How to Upload Custom Maps to Your ARK: Survival Evolved Server

For an ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE) dedicated server, uploading a custom map means doing one of two different jobs: moving an existing single-player save, or installing a Steam Workshop map that the server has never used. A save transfer uses the world, player, and tribe files from ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArksLocal; a Workshop installation uses the map’s numeric mod ID or its downloaded map folder and .mod file.

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Stop the server before replacing save files or uploading map files. After the files are in place, select the matching map in Mapname, save the configuration, and restart. The procedures below are for ASE. ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) uses a different mod-loading argument and should not be configured by copying ASE’s Active Mods or -MapModID procedure.

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Choose the right upload method

First identify what you are trying to preserve. A single-player transfer brings an existing world, structures, character, inventory, and tribe data to a dedicated server. A Workshop installation adds a new map to the server; it does not automatically bring over your single-player character or tribe.

These workflows are not interchangeable. Uploading a Workshop folder will not restore a single-player world, and copying a save file will not install a map that the server does not have.

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Prepare the server and your files

Back up before changing anything

Download a copy of the current server save and configuration before replacing files. A backup gives you a rollback if the wrong map is selected, a transfer is incomplete, or a mod update changes the save’s behavior. Keep the backup outside the server’s live directories and label it with the map name and date.

Stop the server

Use the host panel’s stop control and wait until the server is fully offline before editing ShooterGame/Saved or ShooterGame/Content/Mods. Uploading while the server is writing a save can leave an incomplete or overwritten file. Start the server only after all files and settings have been saved.

Confirm the game edition

This guide covers ASE dedicated servers. The official community documentation identifies Steam app ID 376030 for the ASE dedicated server. ASA has a different configuration reference: it uses the -mods argument and does not use ASE’s ActiveMods setting. If your server software is ASA, use its current configuration documentation instead of the ASE paths and arguments below.

Move a single-player world to an ASE dedicated server

This is the correct procedure when you want to continue an existing local world on a hosted or self-hosted dedicated server.

1. Locate the local save

1. Open Steam and select ARK: Survival Evolved.
2. Choose Manage, then Browse local files.
3. Open ShooterGame/Saved.
4. Find the map-specific SavedArksLocal folder. ARK creates a separate folder for each map you have played, so identify the folder for the world you intend to move.

The folder contains the save set for that map. Do not copy only the file that looks like the world file; the player and tribe files are needed for identity and ownership continuity.

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2. Identify the three required file types

When moving a single-player world, the local profile is commonly named LocalPlayer.arkprofile. Rename that file to the Steam64 ID of the player who will connect to the dedicated server. Use the numeric Steam64 ID as the filename while retaining the .arkprofile extension. If you are unsure which Steam account should receive the profile, resolve that before uploading; assigning it to the wrong ID can make the character appear missing even when the world file is present.

3. Upload the save set

1. Stop the dedicated server.
2. Open the server file browser or connect with FTP.
3. Open ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks. On hosts that show the installation root as arkse, the full path is arkse/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks.
4. Upload the map’s .ark, renamed .arkprofile, and .arktribe files.
5. Wait for every transfer to finish. Check the file list and sizes before closing the browser or FTP client.

The destination folder is SavedArks, not the local SavedArksLocal folder name. Keep files for different maps separate and do not delete another map’s save unless you have a verified backup and no longer need it.

4. Set Mapname and restart

1. In the hosting panel, set Mapname to the map represented by the uploaded files.
2. Save the configuration.
3. Start or restart the server.
4. Join with the Steam account whose Steam64 ID was used for the profile filename.

If the server starts on a different map, shuts down, or presents a new character, stop it and recheck the map name, file locations, profile filename, and upload completeness before trying again.

5. Recover tribe ownership only when necessary

A normal transfer should preserve the tribe file, but ownership can be wrong if the profile or tribe data was mismatched. The Nitrado ARK guide documents an administrator recovery path: enable the in-game command display with setcheatplayer true, identify the tribe team ID, and run cheat taketribe <tribeID>. This is an admin recovery action, not a required step in every upload. Use it only after confirming that the correct .arktribe file was transferred.

Install a Steam Workshop custom map through a hosting panel

Use this workflow for a new Workshop map or when your host provides an integrated Workshop downloader. The map must be installed before you select it as the server’s active map.

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1. Get the numeric map ID

1. Open the map’s Steam Workshop page.
2. Copy the numeric ID from the page URL or from the map description.
3. Check that you copied the map’s ID, not an unrelated collection ID or another mod listed on the page.

The ID is the value the panel uses to retrieve the Workshop content. Keep a note of it with the map’s name so you can recognize it later if the panel lists several entries.

2. Add the ID to Active Mods

1. Open the server control panel.
2. Go to Mods + Workshop.
3. Enter the numeric ID in Active Mods (IDs).
4. Save the setting.
5. Restart the server and allow the Workshop download and installation to complete.

