Where Are Stellaris Saves Located?
Stellaris save games folder on Windows, macOS and Linux, including the Paradox Launcher Plaza variant and cloud copies.
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Stellaris keeps saves in a save games folder (with a space) under Paradox Interactive in Documents. Each empire gets its own subfolder named empire plus an ID.
The Paradox Launcher edition uses a Stellaris Plaza sibling folder instead. Ironman and autosaves sit in the same tree, so one backup covers everything.
Where Stellaris stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\save games
Paradox Launcher copies use Stellaris Plaza instead of Stellaris. Cloud saves may also appear under a pdx_sdk_filestorage sibling.
~/Documents/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games
Same empire subfolder layout as Windows. Exact path may vary by launcher version; search for save games under Paradox Interactive if missing.
~/.local/share/Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/save games
Note Paradox ignores XDG_DATA_HOME here and always uses .local/share. Same empire subfolder layout.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a Stellaris save?
Yes for non ironman saves: they are zip files with a gamestate text file inside. Copy the save first, since a bad edit corrupts it silently.
Where are Stellaris mods stored?
Next to save games under Paradox Interactive/Stellaris/mod, plus Steam Workshop content under steamapps/workshop. Keep both when migrating.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.