How to Access Ryujinx Save Files on Your PC

If you've put hours into a game on the Ryujinx Nintendo Switch emulator, your save data matters. Whether you want to back it up, transfer progress, or troubleshoot a corrupted file, knowing exactly where Ryujinx stores saves — and how to work with them — is essential. The process is more straightforward than most people expect, but a few variables can change where and how you access those files.

Where Ryujinx Stores Save Files by Default

Ryujinx organizes save data in a specific folder structure on your PC. The emulator mimics the Nintendo Switch's own save system, which means saves are stored per-game and per-user within a virtual file system.

On Windows, the default save data path is:

C:Users[YourUsername]AppDataRoamingRyujinxisusersave 

On Linux, the path typically follows:

~/.config/Ryujinx/bis/user/save 

On macOS, look here:

~/Library/Application Support/Ryujinx/bis/user/save 

The AppData folder on Windows is hidden by default. To reach it quickly, press Win + R, type %appdata%, and hit Enter. This drops you directly into the Roaming folder where the Ryujinx directory lives.

Understanding the Save File Structure 🗂️

Once inside the save folder, you won't find files neatly labeled by game name. Instead, Ryujinx uses a hashed directory system that mirrors the Switch's internal structure. Each subfolder represents a different save slot tied to a specific title ID and user profile.

Inside those subfolders, you'll typically find:

• 0 — The primary save data directory
• 1, 2, etc. — Additional save slots if the game supports multiple profiles
• Raw save files with no extension, or game-specific file formats

Because folder names appear as long strings of numbers and letters, identifying which folder belongs to which game takes an extra step.

How to Find a Specific Game's Save Folder

Ryujinx has a built-in shortcut for this. Rather than hunting through hashed directories manually:

1. Open Ryujinx and find the game in your library list
2. Right-click the game title
3. Select "Open User Save Directory" from the context menu

This opens the exact folder for that game's save data directly in your file explorer. It's the fastest and most reliable method, especially since the hashed folder names give no readable indication of which game they belong to.

There's also an "Open Device Save Directory" option in the same right-click menu, which applies to games that use device-level saves rather than user-profile saves — a distinction the Switch OS makes that Ryujinx replicates.

Backing Up and Restoring Save Files

Once you've located the correct save folder, backing up is as simple as copying that folder to another location — an external drive, cloud storage, or anywhere you prefer.

To back up: Copy the entire save folder (the hashed directory) and paste it somewhere safe. Keep the folder structure intact; don't rename or restructure the contents.

To restore: Replace the existing save folder with your backup copy. Make sure Ryujinx is completely closed before doing this, as the emulator may lock files during operation or overwrite changes when it closes.

A few things affect how smoothly this works:

Transferring Saves Between Installations

If you're moving Ryujinx to a new machine or reinstalling it, save transfer is possible but requires attention to the full directory path. Copying just the save files isn't always enough — some games also store progress in the NAND image or the system save directory rather than the user save directory.

The safest approach is to copy the entire Ryujinx data folder (Ryujinx in AppData on Windows) to preserve not just saves, but also system data, firmware files, and configuration settings. This avoids the situation where a game looks for accompanying system data and fails to load the save correctly.

Save Data vs. Save States: An Important Distinction

Ryujinx supports save states — snapshots of the emulator's memory at a specific moment — which are entirely separate from standard game save files. 💾

• Game saves are written by the game itself, stored in the bis/user/save path, and are compatible with the actual Nintendo Switch if you use the right tools
• Save states are emulator-specific, stored in a different location, and only work within Ryujinx itself

If you're trying to share progress with someone running a real Switch, or import saves from a Switch console, you'll need to work with game saves — not save states. Tools like Checkpoint (on actual hardware) export save data in a format that can be moved between real consoles and emulators, though compatibility depends on the specific game and whether the formats align.

What Determines How Easy or Complex This Gets

For most users running a standard Windows setup with a single user profile and common games, accessing save files is a matter of right-clicking in the Ryujinx library and navigating one folder. The process takes under a minute.

Where it gets more layered is when you're dealing with multiple emulator profiles, games that split data across user and device saves, or older Ryujinx builds that organized data slightly differently. Linux users who installed Ryujinx via Flatpak will find the path sandboxed under a different location than the standard config directory, which catches people off guard.

Your own setup — operating system, how Ryujinx was installed, whether you use custom data directories, and which games you're working with — determines exactly which path applies and whether any extra steps are involved.