AstroworldHow to back up and restore your Minecraft server
A backup is a copy of the whole server folder: your worlds, plugins, mods, settings and player data. With one in place, a plugin update that breaks the server or a night of griefing costs you five minutes instead of the world.
Your plan includes one backup slot. You make that backup yourself, whenever you are about to change something. Automatic backups, made for you on a schedule, are an optional extra on your plan.
Make a backup
- In the client area, click Open panel on your server.
- Choose Backups in the menu on the left, under Management.
- Type a name that tells you later why you made it, for example
Before updating plugins. The name is optional. - Click Create backup. The backup appears in the list below with the status Complete when it is ready.
A backup can be made while the server runs. A backup taken with the server stopped is guaranteed consistent, because nothing is written to the world while it is copied. Before a big change, such as a new Minecraft version, stop the server first.
Make the backup right before the change, not the day before. Anything built between the backup and a restore is lost.
When the backup slot is full
The top of the Backups tab shows how many slots you use. With the slot in use, Create backup stays grey and the panel tells you to delete an old backup first.
- If you want to keep the old backup, click Download on its row first and save the file on your computer.
- Click Delete on the old backup and confirm with Delete backup.
- Make the new backup as described above.
Restore a backup
A restore puts the whole server back to the moment of the backup. Everything built or changed since then is replaced, so be sure before you click.
- Go to Overview and click Stop. Wait until the badge next to the server name says Offline.
- Open Backups and click Restore on the backup you want.
- Read the warning and click Restore this backup.
- When the restore is finished, go back to Overview and click Start.
Forgot to stop the server? The panel stops you there and asks you to stop it on the Overview tab first. That is on purpose: a restore replaces files the running server still has open.
Keep a copy on your own computer
A backup in the panel lives next to the server. A copy on your own computer is independent of it, and it is the way to keep more than one backup: download the current one before you make a new one.
- Download on a backup row saves the whole backup as one file.
- To bring it back later, upload it in the Files tab and unpack it there. Move your world to our server shows how uploading and unpacking work.
- Need only one file back, for example a plugin config? Open the download on your computer, take that file out, and upload just that file in Files.
Questions
How many backups can I keep?
One backup slot is included in your plan. Download a backup to your computer before you delete it, and you can keep as many copies as you like at home.
Are backups made automatically?
Not on the standard plan: you make the backup yourself before a change. Automatic backups on a schedule are an optional extra you can add to your plan.
Does a restore delete my current world?
Yes. The server goes back exactly to the moment of the backup, and anything built after that is replaced. Download a copy first if you might want the current state back.
Why can I not restore while the server runs?
A restore replaces the files the running server has open. Stopping it first means the server does not write over the restored world while it shuts down.
Can I restore one player or one area?
Not with a full restore, which always covers the whole server. For griefing in one area, a block logging plugin can undo the damage without touching the rest of the world. Stop griefing explains how.
Checked step by step in our control panel, September 2026. Written by the Cheapest Minecraft Hosting team, updated .