Project Zomboid Server Backups: How to Back Up and Restore Your World
A Project Zomboid world can break because of a mod, an update or a hard shutdown. There are two kinds of backup: the ones the game makes itself (by default, one on startup and another when the version changes, keeping the last 5) and a copy of the whole folder, which you make. To roll back, you stop the server, move the broken save aside and put the backup in its place with the same name.
What to back up
Everything is in the Zomboid folder in your user folder (C:\Users\<your username>\Zomboid on Windows, ~/Zomboid on Linux), under the server's name (servertest if you didn't change it):
Saves\Multiplayer\<name>: the world, the buildings, the cars and the characters. This is what matters. Server: the .ini, <name>_SandboxVars.lua and <name>_spawnregions.lua, with all the settings. db: the players' accounts and passwords; if you don't copy it, they'll have to register again after a restore.
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The backups the game makes itself
The server makes its own .zip backups of the world, in the backups folder (also in the Zomboid folder), in subfolders by reason, such as startup for the ones made on startup. Four .ini options control them:
BackupsOnStart (on by default): a backup every time it starts. BackupsOnVersionChange (on): a backup when the game version changes, exactly what saves you if a patch breaks something. BackupsPeriod (0, none): a backup every so many minutes, up to 1500. BackupsCount (5, from 1 to 300): how many it keeps before it starts deleting the oldest.
They're handy, but they live on the same disk as the world: if the disk fails or you delete the Zomboid folder, they go with it. And they take up space: a big world times 5 backups adds up, and if the disk fills up the server stops saving or won't start.
Making a backup by hand
Stop the server
With quit in its console (or “Stop” in the panel): it saves and shuts down. Copying while the server is running can leave you with a half-written file.
Copy the three things
The Saves\Multiplayer\<name> folder, the Server files with that name and the db folder. Zip them up with the date in the file name.
Keep it somewhere else
On another drive, a USB stick or the cloud. A backup in the same place as the world won't save you if that place breaks.
Start it again
And make a note to take another one before every big change.
Restoring a backup
Stop the server
Everything below, with the server stopped: if it's running, it may write over what you put in.
Move the broken save aside, don't delete it
Rename Saves\Multiplayer\<name> (for example, to <name>-broken). If the backup turns out not to be the right one, you can still go back.
Put the backup in with the same name
If it's your own backup, copy its folder into Saves\Multiplayer. If it's one of the game's .zip files, open it first and check what's inside: what has to end up in Saves\Multiplayer is the save folder, with the server's exact name.
Accounts and settings, if needed
If those were lost too, put back the db folder and the Server files from that same backup. If not, leave the current ones.
Start and check
Watch the console until it says it has started, join and check that the base looks as it did on the backup's date.
When to make a backup
Before updating the server or moving from 41 to 42, before adding or removing mods (especially maps, which change the world), before touching the sandbox settings and, of course, before resetting the world. With a group that plays every day, a daily backup off the server is what separates a scare from losing weeks.
With NapNodes
In “Advanced settings” → “Backups”, paid plans have an automatic daily backup made every night and up to 2 backups of your own, with the whole server: world, accounts and settings. “Restore” puts it back (with “Delete all files before restoring backup”, the server ends up exactly as it was) and “Download” lets you save it somewhere else. How the panel's backups work (in Spanish).
The game's own backups are there too: you turn them on and adjust them in “Settings” (“World backup on start”, “World backup on version change”, “World backup every (minutes)” and “World backups to keep”), and their .zip files are in “Files”, in the backups folder in .cache, next to Saves and Server.
The free server has no panel backups and its disk is 15 GB: if you want to keep the world, download the .cache/Saves/Multiplayer/napnodes folder over SFTP (in Spanish) from time to time.
Frequently asked questions
Does Project Zomboid make backups automatically?
Yes: by default the server backs up the world on startup and when the version changes, and keeps the last 5 in Zomboid's backups folder. You change this with BackupsOnStart, BackupsOnVersionChange, BackupsPeriod and BackupsCount.
Where is a Project Zomboid server save stored?
In the Zomboid folder in your user folder: the world in Saves\Multiplayer\<server name>, the settings in Server and the accounts in db.
How do I restore a backup in Project Zomboid?
With the server stopped, rename the current save folder and put the backup's folder in Saves\Multiplayer, with the server's exact name. Then start it and check.
Do the game's backups include player accounts?
So you don't have to rely on it, also copy the db folder, which is where the accounts are. If you leave it as it is when restoring, players log in with the same account.
How often should I back up my Zomboid server?
Daily if you play often, and always before updating, changing mods or touching the world settings.
Shall we set it up for you?
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