Windrose dropped into Early Access and immediately pulled in survival and pirate adventure fans from across the globe. Before you sink hours into building your world, knowing where your save files live could save you from a painful loss. Here is everything you need to know about Windrose save file locations, backups, and Steam Cloud behaviour.
Where Are Windrose Save Files Located on PC?
Windrose stores all save data locally on your PC inside the Windows AppData folder. The exact path includes your unique Steam ID, so it differs slightly between players.
| Client | Save File Location |
| Steam | C:\Users\[Windows Username]\AppData\Local\R5\Saved\SaveProfiles\[Steam Numeric ID] |
You can also reach the same folder faster by pressing Win + R, typing the shortcut below, and hitting Enter:
%USERPROFILE%/AppData/Local/R5/Saved/SaveProfiles
This drops you straight into the SaveProfiles folder, where you will see a subfolder named after your Steam ID.
What Does the R5 Folder Contain?
The R5 folder is the root container for everything Windrose saves locally. Inside it, you will find three main categories of data:
- Character data — appearance, stats, talents, inventory, and progression for each character you have created
- World data — your procedurally generated map seed, built structures, placed items, and persistent NPC states
- Settings — key bindings, graphics options, and input preferences tied to your Steam account
Character and world data each sit in their own dedicated subfolders under the Steam ID directory. The game’s save loader depends on this structure internally, so avoid moving or renaming individual subfolders.
How to Back Up Your Windrose Save Files
Backing up is straightforward, but there is one key rule to follow first.
Always close Windrose completely before copying any save data. Copying files while the game is running risks corrupting your save.
Key Steps for a Safe Backup
- Quit Windrose fully to the desktop
- Open File Explorer and navigate to %USERPROFILE%/AppData/Local/R5
- Copy the entire R5 folder to a second location, such as an external drive or a cloud-synced folder
- Do not copy individual character or world subfolders in isolation — the loader depends on the full surrounding directory structure
Copying the whole R5 folder preserves all characters, all worlds, and your settings in a single operation.
Does Windrose Support Steam Cloud Saves?
Yes, Windrose has full Steam Cloud support. When you close the game, your local save data automatically uploads to Steam’s servers. You can then install Windrose on another PC, sign into Steam, and your progress will sync down without any manual copying needed.
However, there is one situation to watch out for. Cloud sync only runs when you exit the game, so if you leave a session running on one device and start another session on a different machine, Steam may flag a cloud save conflict. The safer approach is to fully close Windrose before switching devices.
Can You Have Multiple Characters and Worlds in Windrose?
Yes, you can create multiple characters and multiple worlds in Windrose. Community testing has confirmed that roughly a dozen characters can exist on the same account without any issues, and no hard upper limit has been officially confirmed by the developers.
From the main menu, you can:
- Create new characters and worlds freely
- Edit character appearances
- Delete individual characters without affecting other characters or shared world saves
Uploading a Singleplayer Save to a Dedicated Server
If you want to move your singleplayer world to a dedicated server, the save path on the server side follows this structure:
R5/Saved/SaveProfiles/Default/RocksDB/<version>/Worlds/<world-id>/
The <version> folder corresponds to the game version when the world was created (for example, 0.10.0), and <world-id> is a unique identifier for that specific world.
Important Steps Before Uploading
- Stop your server first before transferring any files — uploading to a running server risks corrupting your save data
- Back up the server’s existing save before replacing anything
After uploading your world folder, open ServerDescription.json (found in the R5/ root directory) and update the WorldIslandId field to match your world’s folder name:
json
{
“WorldIslandId”: “your-world-id-here”
}
Without this step, the server will either generate a blank new world or fail to load correctly.
One More Thing After a Save Transfer
When you launch the game client after transferring a save, Windrose may ask whether to use your Local or Cloud save. Always choose Local. Selecting Cloud could overwrite your transferred world with an older backup.
Quick Reference: Windrose Steam Features
| Feature | What It Does |
| Steam Cloud | Automatically syncs save data on game exit across all your devices |
| Steam Family Share | Lets Steam Family members play Windrose from their own library |
| Steam Input | Enables controller support, including community presets for unsupported layouts |
A Few Things Worth Knowing
Windrose uses a RocksDB format for its save data, which is a binary database format. You cannot open or edit it with a text editor, and you cannot cherry-pick specific structures or items out of a save — you are always working with the full data package.
Version mismatches can also cause problems. If your local game has updated but the server has not, or vice versa, the save format may be incompatible. Keep both on the same game version to avoid issues.
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