Hytale Server Backups: Where They Are and How to Restore One

First: is it lost, or just not loading?

If you join and find a brand-new, empty world, yours is most likely still there and the server is loading a different one. The server loads the world named in Server/config.json under Defaults → World, by its folder name in Server/universe/worlds: if that name doesn't exist, it creates a new world and leaves yours untouched next to it. On NapNodes it's the “World” setting in “Settings”. Compare it with the folders in universe/worlds, fix it with the server stopped and your world is back (how config.json works).

If what's missing is your inventory and the world is fine, look in universe/players: there's one file per player. It happens when you upload just one world without its whole universe (why).

And if the server won't start after an update, it's hardly ever the world: it's usually a mod that doesn't have a version for the new one yet. Before restoring anything, go through why a Hytale server won't start.

The backups Hytale makes itself

With the official launcher, the server backs up the universe (worlds and players) every 30 minutes into the Server/backups folder and keeps the last 5: at most, about two and a half hours back. It's the first place to look if something broke recently.

“/backup”, from the chat (or “backup” in the console, without the slash), makes one on the spot. Use it before anything risky: trying a mod, changing the default world or letting new people in with permissions. The rest of the server commands are in the Hytale commands guide.

On top of that, config.json has RunBackupBeforeUpdate and BackupConfigBeforeUpdate, which make a backup before applying a game update, and the launcher keeps the previous server files in updater/backup (how updates work). That folder is for going back to the previous server version, not for recovering the world.

They all live on the same disk as the world. They're good for a broken save or someone's mistake, not for everything: if the server folder is deleted or the disk fills up, they go down with it. That's what backups outside the server are for.

Restoring a Hytale backup

1. Stop the server

   With “Stop”. Hytale saves by itself and makes backups while it's running: if you change files while it's on, the next save overwrites them.

2. Save how things are now

   If you have panel backups, create one in “Backups” before touching anything: if you pick the wrong one, you come back here. If not, download the Server/universe folder from “Files”.

3. Pick the backup

   In “Files”, go into Server/backups and check the date of each one. Pick the most recent one from before the problem: whatever was played after it is lost.

4. Move the broken universe aside

   In Server, rename the universe folder (for example, to universe-broken). Don't delete it yet.

5. Put the backup in place

   If the backup is a compressed file, use “Decompress” from its menu and move what comes out into Server. You should end up with Server/universe/worlds and Server/universe/players; if you see Server/universe/universe or an extra folder in between, move its contents up one level.

6. Start it and check

   Watch the “Console”: it has to load your world, not create a new one. Join and check it's as you expected. Once you're sure, delete universe-broken so it doesn't use up disk.

Panel backups on NapNodes

On a NapNodes plan, “Backups” saves the whole server (world, mods, permissions and settings) outside the game. Every night an automatic daily backup is made by itself (it's named “Copia diaria automática”), replacing the previous day's, and you can create up to two of your own whenever you want with “Create Backup”. If you want to keep a daily one, mark it with “Lock”: it becomes one of your two.

To go back, choose “Restore” on that backup. The server stops and everything is as it was at that moment; if you tick “Delete all files before restoring backup.”, nothing from afterwards is left. You can also download it and keep it on your PC.

Panel backups also include Server/backups, Hytale's own. If you want a smaller backup, when creating it write Server/backups under “Ignored Files & Directories”.

The free Hytale server doesn't come with panel backups: there, what counts is Hytale's own backups and whatever you download yourself from “Files” (the Server/universe folder). It has 15 GB of disk, and the game, its updates and Hytale's backups take up space: we email you at 80 % and at 95 %. If the world matters to you now, when you move to a plan you keep the same server and the daily backups start.

So it doesn't happen again

Make a backup of your own before the things that usually break saves: installing or updating mods, a big game update, uploading a world over another one or editing config.json. In Hytale mods run on the server and every update can leave them behind: how to install and remove them.

If the disk fills up, the game can't save, and that's when worlds break the most. Keep an eye on the disk meter on “Home” and delete what you don't need (old worlds you moved aside, downloaded backups) before you hit the limit.

Frequently asked questions