Where Are Stellaris Save Files? Backup and Recovery Guide

Save file management seems simple, but it’s a common trip-up point for new players — especially when you need to back up, migrate devices, or troubleshoot a corrupted save.

Default save file location

On PC, saves are typically stored in the Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games folder under your documents directory (the exact path varies by OS). Each save is a folder containing several autosave timestamps.

The exact paths per platform:

Windows (Steam): %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\save games\ — paste that into the File Explorer address bar or the Win+R dialog to jump straight there.
macOS: ~/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games/
Linux: ~/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games/ — note that Stellaris ignores $XDG_DATA_HOME and always uses this path.
Steam Deck: the Deck runs the Linux version, so it’s the same Linux path. In Desktop Mode, open Dolphin, enable hidden files (Ctrl+H), and navigate to /home/deck/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games/.

Inside save games, each campaign gets its own subfolder named after your empire plus an internal ID. Each subfolder holds the individual .sav files — your manual saves and the rolling autosaves for that run.

What’s actually inside a save

A .sav file is just a ZIP archive with a different extension. Rename a copy to .zip and you can extract two key files: gamestate (the entire galaxy state as plain text) and meta (a summary the load screen reads). Two practical uses fall out of this: you can verify a save is intact by checking whether the archive opens, and advanced users can fix corrupted campaigns by editing the plaintext gamestate — always on a copy, never the original.

How to enable cloud saves

If you bought the game on Steam, Steam Cloud sync is typically enabled by default, as long as you stay logged into the Steam client and haven’t manually disabled cloud storage. You can check the cloud save toggle in the game’s Properties within the Steam client.

For the toggle: right-click Stellaris in your Steam library → Properties → General → make sure “Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud for Stellaris” is checked. Steam mirrors cloud saves under Steam\userdata\<your Steam ID>\281990\remote\save games\ (281990 is Stellaris’s app ID), which is also where to look if you ever need to reconcile a sync conflict manually.

What to do if a save gets corrupted

First, try loading an earlier autosave timestamp within the same save folder — the issue often isn’t present in every historical checkpoint.
If the issue started after installing a mod, try disabling recently added mods and reloading — mod conflicts are a common cause of save corruption.
Backup habit: for important checkpoints (before a major patch, before a big decision), manually copy the save folder somewhere else. Cloud sync isn’t a full substitute for a manual local backup.

Two more steps worth knowing if those don’t work:

Check archive integrity. If the .sav won’t even open as a ZIP, the file itself is damaged — restore from your manual backup or Steam Cloud version instead of fighting it.
Beware major version jumps. Saves from an older patch often misbehave after a big update (the 4.0 pop-system overhaul was notorious for this). If a save breaks right after a patch, roll back to the older version via Steam → Properties → Betas, finish the campaign there, and start fresh on the new patch.

Backing up and migrating saves step by step

Close the game (a running session can hold partially-written files).
Navigate to the save games folder for your OS using the paths above.
Copy the entire campaign subfolder — not just one .sav — to your backup location or a USB drive.
On the new device, paste the subfolder into the same save games path (create the folder structure if it doesn’t exist yet).
Launch the game and confirm the campaign appears in the load menu with the correct date and playtime.

If you play with mods, note the mod list (or export the playset from the Paradox launcher) before migrating — a save that expects missing mods will load with warnings or break outright. Our QoL mods roundup covers how playsets are managed.

Can’t find my save after switching devices

Confirm your Steam account is logged in on the new device and cloud sync has completed (check the cloud icon status on the save screen). If local and cloud saves conflict, Steam will usually prompt you to choose which version to keep — be careful not to accidentally overwrite the progress you meant to keep.

If sync shows “up to date” but the save still isn’t there, check the userdata\281990\remote\save games\ folder on the old device: if the file exists there but never uploaded, copy it manually. And remember Ironman campaigns still follow all the same paths — they’re just a single continuously-overwritten save per campaign, so a manual backup habit matters even more for them.

FAQ

How many autosaves does the game keep? A rolling set per campaign, overwritten from oldest first. If you rely on autosaves as your only safety net, lower the autosave interval in settings and still keep manual backups for big decisions.

Can I move saves between Windows and Linux/Steam Deck? Yes — the .sav format is identical across OSes. Copy the campaign folder into the correct path for the target OS and it will load.

Do saves transfer between PC and console? No. Console Edition is a separate build with its own save system; there’s no supported way to move a PC save to PlayStation/Xbox or back. See our Steam vs. Console Edition comparison for the full breakdown.

Will an old-patch save work after a major update? Sometimes, but expect issues after systemic overhauls. The reliable route is the Steam Betas rollback to the save’s original version.

Does cloud sync work in multiplayer? Each player syncs only their own local files; the host holds the actual campaign save. If you’re the host, your backups are the group’s only safety net — and for long-running campaigns, performance tuning matters as much as backups, since bloated late-game saves load noticeably slower.