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Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley Save Location and How to Recover a Missing or Broken Save (PC)

For players who need the save folder, whose save vanished from the list or will not load, or who want to go back one day.

Edited by Gemnao Editorial Team (Japanese)Last checked 2026-10-01
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The short answer

Saves are in “%appdata%\StardewValley\Saves”, one “FarmName_number” folder per farm. If a save is missing or will not load, try in this order: remove “_STARDEWVALLEYSAVETMP” from file names, undo the last save using the _old files, then restore an SMAPI backup. Copy the whole folder before you change anything.

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Key facts

Save location
%appdata%\StardewValley\Saves
Files you need
The “FarmName_number” file and SaveGameInfo (keep the folder together)
When the game saves
Only at the end of an in-game day (going to bed, passing out, or 2 a.m.)
SMAPI backups
“save-backups” in the game folder (up to 10 days)

Find your symptom

Start with your symptom. Skip steps that do not apply to your setup.

What you seeWhat to checkGo to
File names end in “_STARDEWVALLEYSAVETMP”A save was interruptedStep 2
The game crashes when loading, or you want to go back a dayA problem with the last saveStep 3
The save folder is gone (you use SMAPI)Deleted or damaged filesStep 4
Days you already played are missingSteam Cloud replaced the save with an older copyStep 5

Fixes, in order

Continue this issue

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Step 1｜Open the save folder and back it up

Copy the current state before trying any recovery.

Time: About 2 min

  1. Close the game.
  2. Press Windows + R, type “%appdata%\StardewValley\Saves” and click OK.
  3. Right-click the “FarmName_number” folder, compress it to a ZIP file and store it somewhere else, such as the desktop.

Do not keep backup folders inside the Saves folder — the game will try to load them (official wiki).

Step 2｜Remove “_STARDEWVALLEYSAVETMP” from file names

This is the first fix the official wiki lists.

Time: About 3 min

  1. Open the save folder and look for files with “_STARDEWVALLEYSAVETMP” in the name.
  2. Remove that part of the name and start the game.
  3. If the name changes back each time, open Stardew Valley’s Properties in Steam (gear icon) → General, turn off Steam Cloud sync, then fix the names again.
  4. Also make sure the folder name exactly matches the “FarmName_number” file name.

Step 3｜Undo the last save using the _old files

If the folder has two files ending in “_old”, you can go back one day.

Time: About 3 min

  1. Check that the folder contains “SaveGameInfo_old” and “FarmName_number_old” (if not, this step will not work).
  2. Make sure you have the backup from step 1.
  3. Delete “SaveGameInfo” and “FarmName_number” (the files without _old).
  4. Remove “_old” from the names of “SaveGameInfo_old” and “FarmName_number_old”.

Step 4｜Restore an SMAPI backup

If you have SMAPI installed, its bundled SaveBackup mod keeps up to 10 daily backups.

Time: About 5 min

  1. Open the game folder (Steam: right-click → Manage → Browse local files).
  2. Open “save-backups” and extract the newest ZIP file that contains your save.
  3. Copy the save folder inside it into your Saves folder.

Step 5｜If Steam Cloud overwrote your save

For when you have a backup, but the game keeps switching back to an older cloud copy.

Time: About 3 min

  1. Start the game, but do not load a save yet.
  2. With the game still running, delete the save folder in Saves and put your backup back.
  3. Load the save in the game. Because it changed while the game was running, the cloud treats it as the newer version (official wiki).

Avoid

  • Do not delete or rename files before making a backup.
  • Do not keep backup folders inside the Saves folder.
  • Avoid automatic save-editor tools — the official wiki warns they often break saves.

Important cautions

  • Multiplayer saves are stored only on the host’s PC (official wiki).
  • An older version of the game cannot load a save made by a newer version.

FAQ

I quit in the middle of a day and lost my progress.

Stardew Valley only saves at the end of an in-game day (going to bed, passing out from exhaustion, or at 2 a.m.). Progress during a day is lost if you quit before it ends (official wiki).

I own the game on both Steam and GOG. Are the saves separate?

On PC, saves are stored separately from the game and are shared between copies from different stores, such as Steam and GOG (official wiki).

My save will not load after I removed mods.

The official wiki says some modded saves cannot be loaded in the unmodded game. Reinstall SMAPI and play one day: SMAPI removes custom content from the save (custom items left in your inventory may turn into error items).

Sources

We checked these official pages and wrote the steps in our own words. Follow the publisher’s page if it has changed.

Stardew Valley Wiki (official): SavesSteam store: Stardew ValleyStardew ValleyJapanese version of this page