav files. Sort by date, then match both the manual name and the time you just saved. Copy that file to a separate backup folder before uploading it.

Steam Deck and other Linux clients running the Windows game through Proton usually keep the same Windows data tree inside Steam's compatibility prefix for app 526870:

~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/526870/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames

The Steam library may live on another drive, so use the path as a pattern rather than assuming it is exact. Flatpak Steam also places the library below its sandbox. Searching that Steam library for the manual save's exact filename is safer than copying the first .sav you find.

3. Keep three copies until the move is proven

At this point, keep:

• The original in the client save directory.
• An untouched backup somewhere outside that directory and outside Steam Cloud.
• The upload copy you will select in Server Manager.

This is intentionally cautious. A world move can expose a version, mod or player-identity problem that was invisible in the old session. One file on the same disk is not a rollback plan.

4. Add and claim the dedicated server

Start the dedicated server with no factory loaded. In Satisfactory, open Server Manager, select Add Server, and enter the public address and its main port. A current server uses that standard port for TCP, UDP and its HTTPS management API.

The first administrator must claim an unclaimed server. Give it a friendly name and create an administrator password. This claim establishes the destination's identity. Do it before the save upload, and do not replace the server-settings file with anything copied from the player-hosted machine.

If Server Manager cannot reach the server, solve that first. Uploading the save cannot fix a closed port, stale server build or incomplete startup. Our Satisfactory dedicated-server guide covers the current port pair, Linux service and first claim.

5. Upload through Manage Saves

Select the claimed server, open Manage Saves, choose the upload action, and select the copied .sav file. Let the transfer finish before closing the dialog. Large late-game factories take longer to upload and load than a fresh world.

Server Manager is the supported path because it sends the save through Satisfactory's management API and keeps the factory separate from the server identity. It also avoids Linux ownership mistakes and hidden HOME directories. Coffee Stain's official wiki specifically documents Manage Saves for local uploads.

6. Load the uploaded session

After the upload appears in the save list, select it and load it. Confirm the exact session and manual-save name rather than choosing an autosave with a newer timestamp. The server will stop any active session and load the selected factory.

Wait for Server Manager to report that the server is running again. A large save can make the process look unavailable while Unreal loads the world and rebuilds simulation state. Repeatedly restarting during that window only makes the diagnosis harder.

7. Verify before resuming the group

Have the former host join first and check:

• The HUB tier, milestones, MAM research and Space Elevator phase.
• A few late-game production lines, train timetables and vehicle routes.
• Power generation and consumption after several minutes of simulation.
• Player inventory, equipment and hotbars.
• The session name Server Manager will load after the next restart.

Then let one other player connect. Player state is associated with the identity the game recorded. If someone appears as a new pioneer while their old character remains in the world, stop and confirm they joined with the same platform account and online authentication context before moving items or saving over the rollback point.

Create a new server-side manual save after the checks pass. Keep the original backup until the dedicated server has survived at least one normal stop, start and reconnect cycle.

Manual file copying is the fallback, not the first choice

On a native Linux server, uploaded worlds are normally stored below the service account's HOME:

~/.config/Epic/FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/server

A manual copy can work if the API upload is unavailable, but stop the process first, copy only the intended .sav, set ownership to the service user, and start again before selecting it. Never copy ServerSettings.PORT.sav from another server. Despite the extension, that file is not the factory. It contains the destination server's name, credentials, secret and certificate data, and the supported way to modify it is Server Manager or the HTTPS API.

Common upload problems

• The save is not listed: confirm the upload completed, the file still ends in .sav, and you are viewing the correct claimed server.
• The server rejects it: update the dedicated server and client, then retry with the untouched copy.
• The wrong factory loads: select the manual name you created, not the newest autosave from a different session.
• Players spawn as new characters: verify their platform account and authentication before changing the world.
• Modded buildings disappear: stop immediately and restore the original. Match the server's mod set before another load.
• The upload times out: keep the source file, confirm the management port is stable, and retry once the server is fully idle.

Moving a factory to GHosting

With GHosting's Satisfactory hosting, wait for the installation to finish, add its address in Satisfactory's Server Manager, claim it, and upload the .sav from Manage Saves. The server keeps its own identity and data path, reserves both current ports, and asks the local management API to save before managed stops. Plans are prepaid and never renew automatically.

GHosting is an independent hosting provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Coffee Stain Studios.