The safest game-server backup is a restorable copy of the entire server state, made after a clean save, kept on storage separate from the live machine, and retained long enough to roll back corruption or an accidental change. Back up the map together with player or tribe data, configuration, allowlists, bans, mods, plugins, and the server version. Keep several dated restore points, preserve the current server before replacing anything, and prove the process works by restoring an isolated test instance.
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The exact files differ by game. ARK: Survival Evolved treats ShooterGame/Saved as the restore unit; Valheim exposes save and backup intervals through server options; Minecraft Java Edition commonly uses dated ZIP archives. The procedures below turn those game-specific details into an operational plan for private worlds and busy public servers.
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What a complete game-server backup contains
A world file alone is rarely enough to recover the experience players had. A useful restore set contains every file required to start the server with the same world, identities, rules, and extensions.
- World or map data: terrain, structures, containers, progression, and the save metadata that makes the files consistent with one another.
- Player, tribe, or guild data: inventories, characters, ownership, permissions, and statistics.
- Configuration: server settings, difficulty, rates, ports, scheduled tasks, and launch parameters.
- Access-control files: allowlists, banlists, operator or administrator lists, and any authentication data the server needs.
- Mods and plugins: the installed versions and their configuration. A world can fail to load or behave differently when an extension is missing or has changed.
- Cluster or linked-world data: transfers and shared data when the game supports multiple maps.
- Version information: the game-server build, mod/plugin versions, and operating-system notes needed to reproduce the environment.
Archive these items together, or document precisely how each item maps to a particular snapshot. A ZIP containing only a map may open, yet still lose characters, ownership, settings, or permissions.
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ARK: Survival Evolved restore unit
The ARK Official Community Wiki says to copy the complete ShooterGame/Saved folder and its contents to the desired backup location. That folder includes tribe, player, world, configuration, log, and cluster data. Treat the folder as one atomic restore unit rather than selecting individual files.
Valheim’s data volume
Iron Gate’s dedicated-server guide identifies the server data volume as valheim_server_data. Back up that volume, including the world files and server configuration stored with it. Community container documentation notes that newer Valheim world directories can contain multiple related files; their relationships must represent a committed save.
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Minecraft Help describes a Java Edition world backup as a dated .zip file and provides separate instructions for locating and restoring backups. Preserve the date in each filename and retain the associated configuration and extension information outside the ZIP if those items are not included by your backup process.
Decide how much rollback you need
Backup frequency should follow the amount of progress players can afford to lose, not a generic calendar rule. Define a recovery-point objective (RPO): the maximum acceptable time between the last good backup and an incident.
| Server pattern | Practical RPO choice | Retention emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Busy public server with constant building or trading | Frequent snapshots, ideally tied to clean saves | Many recent points plus older daily or weekly copies |
| Private world played several times a week | A snapshot after each play session or at a regular daily interval | Enough history to find corruption that was not noticed immediately |
| Occasional co-op world played weekly | A backup before and after each session | A small set of dated archives can be sufficient if tested |
Also define a recovery-time objective (RTO): how long the server may be unavailable while you restore it. A local archive on fast storage restores more quickly than a remote copy that must first be downloaded. Keep at least one independent copy even when rapid recovery is the priority.
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Use the game’s own save and backup controls first
Native save mechanisms understand when a world is being committed and are less likely to capture half-written data. If a game supports a graceful save command or a documented backup setting, use it before copying files.
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Valheim’s documented defaults
Iron Gate’s official dedicated-server guide (2024) documents these defaults:
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
-saveinterval |
1800 seconds (30 minutes) |
Normal world-save interval |
-backups |
4 |
Number of automatic backups retained by the server |
-backupshort |
7200 seconds (2 hours) |
Interval used for the first automatic backup tier |
-backuplong |
43200 seconds (12 hours) |
Interval used for subsequent, longer-term backups |
These are defaults, not a guarantee that they match your desired rollback window. A server with valuable daily progress may need additional copies outside the game’s four automatic backups.
Container-based Valheim schedules
Community Valheim container documentation describes a different implementation: backups run hourly by default and three days of backups are retained by default. It exposes BACKUPS_DIRECTORY, BACKUPS_MAX_AGE, and BACKUPS_MAX_COUNT to change the destination and retention. Do not assume container defaults and native-server defaults are interchangeable; inspect the configuration you actually run.
