Updated 2026-09-05

How to install an edited Isaac save file and sync Steam achievements

An exported file only matters once the game reads it. This is the order that avoids the two classic failures: Steam Cloud putting the old file back, and achievements that stay locked in the Steam overlay.

Before you touch anything

• Close the game. Every official and community instruction replaces the file with the game closed; players who swapped it while running report the game writing the old state back.
• Copy the original file somewhere safe. Nicalis “strongly recommends” manual backups, and the game’s own dated copies in save_backups can be overwritten.
• Know which copy is active: SteamCloud=1 in options.ini means userdata\…\250900\remote\rep+persistentgamedataN.dat, SteamCloud=0 means Documents\My Games\Binding of Isaac Repentance+\persistentgamedataN.dat. Details in the location guide.

Installing the file

1. Export from Isaac Save Editor. The download keeps the name of the file you loaded, so the slot number is already right.
2. Deal with Steam Cloud: either switch it off in the game’s Steam properties for the duration, or run with SteamCloud=0. Both paths are described in the Steam Cloud guide.
3. Move the file into the active folder, overwriting the old one. Keep the exact name: no date prefix, the right slot number, the rep+ prefix only inside remote.
4. Launch the game and open the slot. Completion marks appear on the character select screen; items and secrets under Stats.
5. If you turned the cloud off in Steam, close the game, turn it back on, launch again and choose Local Save in the Cloud Conflict window.

Syncing Steam achievements

The game does not push unlocks to Steam just because a file changed. Open the Stats menu, go to the Secrets screen and press Alt+F2. The wiki describes this as syncing in-game unlocks with Steam achievements; the shortcut has existed since Rebirth v1.01. On PC every Steam achievement corresponds to exactly one in-game secret, so a fully unlocked file pushes hundreds of achievements at once, all timestamped now. That cannot be undone.

Why unlocks may still not count

These conditions disable achievements according to the wiki, independent of any editing:

• The debug console is enabled (EnableDebugConsole=1) or any mod is enabled, until Mom has been beaten on that save. A crossed-out trophy under the key counter signals it.
• A seeded run, a challenge, a daily, a victory lap, or joining an online run that is already in progress.

The console command achievement that older guides mention is marked as removed in Repentance on the wiki; it works again only with REPENTOGON.

REPENTOGON, online play and bans

• REPENTOGON keeps its own save (rgon_persistentgamedataN.dat) and syncs it with the vanilla file, taking the maximum of both when they diverge. Edit the vanilla file with REPENTOGON closed and expect it to adopt the higher values.
• In online co-op the run uses the save of the player with the fewest unlocks, not the host. Mods must be disabled to play online. Nicalis calls online a beta that can corrupt saves, so keep a backup.
• The Steam store lists no anti-cheat for the game, and neither Nicalis nor the wiki describe any save validation beyond the file checksum and the achievement count. That is an absence of evidence, not a guarantee; edit at your own risk.