Save & script recovery
How to move Demo scripts into the full game
Do not move the whole Demo save into the full game. Start a fresh full-game save, back up the Demo folder, open the newest save_*.json, and recover the source stored under the save's scripts plus the scriptLibrary data. Recreate those scripts in the full game and fix calls that changed after the Demo.
This preserves reusable code—not unlocked technology, contracts, machines, or world progress.
On this page
1. Find the Demo save folder
Use the path for the system where you played the Demo:
| System | Demo save folder |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\io.codeterraform.demo |
| Linux | ~/.local/share/io.codeterraform.demo/ |
| Linux with XDG_DATA_HOME | $XDG_DATA_HOME/io.codeterraform.demo/ |
On Windows, paste the path into File Explorer or the Run dialog. A developer reply also says the full game has a Settings button that opens its own save folder on Windows or Linux.
2. Back up before opening anything
- Exit the game so it is not writing a save.
- Copy the entire Demo save folder to a separate location.
- Work from the copy. Do not edit the only copy of your Demo save.
- Sort the
save_*.jsonfiles by modified time and open the newest plausible save in a text editor.
3. Recover scripts and shared-library code
Search the JSON for scripts, then preserve each script's source text. Search separately for scriptLibrary and copy the library entries you want to keep.
Save the recovered code as ordinary text files with clear names. That gives you a readable backup even if the old JSON format changes again.
4. Rebuild in a fresh full-game save
- Start a new save in the full game.
- Open the appropriate machine's script editor and recreate one recovered script at a time.
- Recreate any shared-library entries from the recovered
scriptLibrarydata before importing or calling them. - Run each script separately and read its first error before restoring more automation.
A player in the launch discussion reported that copying scripts worked after making code changes. The developer also said the Demo was more than 600 commits behind the release build. Treat every old component name, method signature, and return value as something to re-check in current in-game docs.
What this method does not transfer
This is a code-recovery method, not a save converter. It does not promise to carry over your world, researched technology, completed contracts, inventory, placed machines, or other progression.
Players in the release discussion reported errors when trying to move or load the whole old save. Keeping the migration narrow is what makes the result dependable.
Quick validation checklist
- Your untouched Demo folder still exists.
- You can read the recovered source in ordinary text files.
- The full game save was created normally rather than copied from the Demo.
- Each restored script compiles and runs before the next one is added.
- You have checked changed APIs in the current in-game docs instead of blindly keeping Demo calls.