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To wipe a tModLoader Terraria server, reset the configured world save—not the tModLoader installation. Stop the server cleanly, copy the current world to a dated backup, find the world= path in serverconfig.txt or the launch command, move the old world files out of that location, then start the server with autocreate enabled or with a replacement .wld file. Your mods and player characters can remain in place unless you deliberately reset them too.
The exact folder differs between a Docker deployment, the management script, and a direct Windows, Linux, or macOS installation. The world-selection rules are the same in each case: the server must point to a full path ending in .wld, and a new world is generated only when no save exists at that path.
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What a “wipe” resets
A world wipe removes or replaces the Terraria world save that the server loads. It does not inherently reinstall tModLoader, remove the server executable, or delete your modpack. Characters are separate from the world as well, so their inventories and progression normally survive a world-only reset.
| Data or setting | World-only wipe | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| World terrain, chests, NPC housing and world progression | Reset or replaced | Move/delete the active save, then load a new or replacement .wld |
| tModLoader installation | Retained | Only an uninstall, reinstall or update operation changes it |
| Mods and enabled mod configuration | Retained unless you remove or replace them | Changes to .tmod files, install.txt, enabled.json or a modpack |
| Player characters | Retained unless you reset them | Deleting or replacing the separate player files |
Decide which of these outcomes you want before touching files. If the goal is a fresh map while everyone keeps their characters and the current mod set, perform only the world steps below.
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Prepare before changing the save
Announce downtime and stop cleanly
Tell players when the server will be unavailable, then stop it through the method used to run it. Never move or delete a world while the server is saving; an in-use file can be incomplete and a backup made during a write may be unusable.
- For a management-script installation, use the script’s normal stop or lifecycle command.
- For a Windows batch launch, close the server through its normal console shutdown rather than killing the process.
- For a Linux or macOS shell launch, use the server’s normal stop command or an orderly terminal shutdown.
- For Docker, use the deployment’s container controls. The official utility examples include
docker compose up -dto start,docker attach tmlto attach to the console, anddocker exec -it tml execute "YOUR COMMAND"to run a command inside the container.
Wait until the process has exited before editing the mounted data or host folders.
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Copy the active world data to a separate, dated location before moving anything. Keep the backup outside the live Worlds directory so the server cannot mistake it for a candidate save. A useful name records the date and purpose, for example world-before-wipe-2026-10-15.
Back up the .wld named by the server and any same-name companion files present beside it. Do not overwrite the only copy with a new file. The exact host path depends on the installation; official layouts identify a Worlds directory, while Docker uses the host directory mounted into the container.
Record the current configuration
Save a copy of serverconfig.txt and note the launch command. Record the current world=, worldname=, autocreate=, difficulty and other settings before editing. This makes it possible to reproduce the old setup or diagnose a startup problem.
Find the world tModLoader actually loads
Read serverconfig.txt
Locate the configuration file used by the start command and find the world= entry. It must contain the full path to the server world file, including the .wld extension. The tModLoader server guide specifically warns that the value must point to the .wld file, not a .twld file.
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world=/path/to/Worlds/MyWorld.wldOn Windows, a typical value uses a quoted full path when supplied as a launch argument:
-world "C:pathtoWorldsMyWorld.wld"Do not assume that the first file you see in a Worlds folder is active. A server can use a save elsewhere if the configuration or launch command specifies it.
Check launch arguments too
Inspect the batch file, shell script or service definition that starts the server. Look for -config and -world arguments. The effective configuration is the one that the actual start process reads, so edit that file rather than an unused example configuration.
If the start command supplies -world, use that full path when backing up and quarantining the save. If it supplies -config, open the referenced configuration and check its world= line.
Distinguish .wld from .twld
The server world setting is the .wld path. A .twld file is not the value to pass to world= or -world. When you quarantine a save, move the files that belong to that world together, but leave the configuration pointing to a future .wld destination.
Wipe and generate a fresh world
- Stop the server completely. Confirm that the process or container is no longer writing the save.
- Back up the active world. Copy the configured
.wldand related same-name files to a dated location outside the liveWorldsdirectory. - Quarantine the old save. Rename or move the active world files out of the configured location. Renaming is safer than permanent deletion because it gives you a quick rollback. Delete the quarantine only after the new world has been tested.
- Set the destination and generation options. Keep
world=pointed at the intended new.wldpath. Setautocreate=1,2or3for the desired world-size option, and setworldname=to the name you want for the autocreated world. - Start through the normal launcher. Use the management script, batch file, shell script or container command that normally starts this server.
- Watch the console. A new world should be created because no save exists at the configured path. The console should then load that newly created world without a world-file error.
- Connect and inspect the result. Join with the same tModLoader version and mod set, confirm the spawn is new, check the expected world-size and difficulty settings, and test content supplied by the enabled mods.
The official configuration documentation describes autocreate as creating a world when none is found at the path supplied by world. Therefore, leaving the old .wld in that location will cause the server to load it instead of generating a replacement.
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Example configuration
Adapt the paths to your installation; do not paste an example path over the path your launcher actually uses.
world=/srv/terraria/Worlds/FreshWorld.wld
autocreate=1
worldname=FreshWorldWith the old save moved away, this configuration tells tModLoader to create FreshWorld.wld at that location. If a file already exists there, the autocreate setting does not replace it automatically.
Instructions by deployment type
Management-script installation
The manage-tModLoaderServer.sh workflow provides installation, update, mod-installation and start operations, and its documentation provides direct access to the server files. Use its documented stop operation first, then locate the configured Worlds directory and serverconfig.txt. Back up and move the configured .wld, edit the configuration, and start the server through the same script.
