A dependable scheduled restart follows one order: warn players, save the world, shut the server down cleanly, then let the service or hosting platform start it again. On a Linux server, the usual design is a telnet command wrapper launched by a systemd timer. Windows hosts and control panels can run the same sequence through a scheduled-task feature.
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This guide shows the timing, commands, platform choices, and safeguards that keep a restart from interrupting players or damaging a world.
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The restart sequence that protects players and the world
Automatic restarts are not just a process kill followed by a launch command. The game must have time to tell players what is happening, flush the current world to disk, and exit normally. The documented sequence is:
- Choose a maintenance time in the server’s configured local timezone and publish it to players.
- About five minutes before maintenance, send a chat warning such as
say "Server restarts in 5 minutes - finish your run.". - About one minute before maintenance, send a final warning such as
say "Restart in 60 seconds.". - Run
saveworldand wait briefly for the save to finish. The guide recommends about 10 seconds. - Run
shutdownso the server saves and exits cleanly. - Have systemd, a hosting-panel supervisor, a container watchdog, or another process manager start the server again after the shutdown.
saveworld manually flushes the world to disk. shutdown performs a clean server exit. Killing the operating-system process can interrupt a write, so a scheduled task that only terminates and relaunches the process is the unsafe version of this setup.
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Decide when the restart should run
Use the server’s configured timezone
Pick a low-activity period and state the timezone with the schedule. “02:00” is ambiguous when players live in several regions or the host uses UTC. Write the maintenance time in the server’s configured timezone, and repeat that timezone in your Discord message, MOTD, or website notice.
Avoid events that cannot be interrupted
Do not place the job over a regular group event, a scheduled expedition, or a blood-moon session. Players should not begin a long trip, dungeon run, vehicle journey, or building operation after the final warning. If your management layer can inspect player count, use that capability to defer a restart while people are active, but set a maximum deferral so maintenance cannot be postponed forever.
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Choose an interval based on evidence from your server
There is no universal, scientifically established “correct” restart interval for every 7 Days to Die server. Choose a time that addresses your actual maintenance, update, memory, or hosting needs, and change it only after observing how long saves and startups take on your installation. Keep the warning schedule stable so players learn the routine.
Prerequisites before you automate anything
- Administrative access: You need access to the server’s telnet administration interface or to a management layer that can issue the equivalent commands.
- Restart authority: The account or panel running the schedule must be able to stop and start the game service.
- Known timezone: Confirm the timezone configured on the host and document it for players.
- Persistent configuration: Record the schedule, warning text, save delay, and restart owner so another administrator can maintain it.
- Recovery access: Keep console, SSH, remote-desktop, or provider-console access available in case the game stops but the supervisor does not relaunch it.
- Version check: Confirm command names and configuration labels against the installed game/server release. Hosting-panel interfaces and utility options can change.
Configure telnet administration on a self-managed server
On a self-managed installation, the wrapper normally connects to the game’s telnet socket, authenticates, sends the chat and lifecycle commands, and returns a status that the process supervisor can log.
Set and verify the telnet values
The guide identifies these settings in serverconfig.xml:
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TelnetEnabledmust enable the interface.TelnetPortidentifies the listening port; 8081 is given as the default in the guide, but you must verify the value in your installed release.TelnetPasswordsupplies the password used by the wrapper.
Use the actual values from your installation rather than assuming that 8081 is still the port. Store the password in the service account’s protected configuration, not in a player-facing message or a world backup that is broadly readable. If the socket is reachable beyond the host, restrict access according to your server’s network design.
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Before creating a timer, connect manually with the same telnet credentials and issue a harmless administrative command, then confirm that it appears in game chat or the server console. This verifies the port, password, and command channel without risking a maintenance event. Do not treat a successful login as proof that the complete restart workflow has been tested; the documented procedure describes the operations, not a test run.
Build the Linux wrapper and supervisor workflow
The Linux pattern described by the guide has three parts: a command wrapper, a systemd service or equivalent process supervisor, and a systemd timer. The wrapper is the component that knows the game commands; the supervisor is responsible for the game process; and the timer decides when the wrapper runs.
What the wrapper must do
Implement the wrapper as a linear operation with clear logging and a failure status:
- Open the telnet connection to the configured host and port.
- Authenticate with
TelnetPassword. - Send the five-minute
saywarning. - Wait until the one-minute point, then send the final
saywarning. - Send
saveworld. - Wait for the save to complete; the guide’s example allows roughly 10 seconds, but the time required depends on the world and host.