Panel labels vary slightly by host, but the essential sequence is the same: provide the numeric Workshop ID, save, and restart. Do not select a map that has not finished installing.

3. Select the installed map

After installation, open the panel’s Mapname control and choose the uploaded Workshop map. Save again and restart if the panel requires a second restart after changing the map. The map’s name in the selector may not be identical to its Workshop title, so verify the ID and the installed entry if several names look similar.

Install a Workshop map manually with FTP

Use manual upload when the host does not provide a functioning Workshop ID field or when you need to control the files directly.

1. Download the map through Steam

1. Subscribe to the map on Steam Workshop using the client that has ARK: Survival Evolved installed.
2. Wait for Steam to finish downloading the item.
3. Open ARK’s local files through Steam: Manage → Browse local files.
4. Open ShooterGame/Content/Mods.

Inside that directory, locate the folder named with the map’s numeric Workshop ID and the matching .mod file. Both are required. The folder contains the map content; the .mod file tells ASE how to identify and load it.

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2. Upload both parts

1. Stop the dedicated server.
2. Connect to the server with FTP.
3. Open the server’s ShooterGame/Content/Mods directory.
4. Upload the complete numeric-ID map folder.
5. Upload the matching numeric-ID .mod file into the same Mods directory.
6. Wait until both transfers finish and verify that the folder and file are present.

Do not upload only the folder or only the .mod file. A partial upload can leave the map visible in a file listing but unusable at startup.

3. Select the map and start

1. Open the hosting panel’s Mapname selector.
2. Select the map you just uploaded.
3. Save the configuration.
4. Start the server.

If the map does not appear, stop the server and verify the folder and .mod file names, their location, and whether the FTP client completed every transfer. The Nitrado upload instructions specifically require selecting the uploaded map in Mapname only after the files are in place.

Self-hosted ASE: server installation and launch settings

On a self-hosted machine, install the ASE dedicated server with SteamCMD using app ID 376030, then place Workshop content in the server’s corresponding directories. The official community wiki states that the dedicated-server launch command begins with the map name. That means the map name is part of the startup command, not just an in-game preference.

ASE’s configuration reference documents -MapModID=<ModID> for custom maps. Use the exact syntax required by the server version you run, and keep the map’s numeric ID consistent with the installed Workshop files. Do not substitute ASA’s -mods argument into an ASE command, and do not assume a panel’s Active Mods field maps directly to ASA configuration.

Because launch scripts differ between Windows and Linux installations, preserve your existing startup arguments and add only the map-specific setting required by the current ASE documentation. Test a change with the server stopped, keep the previous script as a backup, and inspect the startup log for the map and mod ID before inviting players.

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Switch between maps without losing other saves

Each map stores its save data in its own folder. According to Nitrado’s map guidance, switching maps does not inherently erase the save belonging to another map. The practical requirement is to select the intended map and avoid deleting its save directory or replacing it with another map’s files.

Before switching, record the current Mapname, back up the active save, and stop the server. Change the map, save, and restart. When returning to the previous map, restore its matching Mapname rather than uploading a different map’s world file over it. A map switch changes the world loaded at startup; it does not merge two worlds into one.

Troubleshoot a map that will not load

Isolate mod conflicts

Nitrado identifies mod conflicts and heavily outdated maps as common reasons a custom map fails to load. The reliable isolation sequence is to disable every other mod, restart with only the custom map, and then re-enable the remaining mods one at a time. When the failure returns, the most recently added mod is the first compatibility suspect. Check that both the map and every enabled mod support the current ASE server build.

Verify the upload rather than guessing

• Compare the local and server file names, including the numeric Workshop ID.
• Confirm the .mod file is beside the map folder, not inside it or one directory above it.
• Check that the transfer client reports completion instead of a queued, failed, or truncated file.
• Make sure Mapname was saved after the installation finished.
• Read the server startup log for the selected map and any mod-loading error.

What players need when they join

Studio Wildcard’s Workshop description for the ARK Dev Kit explains that players joining a server running a custom Workshop map download that map before connecting. Tell players which map the server is running and allow the Workshop download to complete before troubleshooting a failed connection. A player who has an old or incomplete copy can encounter a join error even when the server’s files are correct.

The server owner remains responsible for keeping the map and other mods compatible with the current server build. If the map author publishes an update, test it against a backup or maintenance copy before replacing a working production installation.

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Recommended operating checklist

1. Confirm that the server is ASE, not ASA.
2. Decide whether you are transferring a save or installing a new Workshop map.
3. Back up the current save and configuration.
4. Stop the server completely.
5. For a save transfer, copy the map’s .ark, correctly renamed .arkprofile, and matching .arktribe into ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks.
6. For a Workshop map, use the panel’s numeric ID method or upload both the numeric-ID folder and matching .mod file to ShooterGame/Content/Mods.
7. Set and save the matching Mapname.
8. Restart and verify the startup map before players connect.
9. If startup fails, test the map without other mods and add them back individually.

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