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Transfer a save from Nitrado, another host or singleplayer

Which files make up an ARK world, where they go, and the two mistakes that leave you with an empty map.

1 min readUpdated 2026-09-14Diese Anleitung auf Deutsch lesen →

An ARK world is one folder: ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/. It contains

  • <MapName>.ark: the map save (structures, dinos, everything)
  • <SteamID>.arkprofile: one per player
  • <TribeID>.arktribe: one per tribe
  • <MapName>_AntiCorruptionBackup.bak and dated backups

From another host

  1. Download the whole SavedArks folder from the old host (FTP/SFTP or their backup tool). Nitrado: File browser → arkse/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks.
  2. Also grab Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini if you want the same settings.
  3. On PenguHost, stop the server, upload the folder to the same path (zip → upload → Unarchive; see big uploads) replacing what is there.
  4. Set SERVER_MAP in Startup to the same map name as the .ark file. Ragnarok.ark needs Ragnarok, TheIsland.ark needs TheIsland.
  5. Start. Players keep characters and tribes because the SteamID-named files came along.

From singleplayer

Singleplayer saves live in your Steam folder under ARK/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArksLocal/. Copy the .ark and your .arkprofile (rename LocalPlayer.arkprofile to <YourSteamID>.arkprofile) into the server's SavedArks. Single-player structures may be on the "wrong" settings (e.g. built with cheats) but they load.

The two mistakes

  • Map name mismatch → the server creates a fresh map with the name you set and ignores your file. Check the exact map name.
  • Windows vs Linux: Nitrado's Windows saves live under Config/WindowsServer/; on our Linux servers the folder is LinuxServer/. The .ark files themselves are compatible.

Or open a migration ticket and we do the whole thing.