- Send
shutdown. - Return a success or failure status so systemd can record the result.
A failure at any stage should be visible in the journal. For example, if authentication fails, the wrapper should stop rather than pretending that a warning or save occurred. If the save command cannot be sent, do not immediately kill the game process; leave an administrator-visible error and follow your recovery procedure.
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Let the supervisor restart the game
The wrapper should request a clean shutdown, not launch a second copy of the game while the first one is still exiting. Configure the existing systemd service, container supervisor, or host watchdog to start the game again after the clean exit. Keep the restart responsibility in one layer: if both a panel and a local watchdog launch the process, they can race and create duplicate instances.
Schedule the wrapper with a systemd timer
Create a systemd timer that invokes the wrapper at the chosen local time. Pair it with a service unit that records standard output and errors in the journal. After enabling the timer, inspect its next-run time and the service’s last-run status. A timer that is active but points at the wrong timezone or service name is still a failed maintenance system.
Use systemd’s logging and dependency handling to make failures visible. The guide specifically contrasts this with cron: cron is a workable alternative, but it offers weaker failure logging and does not provide the equivalent of systemd’s Persistent=true behavior for runs missed while the host was powered off. If you use cron, add your own logging, alerting, and a policy for missed maintenance.
Account for a missed run
A machine that is offline at the scheduled time may come back during a busy play period. Decide whether a missed restart should run immediately, be skipped, or be moved to a safe window. If you use a systemd timer with persistent behavior, understand that a missed activation can be triggered when the host returns; communicate that possibility to players and verify it does not collide with your event schedule.
Windows and managed-host scheduling
On Windows or a managed host, use the provider’s scheduled-task feature to run the same logical sequence: warning, final warning, save, clean shutdown, and restart by the host or service layer. The menu names and available triggers differ by provider, so verify the current interface and the server version before saving the task.
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Windows Task Scheduler or provider task
- Create a daily or weekly trigger for the documented maintenance time and select the server’s local timezone.
- Set the action to invoke the provider’s command runner, management utility, or script that can send the telnet commands.
- Keep the five-minute and one-minute warnings in the action sequence rather than relying on a process-kill event.
- Run
saveworld, allow the save delay, and then runshutdown. - Configure the provider’s restart-on-exit option, watchdog, or startup task to launch the server again.
- Review task history and the provider console after the first maintenance window.
Host Havoc describes daily scheduled restarts. WinterNode recommends scheduled tasks and notes that CSMM or ServerTools can supply in-game warnings. WGS documents a daily warning pattern at 10, 5, and 1 minutes. These are provider-specific implementations, not a universal game default; use the schedule and countdown that your players have been told to expect.
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The right option depends on whether you want direct control, a graphical interface, mod-based countdowns, update automation, or a hands-off hosting platform.
| Option | Warning mechanism | Save and shutdown handling | Who restarts the server | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom telnet script with systemd or cron | Scripted say commands |
Explicit saveworld, wait, then shutdown |
systemd or the host supervisor | Linux administrators who want control and auditable logs |
| CSMM | Scheduled commands and broadcast templates; can use player-count-aware triggers | Commands configured by the administrator | Host or service layer | Administrators who prefer a management UI |
| ServerTools | Built-in countdown | Mod handles the countdown and saves at one minute | External service | Modded servers already using ServerTools |
| 7dtdServerUpdateUtility | Configurable countdown and announcements in game, Discord, and Twitch | Clean shutdown and update workflow | Utility watchdog or hosting layer | Servers combining updates with scheduled restarts |
| WGS or another hosting panel | Provider-defined warnings; WGS documents 10-, 5-, and 1-minute notices | Panel-managed | Provider platform | Administrators who want minimal server maintenance |
CSMM
CSMM’s documented feature set includes scheduled commands, broadcast templates, and triggers that consider player count. That combination is useful when you want the same five-minute and one-minute messages but want the job to wait while players are online. You still need to confirm what component starts the process after shutdown; a command scheduler is not automatically a process supervisor.
ServerTools
ServerTools documentation says it begins a warning countdown, saves at one minute remaining, and automatically begins the server shutdown process when the configured time expires. It also explicitly says ServerTools cannot automatically restart a server. Pair it with a host watchdog, service manager, or panel restart policy.