Do not run an installation or update operation as a substitute for a world wipe. Those operations address tModLoader or mods; they are not required to generate a new map.
Docker deployment
The official Docker utility creates Mods and Worlds directories when they are absent and uses mounted Terraria data. Edit the mounted host data, not an ephemeral path inside a stopped container that will disappear on recreation.
- Stop the running container with the compose or container lifecycle method used by your deployment.
- Identify the host directory mounted for Terraria data and locate its
Worldsdirectory and configuration. - Copy the active world to a dated backup outside the live directory.
- Move the old save, edit
world=,autocreateandworldname, then recreate or restart the container. - Use
docker compose up -dto start the stack when that is the command defined by your compose deployment. Attach withdocker attach tmlif you need to watch the console.
If the container keeps loading the old map, check the compose volume mapping and the configuration file inside the mounted data. You may have edited a host folder that is not the one mounted into the container.
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Windows batch launch
Use the supplied start-tModLoaderServer.bat launcher after editing the referenced configuration or its arguments. A direct world argument has the form:
start-tModLoaderServer.bat -world "C:pathtoWorldsFreshWorld.wld"Use a full path and the .wld extension. If the batch file also passes -config, make sure the configuration you edited is the one it references.
Linux or macOS script launch
Use start-tModLoaderServer.sh or the equivalent launcher with the full .wld path, for example:
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./start-tModLoaderServer.sh -world "/srv/terraria/Worlds/FreshWorld.wld"When a configuration argument is used, update that configuration’s world= line instead of creating a second, unused file. File permissions, service users and container mounts are host-specific, so follow the permissions and lifecycle conventions already used by that installation.
Keep the modpack while resetting the map
World data and mod data are separate. Preserve the intended Mods directory, .tmod files, install.txt, enabled.json and modpack configuration when the objective is only a new world. A fresh world can still contain mod-generated content, recipes or biomes as long as the same mods are installed and enabled when the server starts.
Do not use a mod-installation, modpack replacement or tModLoader reinstall step to solve a world-reset request. Those actions can change the content that the new world expects and make it harder to tell whether a problem came from the wipe or from a changed mod set.
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Decide separately what happens to player characters
Player files are independent of the world save. Keeping them lets players bring existing inventories and progression into the new map; deleting or replacing them creates a character reset as well.
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- Keep characters: back up the player files but leave them in place while you replace only the world.
- Reset characters: make a separate backup, then remove or replace the player files intentionally after the world reset.
- Mixed reset: preserve selected character files and remove only the ones whose progression should be cleared.
Tell players which outcome you selected. A new world with old characters is a different experience from a new world with newly created characters.
Choose the safest reset approach
| Approach | Reversibility | World outcome | Mod continuity | Player continuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rename or move the active save | Highest; restore the original files to roll back | Autocreated world or a replacement file at the now-empty path | Retained unless you change the mod configuration | Retained unless you remove character files |
| Permanently delete the active save | Lowest; depends entirely on an external backup | Autocreated world or a replacement file | Retained unless separately removed | Retained unless separately removed |
Point world= at a prebuilt .wld |
High if the old save remains backed up | Loads the selected replacement world | Retained only if the replacement is compatible with the enabled mods | Retained unless separately reset |
| Change the modpack as well | Depends on backups of both world and mods | New or replacement world with a different content set | Replaced or altered | Retained unless separately reset |
For most maintenance wipes, moving the old save and using autocreate is the best first attempt: it is reversible and does not require reinstalling the server.
Troubleshoot a wipe that did not work
The old world still loads
- Recheck the effective
world=path and any-worldargument in the actual launcher. - Confirm that the old
.wldwas moved from that exact location, not merely from a similarly namedWorldsfolder. - In Docker, verify that you edited the host directory mounted into the container.
- Look for a second configuration selected by
-config.
No new world is created
- Confirm that
autocreateis set to1,2or3in the configuration the server actually reads. - Make sure
worldname=is set if you want a specific name for the generated world. - Check that the configured directory exists and that the server account can write to it.
- Read the console for a path, permission or argument error before trying another deletion.
The server reports a world-file error
Ensure the path points to a real .wld file or to a writable destination for a new one. Do not pass a .twld path. Check spelling, capitalization where the host filesystem is case-sensitive, quotation marks around paths with spaces, and the permissions of the directory.
The server starts but mod content is missing
Compare the current Mods directory and enabled configuration with the backup you made before the wipe. A world reset does not restore a mod that was already missing or disabled. Confirm that clients use the same tModLoader version and enabled mod set as the server.
You need to undo the wipe
- Stop the server again.
- Move the newly generated world and its companion files out of the active location.
- Restore the backed-up original
.wldand related files to the path named byworld=, or pointworld=back to the restored location. - Start the server and verify that the original spawn and progression return.
Keep the new world in a separate quarantine until the rollback decision is final.
Verify the replacement before inviting players back
- The console reports creation or loading of the intended world path.
- The file at that path has a current modification time and the expected
.wldextension. - The world opens with the intended size and difficulty settings.
- The spawn area is new rather than a familiar location from the old map.
- The expected modded items, biomes or systems are present.
- Existing characters appear only if you chose to retain player files.
- A client using the same tModLoader version and mod set can connect without a world or mod mismatch.
- The original backup remains untouched until the new server has passed testing.
Important limits of provider-specific instructions
There is no single universal hosting-panel workflow or path. A hosting provider may wrap the same tModLoader settings in its own file editor, service control or backup system. Apply the same sequence—stop, back up, identify the effective .wld path, quarantine the old save, enable autocreation or select a replacement, restart and verify—but use the provider’s documented stop and file paths. If its panel hides the launch command or mounted directory, ask the host which configuration and data volume are active before deleting anything.
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