How to Back Up a Minecraft Server and Restore It

What you need to save

On a Java server, the world lives in a folder (“world” by default; on Paper or Spigot before 26.1, with “world_nether” and “world_the_end” next to it). That's the part that can't be rebuilt.

If you want to put everything back exactly as it was, also save the configuration (server.properties, and the config folder if you use mods), the plugins or mods folders, and the player lists (whitelist.json, ops.json). The safest thing is to copy the whole server.

Doing it by hand on your PC or over FTP

1. Save the world

   In the server console type save-all and, so nothing is written while you copy, save-off. It's the cleanest way without stopping the server.

2. Copy the folder

   Compress the world folder (or the whole server's) into a .zip with the date in the name, for example world-2026-10-05.zip. If you prefer, stop the server with stop and copy it calmly.

3. Turn saving back on

   If you used save-off, type save-on so the server saves the world again.

4. Get it off the machine

   A backup on the same disk won't save you if the disk fails. Keep at least one more on your computer or in a cloud storage service.

Doing it from a panel

On hosts with a panel (Pterodactyl and similar) it's a button: the panel packs up the server and stores it, and restoring is another button. It's the most convenient way, but each host has different limits on how many backups fit and how often they're made: check before you rely on it.

On NapNodes each paid server keeps up to 2 backups that you create and restore yourself from the panel with one click, and on top of that we make an automatic daily backup overnight, which you also restore with one click. You can download your full world whenever you want. The free server has no backups. How all of that is done in the panel is in the panel backups guide.

How often, and before what

One a day is a good baseline on an active server; one a week is enough on a small one. Also take a manual backup before anything that puts the world at risk: updating the Minecraft version, installing or removing mods, switching protection plugin or trying a big WorldEdit command.

Restoring without surprises

1. Warn everyone and stop the server

   Restoring with players online can leave the world half-done. Warn them and shut it down.

2. Save what's there now

   If the world isn't completely lost, first back up its current state: in case the restored one isn't the one you expected.

3. Restore and start

   In a panel, pick the backup and restore. By hand, delete the world folder and unzip the backup in its place. Start the server and join to check everything is as you expect.

4. If only one area is broken

   You don't need to roll the whole world back: swapping that area's region file for the one in the backup is enough (how to fix a corrupted world).

Frequently asked questions