How to Wipe, Back Up and Restore a VEIN Server Save

Where a VEIN server stores its save

Everything the world needs is in the SaveGames folder under the server's Vein/Saved directory:

• Current builds: Vein/Saved/SaveGames/Server.vns. Several host guides, the most recent updated September 2026, give this name. The server reads only that exact, case-sensitive name and ignores other .vns files you leave beside it.
• Older builds: a pair of files, manifest.save and server.save, in the same folder. You will still see these in 2025-era guides and forum threads.
• On your own Windows PC: host guides point to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Vein\Saved\SaveGames for saves from your own game, and one points to the Saved folder inside the Steam install. Check which exists on your machine.

The config is elsewhere: Vein/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ or LinuxServer/ holds Game.ini and Engine.ini. The split matters because a wipe, restore or migration touches only one of them at a time.

What a VEIN wipe changes, and what it does not

Deleting the world save resets the world to a new game. The server regenerates the save the next time it starts, which is what the host guides and Steam community reports show. The sources treat that single file as the whole save, so assume bases, containers and vehicles go with it.

It does not reset your server rules. Name, password, admin SteamIDs, whitelist and every vein.* variable are stored in the config files. The game's own console tools are not wipes either: RandomizeTime changes the in-game date, SpawnAllInventories respawns container loot, and the calendar shut-off variables control water and power. None of them resets a world.

How to wipe a VEIN server

1. Announce it

   Give players notice and a time. A wipe is permanent once the old save is gone.

2. Stop the server

   Shut it down cleanly. Do not delete a save while the process is running; the file may be locked.

3. Back up first

   Copy the contents of Vein/Saved/SaveGames/ somewhere else, with a date in the folder name.

4. Remove the save

   Delete, or better rename, Server.vns (and manifest.save and server.save on older builds).

5. Adjust config if you want to

   This is the moment to change vein.* rules, since you are starting fresh anyway. See the config guide for keys.

6. Start the server

   A new world generates on startup. Join and check it before reopening to players.

Renaming rather than deleting costs nothing and gives you an easy undo. If the server loads the old world or makes a new one unexpectedly, the usual cause is a file name that is not exactly Server.vns.

Wipe schedules and automation

The game does not document a built-in wipe timer. Because a wipe is just stop, move the save, start, communities automate it from outside the game: a scheduled task or cron job that stops the server, archives the save, and starts it again. On Windows the VEIN wiki describes using Task Scheduler for automatic startup, which is the natural place to hook this in.

Whatever you automate, keep the archive step. A scripted wipe without a backup is how a typo becomes an unrecoverable loss. And remember that Unreal rewrites config files at shutdown, so scripts that edit config should do so while the server is stopped.

Backups and restores

A backup is a copy of the save made while the server is stopped (or just after a save, using the admin menu's Force Save button on the \ key). Names matter when restoring.

1. Back up

   Stop the server, copy Server.vns (all .vns files if there are several), and add the date and time to the copy's name. Back up Engine.ini too.

2. Restore

   Stop the server, rename the current Server.vns to something like Server_old.vns, then copy the backup in and name it exactly Server.vns.

3. Start and check

   Start the server and confirm the expected world loaded. If it did not, check the file name and that the server was fully stopped when you swapped it.

The game also autosaves. The reported variables are vein.Autosave.Enabled (1), vein.Autosave.Interval (300 seconds) and vein.Autosave.MaxQuantity (10). Autosaves protect against a crash; they do not replace a dated copy kept off the machine.

Moving a save to another server

To migrate, stop both servers, copy Server.vns to the same folder on the new server, and name it exactly Server.vns. Copy your Engine.ini as well. Community references say settings have been kept in the config rather than the save since 0.016 Hotfix 5, so the world arrives but your rules do not unless you carry them over. Keep both servers on the same game build.

Hosting with ChicagoServers? The Vein server hosting page lists what is included, such as free server backups and SFTP file access. Restore frequency and retention are host-specific, so check the details in your control panel.

Frequently asked questions