A backup is your safety net against crashes, corruption, griefing and failed updates. Without one, hours or even months of progress can be lost in an instant. This article covers how to set up reliable backups.
What to back up
- The world folder (default
world/) - The most important data: terrain, builds, entities. - Plugin/mod configuration - The
plugins/ormods/folder with config files. - server.properties and other config - Your server settings.
- Player data - The
playerdata/andstats/folders.
Manual backup via SFTP
- Connect to your server via SFTP (see our SFTP guide).
- Download the entire server folder or just the folders listed above.
- Save it with the date in the filename.
Automatic backups via the panel
The HostValues game panel creates automatic backups on a schedule you set. You can restore backups with one click. Set it to at least daily and keep multiple versions.
Backup strategy
- Run a daily automatic backup.
- Keep daily backups for one week.
- Keep one weekly backup for a month.
- Make an extra backup before every major update or change.
- Test at least once that you can actually restore a backup.
How large is a Minecraft backup?
It depends on the world size. A fresh world is under 100 MB. After months of play with heavy exploration, it can grow to several gigabytes. Compressed (zip) it is often 30 to 50% smaller.
Does a backup slow down my server?
Briefly, yes. The archiving process reads all files. On NVMe storage this takes only a few seconds. Schedule backups during low-traffic hours.
Can I restore a backup on a different server?
Yes. Copy the world folder and configuration files to the new server. Make sure the Minecraft version, mod loader and mods match.