Where Are Starbound Save Files Located?
Starbound storage folder beside the install, the player and universe split, and why there is no Steam Cloud.
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Starbound keeps everything in a storage folder beside the game install: characters and ships in player, planets and systems in universe, options in starbound.config. There is no Steam Cloud support, so these local files are the only copies that exist.
Characters share one universe, which makes partial backups risky. Copy the whole storage folder with the game closed, never just the player half. The path can move via the storageDirectory option in sbinit.config, so check there first if storage sits somewhere custom.
Where Starbound stores this, by platform
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Starbound\storage
Example Steam path; GOG builds keep storage beside their exe the same way. player holds characters and ships, universe holds worlds. No Steam Cloud exists, so back up by hand.
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Starbound/storage
Same relative storage layout inside the Steam library. The Microsoft Store version instead uses Documents\Starbound, an exception worth knowing.
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Starbound/storage
Same relative layout. Saves are shared between user accounts on the machine, so multiplayer households back up one tree together.
Frequently asked questions
Does Starbound use Steam Cloud?
No. Saves exist only in the local storage folder, so reinstalls and drive failures end runs with no recourse. Copy the whole storage folder to dated backups regularly.
Can I back up just my character and skip the universe?
You can, but the character loads into whatever universe exists on restore. Copy player and universe together unless you specifically want a fresh cosmos around an old character.
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