Build a reliable backup workflow
- Inventory the restore set. Write down the world directory or data volume, player/tribe files, configuration, allowlists, banlists, mods, plugins, and server version. For ARK, this means the entire
ShooterGame/Savedfolder. - Choose the trigger. Schedule the job after a clean save or graceful stop whenever possible. If the server must remain online, invoke the game’s supported snapshot mechanism and document the open-file risk.
- Create a dated archive. Use an unambiguous timestamp such as
2026-10-15T2300Zin the filename or directory. Include the game, server identity, and version in a manifest so an archive is understandable months later. - Verify the write. Confirm the archive exists, has a plausible size, and can be opened. For a ZIP, list or extract its contents before deleting an older copy. A successful file-copy message is not proof that the archive is usable.
- Copy it off the live server. Send the archive to an external USB hard drive or SSD, NAS, or cloud bucket. The destination must remain usable if the game-server disk or host fails.
- Apply retention tiers. Keep short-interval copies for recent mistakes and older daily or weekly points for corruption discovered later. Set age and count limits deliberately rather than allowing storage to fill.
- Record the result. Log the timestamp, archive location, source version, and whether verification passed. Record failed jobs visibly so they cannot be mistaken for successful snapshots.
Keep copies separate from the live machine
A second directory on the same disk protects against an accidental overwrite but not disk failure, ransomware, a bad update, or loss of the host. Copy the archive to an independent destination. A directly attached external drive is simple for a home server; a NAS separates storage from the host while remaining on the local network; a cloud bucket adds geographic separation but introduces transfer time, credentials, and recurring storage costs.
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- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
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Use access controls appropriate to the data. Archives may contain player identifiers, administrator lists, private configuration, or credentials. Restrict who can read and delete them, encrypt removable or remote storage, and keep the backup account from having unnecessary permission to alter the live server.
Retention: keep enough history to find a good point
Retention is the period during which an older snapshot remains available. Three days, the default documented for one Valheim container, may be adequate for a mistake noticed quickly but insufficient if corruption appears after a week. Set the window to the longest time in which damage could remain unnoticed.
- Recent tier: several closely spaced snapshots for accidental demolition, failed updates, or a mistaken command.
- Daily tier: at least one point per day for issues discovered after routine play.
- Weekly or milestone tier: a copy before major mod changes, migrations, wipes, or large events.
Use both an age limit and a count limit where the software supports them. Count limits control storage growth; age limits prevent indefinite accumulation. Before an automated job deletes an old point, verify that a newer copy passed its integrity check.
How to back up while the server is online
The safest sequence is a graceful stop, copy, verification, and restart. Stopping is not always practical for a public server, so use this decision path:
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- Does the game expose a consistent snapshot mechanism? Follow that mechanism and avoid copying files individually while they are changing.
- Is there no documented live-copy method? Schedule a short maintenance pause, stop the server cleanly, copy the files, and start it again.
Valheim container documentation specifically warns that copying while files are open or a save is in progress can create an inconsistent backup. Newer world directories may contain multiple files whose relationships only make sense after a committed save. A fast copy is not useful if it restores to a partially written state.
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Game-specific procedures
ARK: Survival Evolved
- Gracefully save or stop the server according to your hosting setup.
- Copy
ShooterGame/Savedand all of its contents to a dated backup location. - Confirm that tribe, player, world, configuration, logs, and cluster data are present.
- Copy the archive to independent storage before bringing the server back to players.
Do not reduce the backup to only the current map. The documented folder is the complete ARK server-data set and should be restored as a unit.
Valheim
- Review the active launch options, especially
-saveinterval,-backups,-backupshort, and-backuplong. - Allow a clean save, or stop the server before copying the
valheim_server_datavolume. - If using a container, check
BACKUPS_DIRECTORY,BACKUPS_MAX_AGE, andBACKUPS_MAX_COUNTso the actual destination and retention are known. - Archive the complete world directory and related configuration, not a single file selected while the server is writing.
Minecraft Java Edition
- Use the documented backup function to create a dated
.ziparchive. - Open or list the ZIP to confirm it is readable and contains the expected world data.
