FAQ and Troubleshooting

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Frequently asked

Is it safe? It is careful, but it is a save editor. PCEdit reproduces the game's file framing byte for byte — an unedited load-and-save is asserted identical to the original in the test suite, so a diff after an edit shows only your edit. Saves are written atomically, so an interrupted write cannot leave a truncated file, and since v1.3.0 PCEdit copies your save aside before it first writes to one. That said, a legal file can still hold a nonsensical value, and none of that protects you from an edit you meant to make and later regret. Keep your own backup too.

Where does PCEdit keep its copies of my saves? From v1.3.0, the first time PCEdit saves a file after you open it, the original is copied here:

Platform	Folder
Windows	%LocalAppData%\PCEdit\backups
Linux	~/.local/share/PCEdit/backups
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/PCEdit/backups — hidden in Finder, so use Go → Go to Folder

The five most recent copies of each save file are kept, and the folder is shown on PCEdit's About page. The copy is taken once per file you open rather than once per save, so it is the file as it was before PCEdit touched it. If it cannot be written the save still goes ahead, so treat it as a safety net rather than a guarantee.

Does it work with my game version? PCEdit is tested against 2.008 and 2.102 (Skeo), on Steam and Xbox / PC Game Pass, and since v1.6.0 against 2.103 (September 2026, the final Skeo patch) on Steam. The format did not change across them beyond one new key in 2.102; 2.103 changed nothing at all. The Game Pass version of 2.103 has not been checked, but has matched Steam in every earlier version. Newer builds will very likely open too; the parser preserves keys it does not recognise, so it does not lose data it has never seen.

Does it work with Game Pass / Xbox saves? Yes. Those saves are GUID-named blobs with no extension and no byte-order mark; PCEdit finds and preserves that framing. See Save File Locations.

Can I add an item that isn't in my save? No. PCEdit moves existing items between inventories; it does not create them. Terra tokens and terraforming values are the two things it grants outright. The only thing that removes items is Repair, for containers a mod has filled past their size — see below.

Can I edit multiplayer saves? Yes, with one caveat: only the host player's position and planet apply reliably on load. See Teleport.

Why is an item showing a raw id instead of a name? That is the item's internal type id (the game's own names are often odd — uranium is Uranim), shown because the bundled catalog has no friendly name for it. Since v1.4.0 the catalog names 628 items, including every item in the sample saves, so this is uncommon; it can still happen with content from a newer game build. It is fully editable regardless. See Item Catalog — adding a name is a small pull request.

How do I find a particular container or item? Search on the Inventories page. Text finds names and internal type ids (iron, Tree12Seed); digits — with or without a # — find inventory, container and item ids by prefix (since v1.5.0). A search that matches only some of a container's items shows just those items.

What is the difference between the ids I see? Each card shows its inventory id; a container's label shows its object number, which is usually a different number; each item shows its own item id. The internal type id (what the item is, e.g. Iron) appears when you hover an item.

Where is "Save As"? There isn't one. PCEdit writes back over the file you opened. Copy the file first. The exception is Repair (since v1.7.0), which always writes its result to a new file.

The game stutters or freezes after I used an inventory-stacking mod A stacking mod keeps each container's size but stores every stacked item, so a container can end up holding thousands of items — and the game loads at most 8,000 into one inventory, dropping the rest. Since v1.7.0 PCEdit warns about this on the Overview page and marks those containers on the Inventories page. Repair… trims them back to their size, optionally moving the item types you choose into free space in your own storage first, and writes the result to a new save file in the next free save slot. The save you opened is never changed. See Overview & Terraforming.

Does it send anything anywhere? No. No network calls, no telemetry, no update check. Since v1.4.3 building PCEdit from source does not phone home either — the Avalonia UI framework's build-time usage reporting is excluded. See the Privacy section of the README.

Opening a save

"Could not open the file" / it is rejected The file must be a Planet Crafter save. On Game Pass, container.NNN is the WGS index, not a save — try the largest GUID-named blob instead.

I opened it, but the game does not show my changes Two usual causes: the game was running while you saved (it wrote its own copy back over yours), or you edited a different file from the one the game loads. Close the game before editing, and check the path in PCEdit's footer against Save File Locations.

My save will not open in PCEdit On versions before v1.3.0, an @ anywhere in a container label, a sign, or a player name was enough: that character separates the sections of a save file, and the editor could not tell one of those from one you had typed. Update to v1.3.0 or later. If a current version still refuses a save, please open an issue with your platform and game version.

The game says "file error" after editing This was a real bug affecting Xbox / PC Game Pass saves before v1.1.1 — the editor added a byte-order mark that the Game Pass build does not write. Update to a current version and restore your backup. If you see it on a current version, please open an issue with your platform and game version.

Linux

It will not start at all On distros with no system libicu, versions before v1.2.1 aborted at startup. Current AppImages carry their own ICU. Update.

... AppImage: cannot mount AppImage / FUSE errors Run it without FUSE:

./PCEdit-*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

DllNotFoundException from an X11 constructor The image is missing libICE / libSM — common on bare container or WSL rootfs images, never on a real desktop. Install libice6 + libsm6 (or libICE + libSM).

Empty boxes instead of Chinese / Japanese / Korean text Install your distro's Noto CJK font package — see Languages & Settings.

Windows

"Windows protected your PC" The build is not code-signed. More info → Run anyway.

macOS

"PCEdit.app is damaged" or Gatekeeper refuses to open it The bundle is unsigned and quarantined on download. Right-click → Open, or:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/PCEdit.app

macOS is also the least-tested platform — the maintainer has no Mac. Reports welcome.

Reporting a bug

Open an issue with:

• your OS and how you installed PCEdit (AppImage / zip / from source);
• the PCEdit version from the About page;
• the game version and platform (Steam / Game Pass);
• what you did, what happened, and what you expected.

Please do not attach a save file unless asked — they are large and can contain your player name.