Fix a Terraria World That Keeps Regenerating

If your Terraria server gives you a brand-new world after a restart, your old world is almost always still on the server. The server builds a world whenever it can't find one with the name it is set to load, and that name is the World name setting on the Startup tab. So the fix is to point the server back at the world it should open, or to put the world file where the server looks.

Step 1: check which world loads

1. Open the Worlds tab. It lists every world on the server.
2. The one marked Loads on start is the world the server will open next.
3. If your old world is in the list without that mark, press Switch to on its row and restart the server from the Console tab.

Pressing New world sets a new name to load, and so does typing a different World name on the Startup tab. Both leave your other worlds on the server, so switching back brings the old one back.

Step 2: make the name match the file

On the Startup tab, check World name in the World group. It must be the file's name without .wld, spelled exactly the same, including capital letters: with World name casetest and only CaseTest.wld on the server, the server builds a new world beside it. A server that finds no file with that name creates a new world on its next start.

The name is 1 to 20 letters, numbers, dashes and underscores. A file called My World.wld can never match, because the space isn't allowed. Rename the file on your PC and import it again.

Step 3: check the file is in the right folder

TShock and tModLoader keep worlds in different places:

• TShock keeps <name>.wld in the server's main folder, with .wld.bak copies beside it.
• tModLoader keeps <name>.wld in saves/Worlds, with a .twld file of mod data beside it.

A world uploaded to the wrong folder with File Manager or SFTP isn't found, and the server builds a new one. Use World Import instead. It puts the file in the right folder for the software you run. Upload a Terraria world to your server has the steps.

If you switched between TShock and tModLoader, the Server software card moved your worlds to the other folder for you. The Worlds tab shows the folder of the software that is running now.

Step 4: let a new world finish building

A new world takes a minute or two to build. Wait for Your server is online - players can join now. in the Console before you stop or restart the server. If the server stops while the world is still building, no world file is left, so the next start builds a new one.

Step 5: bring back a world that is gone

If the world isn't in the Worlds tab at all, restore it from a backup. Open the Backups tab and restore the backup from before it vanished. How to create and restore backups shows how.

Stop it happening again

• Change worlds from the Worlds tab with Switch to, not by editing World name.
• Import worlds with World Import.
• Leave the size, difficulty and seed alone for a world that exists. They only apply when a world is first built.