- Keep several historical ZIPs and record the server version and mod/plugin set alongside them.
- Follow Minecraft Help’s locating and restoring instructions when selecting an archive for recovery.
How to restore a corrupted or damaged world
Restoration is a controlled replacement, not an overwrite performed in panic. Preserve evidence and the current state before selecting a historical point.
- Stop player access. Shut down the live server gracefully and prevent automatic restart jobs from writing into the data directory.
- Preserve the current state. Rename or archive the damaged data, logs, and current configuration. This copy may reveal what caused the failure or contain progress made since the last good backup.
- Select the restore point. Choose the newest archive that predates the corruption, failed update, or accidental change. Check its timestamp, game version, and verification record.
- Restore the complete set. Replace the server’s data with the archive as a unit. For ARK, restore the complete
ShooterGame/Savedfolder; for Valheim, restore the related files from the committed data volume; for Minecraft, restore the selected dated ZIP according to the game’s documented procedure. - Match dependencies. Reinstall or roll back mods, plugins, and server builds to the versions recorded for that snapshot. Do not introduce a new extension during the recovery itself.
- Start in isolation first. Use a separate test instance or local installation, an isolated port, and no public announcement. Confirm that the world loads and that expected player and configuration data are present.
- Inspect the result. Check representative builds, inventories, ownership, permissions, spawn points, progression, and server rules. Review logs for conversion or missing-extension errors.
- Promote only after validation. Stop the test instance, move the validated data to the live server, and reopen player access. Keep the pre-restore archive until the incident is closed.
Test restores before you need them
A backup job can report success while producing an unusable archive. Periodic restore rehearsals are the only practical way to verify that files, permissions, versions, and instructions work together. The sources define the required artifacts but do not establish a universal testing schedule; choose a cadence based on how often the server changes and how costly downtime would be.
- Restore a selected archive on a separate instance or local installation.
- Use an isolated port so test players cannot connect accidentally.
- Check at least one build, container, player inventory, tribe or guild ownership record, administrator rule, and mod/plugin feature.
- Measure how long the procedure takes and note every manual step.
- Record the archive identifier and the test result in the operator runbook.
Troubleshooting failed backups and restores
The archive is missing recent progress
Check the save interval and the timestamp of the last completed save, then compare it with the backup job’s start time. A copy taken before a save finished can be valid yet older than expected. Move the job to a post-save trigger or maintenance window.
The world loads but players or ownership are missing
The map was likely backed up without player, tribe, guild, or cluster data. Return to the complete restore set: ARK requires the full ShooterGame/Saved folder, not a map-only file. Recheck that access-control and configuration files were included.
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The restored world reports missing mods or plugins
Restore the dependency versions recorded with the archive. A world save and a current extension build are not automatically compatible. Keep a manifest of extension names, versions, and configuration with every snapshot.
The server will not start after replacement
Keep the pre-restore copy, inspect logs, and verify permissions, paths, server version, and launch parameters. Test the archive on an isolated instance rather than repeatedly overwriting the live data.
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Backups are consuming all available storage
Apply count and age limits, then move older tiers to independent storage. Do not solve capacity pressure by deleting every historical point; retain at least one recent verified copy and older points covering the period in which corruption might be discovered.
A live copy appears inconsistent
Assume files changed during the copy. Repeat the operation after a clean save or graceful stop. This is especially important for Valheim directories containing multiple files that must describe one committed save.
Operator checklist
- Is the full restore set documented for this game and server?
- Does each archive have a date, server version, and readable manifest?
- Was the copy made after a clean save or through a supported snapshot method?
- Is at least one copy on storage independent of the live host?
- Do age and count limits preserve the rollback window you actually need?
- Are archives protected from unauthorized reading, deletion, and credential exposure?
- Has a recent archive been restored on an isolated instance?
- Are the last successful backup and restore-test times in the runbook?
Bottom line
Protect a game world by backing up the complete restore set, not just the visible map. Schedule copies after committed saves, keep multiple dated points with deliberate retention, store at least one archive away from the live server, and rehearse a full restore on an isolated instance. Those practices cover accidental changes, corrupted saves, failed updates, and host loss without relying on a backup that has never been proven usable.
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