Where Are RimWorld Save Files Located?
RimWorld save paths on Windows, macOS and Linux, plus the ModsConfig.xml mod list, the .rws save format and the in-game folder button.
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RimWorld keeps saves, config and logs in one data folder that has nothing to do with where the game is installed. Windows parks it under AppData\LocalLow, macOS under Application Support, Linux under ~/.config/unity3d, each ending in a product-name folder.
The quickest route is the game's own button: Options, then Open save data folder. Current builds label it Settings, Save data location, Show. Use that before you start clicking through hidden folders by hand.
Every save is a single .rws file of plain XML, easy to open in a text editor. The mod list sits beside it in Config\ModsConfig.xml, which is the file people delete when a broken mod setup stops the game from starting.
Where RimWorld stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Ludeon Studios\RimWorld by Ludeon Studios\Saves
The product folder really is called RimWorld by Ludeon Studios. Config\ModsConfig.xml, Player.log and the Scenarios folder sit one level up from Saves. Press Win+R, type %appdata%, go up one level to AppData, then into LocalLow. Ludeon's own forum answers from 2014 and 2015 give this same LocalLow area with the shorter folder name RimWorld, so the folder was renamed rather than moved, and no Documents-based location turns up in any source.
~/Library/Application Support/RimWorld/Saves
The path in Ludeon's own readme and in the RimWorld wiki. Older builds and Steam Cloud have also used ~/Library/Application Support/RimWorld By Ludeon Studios and ~/Library/Caches/RimWorld, so this one has shifted between versions. The save data button in Options opens the folder your build actually uses.
~/.config/unity3d/Ludeon Studios/RimWorld by Ludeon Studios/Saves
Same Unity layout as Windows, with ModsConfig.xml in the Config subfolder next to Saves. Flatpak Steam changes the root to ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/config/unity3d/ while the tail stays the same. Deleting Config\ModsConfig.xml resets the mod list to vanilla, which is the standard fix for a game that hangs on the mod screen.
Frequently asked questions
where are rimworld saves on windows
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Ludeon Studios\RimWorld by Ludeon Studios\Saves. Press Win+R, type %appdata%, then go up one level and into LocalLow, Ludeon Studios, and the product folder. If you would rather not dig, use Options, Open save data folder in the game.
where is ModsConfig.xml rimworld
In the Config subfolder beside Saves: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Ludeon Studios\RimWorld by Ludeon Studios\Config\ModsConfig.xml on Windows, and the matching Config\ModsConfig.xml under the same product folder on Mac and Linux. Delete it to rebuild a clean mod list.
rimworld save file location mac
~/Library/Application Support/RimWorld/Saves is the documented path, though some builds used RimWorld By Ludeon Studios or Caches/RimWorld instead. The save data button in Options opens the right folder for your version, which beats guessing between them.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.