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Put a Workshop World on Your Terraria Server

Import a Steam Workshop world in Terraria, rename the .wld and load it on your server with World Import, with the checks that stop a blank world.

Updated 4 min read
Table of contents

Terraria's Steam Workshop has adventure maps and builds made by other players. A Workshop world is imported from inside the Steam version of Terraria, so you import it on your PC first, then move the world file onto your server. This guide covers getting the file and the checks that stop the server building a blank world instead.

Before you start

  • You need Terraria on Steam. The official Terraria wiki says the Workshop button in the main menu is in the Steam version only.
  • Run TShock for a plain Workshop world. The Server software card on the Startup tab shows what you run. Upload a Terraria world to your server explains which software suits which world.
  • Match the game version. Players and the server must run the same Terraria version. A TShock release names the Terraria version it is built for, such as TShock 6.2.1 for Terraria 1.4.5.8. How to join your Terraria server covers the version check.

Get the world file

  1. Subscribe to the world on its Steam Workshop page.
  2. In Terraria, press Workshop in the main menu, then open Import Worlds. The official Terraria wiki says that screen lists the Workshop worlds you subscribe to.
  3. Pick the world and press Import. According to the wiki, this makes a separate copy of it.
  4. Quit Terraria so the file is fully written.
  5. Open your Terraria Worlds folder. The table in Upload a Terraria world to your server lists where it is for Windows, macOS and Linux.
  6. Find the imported world's .wld in that folder. If several files look alike, sorting by date modified helps.
Tip

A world kept in Steam Cloud isn't in that folder. The upload guide above shows how to move it off the cloud so the file appears.

Fix the file name

The server only accepts a file name of 1 to 20 letters, numbers, dashes and underscores, and the name becomes your World name. Rename the file on your PC to something such as Adventure_Map.wld if it has spaces or other characters. Leave the .wld ending as it is.

Put it on your server

  1. Stop the server from the Console tab. Terraria saves the running world on shutdown, over anything imported underneath it.
  2. Open World Import, drop the .wld on Drop your world .wld here and press Import selected world.
  3. Read Replace the current world? and press Import world. Back up now takes a backup first, which is the quickest way back.
  4. Start the server and wait for Your server is online - players can join now. in the Console.

The world you had before stays on the server. The Worlds tab lists it, and Switch to on its row loads it again on the next start.

If it doesn't work

  • That's not a .wld. Pick your world's .wld file from the Worlds folder on your PC.
  • The name can't be a World Name. Rename the file on your PC and upload it again.
  • The server made a new world. Check that World name on the Startup tab matches the file name, without .wld. Then check the Worlds tab for Loads on start.
  • The map starts but a mod's items are missing. The map was built with mods. Those need a tModLoader server with the same mods. See Add tModLoader mods to your Terraria server.

Frequently asked questions

Why import it on my PC first?

The import screen is part of the Steam version of Terraria. It turns a subscribed Workshop world into a copy of your own, and the server then takes that file.

Do players need the world file?

No. The world lives on your server, and players join it the usual way.

Related guides

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