Sandustry Save File Location: How to Find, Backup & Transfer Saves (Windows, Mac, Steam Deck)

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01 · Exact Directory Paths by Operating System

Sandustry uses Unity's LocalLow structure for world state persistence. Below are the verified absolute paths for each gaming platform:

• Windows 10 / 11: Open Windows Explorer or press Win + R, then paste: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Lantto Games\Sandustry\saves\

• macOS: Open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G, then paste: ~/Library/Application Support/Lantto Games/Sandustry/saves/

• Steam Deck / Linux (Steam Proton): In Desktop Mode, open Dolphin file manager, press Ctrl + H to show hidden folders, and navigate to: ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/2764460/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/LocalLow/Lantto Games/Sandustry/saves/

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02 · Anatomy of a Sandustry Save Folder

Inside the saves directory, each factory world has its own folder (e.g., 'Slot_0', 'Slot_1'). Inside each slot folder, you will find:

1. world.dat: Compressed byte array storing the dynamic cellular automaton state for every active sand, water, lava, and ore pixel on the planet.

2. meta.json: Plaintext metadata storing game playtime, research tier unlocked, player inventory, and world seed.

3. tile_entities.bin: Contains machine orientations, filter criteria, and kinetic press drop configurations.

4. /backups/ folder: Rolling timestamped snapshots saved at key research milestones.

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03 · Step-by-Step Save Backup & Rollback Protocol

Before installing mods such as SandTogether or Fluxloader plugins, always take a manual backup. Close Sandustry completely to ensure the SQLite state commits to disk.

Copy your target 'Slot_X' folder and paste it into a safe directory (e.g., your Desktop or a cloud drive). To revert, simply delete the corrupted slot folder and rename your backup copy back to the original slot name.

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04 · Transferring Saves Between PC and Steam Deck

While Steam Cloud automatically syncs saves, network lags or offline play can cause cloud sync conflicts. You can manually transfer saves using a USB-C flash drive or local network tool like Warpinator.

Sandustry's save architecture is binary-identical across OS platforms. You can drag a save folder created on Windows directly into the macOS or Steam Deck save folder without any hex-editing or conversion.

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05 · Fixing Corrupted Worlds & Cloud Sync Conflicts

If your save fails to load or crashes at 99% loading terrain, check the 'Slot_X/backups/' directory. Find the file with the most recent timestamp (e.g., 'world_backup_2026-09-04_1422.dat').

Delete the corrupted 'world.dat' in the root slot directory, copy the backup file into the slot root, and rename it to 'world.dat'. Launch Sandustry, and your factory will load from the last clean checkpoint.