How to manually save the world of my ARK server?
ARK1 min readUpdated Aug 28, 2026
ARK autosaves the world on a timer, and pressing Stop in the panel also saves before the server shuts down. Still, forcing a save by hand is smart right before risky moments: a big boss fight, a base move, or trying a new mod.
Join Your Server as Admin
- Join your ARK server.
- You need an admin password for the next step. Have none yet? Set one first.
Unlock the Console
- Press
Tabto open the in-game console. - Type
enablecheats yourpassword(your admin password) and pressEnter.
Save the World
- Run
admincheat saveworld. - The game freezes for a moment while it writes the save; that is normal.
Finished
Your world is saved to disk. For a copy you can roll back to later (saves get overwritten, backups do not), create a manual backup of your server files as well.
Did this solve your problem?
Still stuck?
Our support team actually knows the games we host. Open a ticket and we will figure it out together.
Open a ticket