Project Zomboid: Soft Reset vs. Hard Wipe
In the world of Project Zomboid, "Wiping" the server can mean two very different things. If your server is cluttered with thousands of corpses and blood splatters, causing FPS lag, you may need a **Soft Reset**. If you want a completely fresh start from Day 1, you need a **Hard Wipe**.
1. Soft Reset
A Soft Reset removes all items on the ground, all blood, and all corpses while preserving player characters. Your skills, inventory, and stats remain intact, but the world is "cleaned."
2. Hard Wipe
A Hard Wipe deletes the entire pzserver folder. This resets everything: the map, the time, and all player data. It is a true day-one restart.
3. Mod Compatibility
If you add a new map mod, a Hard Wipe is usually required to generate the new buildings. A Soft Reset will only clear existing items from the old map generation.
How to Perform a Hard Wipe (Full Restart)
- Navigate to your Supercraft Panel and Stop the server.
- Go to the File Manager.
- Open the directory:
/Zomboid/Saves/Multiplayer/. - Delete the entire folder named pzserver (or whatever your server name is).
- Restart the server. A new world, new time, and new characters will be required.
How to Perform a "True" Soft Reset (World Cleaning)
If you want to keep your characters but clean the world, you can use the built-in admin commands in the console:
- Remove all corpses: Run
/removecorpsesin the console. - Remove all items on the floor: This is best handled by setting
WorldItemRemovalListin your server settings to remove items after a certain amount of time. - Reset specific chunks: If a building is glitched, admins can delete specific
.binfiles in the/map/folder to force that specific area to regenerate.
Wipe Comparison
| Action | Keeps Skills? | Keeps Bases? | Best For... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard Wipe | No | No | Starting a new season or adding massive map mods. |
| Soft Reset | Yes | No* | Fixing lag and removing world clutter mid-season. |
| Item Cleanup | Yes | Yes | Daily server maintenance and performance optimization. |
*Note: Depending on how you perform a Soft Reset, player-built structures may or may not be preserved based on the .bin files deleted.
Warning: Always create a "Backup" of your /Saves/ folder before performing any wipe. Even if you intend to start fresh, you might want to retrieve player data or specific base coordinates later.
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