7dtdServerUpdateUtility
This utility documents scheduled restarts, manual or countdown announcements, clean shutdown, watchdog restart behavior, and notices through Discord, Twitch, and in-game channels. It is a candidate when a restart is part of an update workflow, but verify that its watchdog does not overlap with another supervisor.
Container images and environment variables
The RunOnFlux image exposes FLUX_RESTART_TIME for a daily restart and FLUX_RESTART_WARN_MINUTES for chat warnings. Five minutes is the documented default, with a repeated one-minute warning. Those variables describe that image’s configuration, not a universal 7 Days to Die behavior. Confirm the image’s current documentation and make sure the container’s restart policy is enabled.
Write warnings players can act on
A warning is useful only when it tells players what to do. Include the remaining time and a direct action. The guide’s examples are:
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- Five minutes:
say "Server restarts in 5 minutes - finish your run." - One minute:
say "Restart in 60 seconds."
Keep the text stable from one maintenance window to the next. If your server uses a 10-minute notice as well, make clear that it is an early warning and retain the final one-minute notice. Do not imply that a warning means the server will remain playable past the stated deadline.
Publish the schedule outside the game
Post the day, time, timezone, and expected interruption in the same community channels players use to plan sessions. State whether the server normally returns automatically and where players should report a failed restart. A notice in only one chat channel will miss players who are offline when the five-minute message appears.
Make the restart player-safe
- Schedule during the lowest-activity window you can identify.
- Never place the job directly over a regular blood-moon or community event.
- Use player-count-aware deferral when your management layer supports it.
- Set a maximum deferral so a busy server still receives maintenance.
- Allow enough time for
saveworldbeforeshutdown; do not shorten the delay merely because the warning clock reached zero. - Tell players to stop starting long activities after the final warning.
- Keep an administrator online or reachable for the first few scheduled runs.
Verify each maintenance run
After the scheduled time, check four independent outcomes:
- Warnings: Confirm that players saw both the five-minute and one-minute messages, with the expected timezone and wording.
- Save: Check the game console, wrapper log, or service journal for the
saveworldcommand and its completion delay. - Clean exit: Confirm that
shutdowncompleted instead of an operating-system kill or forced termination. - Return to service: Confirm that the supervisor started one server instance and that players can connect.
Record the actual save and startup durations. If the world takes longer to flush than the planned delay, increase the interval between saveworld and shutdown rather than cutting the save short.
Troubleshoot common failures
Players never see a warning
- Check that the wrapper authenticated successfully and connected to the current telnet port.
- Verify that the scheduled task ran in the server’s timezone and at the intended time.
- Confirm that the command channel is connected to the correct server instance, not an old process or another container.
- If using a management tool, inspect its broadcast template and scheduled-command history.
The warning appears, but the world does not save
- Inspect the wrapper or panel log for a failed telnet command.
- Verify that the server was still running when
saveworldwas sent. - Do not compensate by killing the process. Restore normal service, investigate the command path, and perform a manual save during a controlled window.
The server shuts down but does not return
- Check whether the supervisor is configured to restart after a clean
shutdown; ServerTools alone cannot provide that restart. - Review the systemd journal, provider task history, container restart policy, or watchdog log.
- Make sure only one layer owns startup and that it is using the current server executable and configuration.
- Use console or remote access to start the server manually, then correct the restart policy before the next scheduled window.
The job runs during an event
- Verify the host timezone, daylight-saving behavior, and the timer’s next-run value.
- Check whether a persistent timer ran immediately after a host outage.
- Move the maintenance window and publish the new timezone-qualified schedule.
Players report progress loss
Review whether the wrapper issued saveworld and waited before shutdown. A forced process termination, an incorrect telnet target, or an unrealistically short save delay can interrupt a write. Treat the incident as a reason to lengthen the save wait and improve logging, not as evidence that scheduled restarts are inherently unsafe.
A practical deployment checklist
- Maintenance time selected and expressed in the server’s timezone.
- Players notified in the channels they use.
TelnetEnabled,TelnetPort, andTelnetPasswordverified against the installed release.- Five-minute and one-minute
saymessages configured. saveworldfollowed by a sufficient wait.shutdownused instead of an operating-system kill.- Exactly one supervisor responsible for restarting the process.
- Logs available for the wrapper, scheduler, and game service.
- Player-count deferral configured, if available, with a maximum deferral.
- First runs observed and their save/startup durations recorded.
With those pieces in place, the schedule is predictable for players and leaves the server’s world-writing and process management responsibilities in the components designed to handle them.
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