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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The most reliable way to restart a Soulmask server without catching players by surprise is to schedule a task that broadcasts a countdown, saves the world, creates a backup, and then restarts the service. Many hosted control panels provide this as a single “Backup and Restart with Messages” action. On a self-hosted machine, use a Windows server manager or an RCON script tied to your service supervisor; a plain systemd or container restart policy can recover a crashed process, but it does not automatically display an in-game warning.
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Choose the restart method that matches your server
Your setup determines both the controls you have and the work required to warn players. A hosted panel usually handles the scheduler and service restart for you. A Windows manager can combine warnings, backups, updates and notifications in one interface. A self-hosted RCON script gives you the most control, but you must write and protect the script and make sure another service starts Soulmask again after it exits. Linux supervisors such as systemd and container policies are useful for process recovery; they need a separate warning mechanism for player-facing countdowns.
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- Hosted control panel: Use the provider’s Scheduled Tasks feature, preferably an action that explicitly includes messages, saving and backup.
- Windows self-hosting: A dedicated Soulmask server manager can provide scheduled restarts, configurable grace periods, automatic backups, Discord webhooks and SteamCMD installation or updates.
- RCON plus a script: Broadcast warning text, issue save and close commands, wait for shutdown, then let a service supervisor launch the process again.
- Linux or containers: Configure persistent storage, RCON and backup settings, then use Quadlet or another supervisor with a restart policy. Add a script or manager if players must see a countdown.
Set up a warning-enabled restart in a hosted panel
Panel names differ, but the workflow is consistent. Host Havoc’s Soulmask instructions, updated June 10, 2026, use Scheduled Tasks and advise checking the panel time zone. GTXGaming documents a task named Backup and Restart with Messages. Its documented workflow sends a 10-minute in-game countdown, saves the world, backs it up and restarts the server.
1. Confirm the prerequisites
- Make sure you have administrator access to the game-server control panel.
- Identify the maintenance window in the time zone that the panel or machine actually uses, not merely the time zone on your laptop.
- Check where backups are written and how your provider retains them. The documented procedures do not establish one retention period that applies to every host.
- Decide how often the server should restart. Use the community’s activity pattern rather than copying another server’s timetable.
2. Open Scheduled Tasks
Sign in to the panel and open Scheduled Tasks (the exact menu wording can vary). Create a new start, stop or restart task and enable it. Choose a daily schedule or a repeating interval. Host Havoc’s guide specifically notes that a repeat-task interval can be used when you need multiple restarts per day.
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3. Select the action that includes messages and backup
If the panel offers it, choose Backup and Restart with Messages or an equivalent action. In GTXGaming’s documented example, this one task sends a 10-minute countdown to players, saves the world, backs it up and then restarts the server. Do not assume that a generic “Restart” action performs those steps; read the action description in your own panel.
4. Set the first run and recurrence
Choose the first execution time and the recurrence interval. GTXGaming shows a six-hour repeat example, but that is an example rather than a universal recommendation. Replace it with the interval that fits your server’s peak hours, update schedule and expected player sessions. A daily restart may be enough for one community, while another may deliberately use several shorter maintenance windows.
5. Edit the warning text
Open the panel’s Service Settings, or the equivalent settings page, and locate the scheduled-restart message templates. GTXGaming states that the warning messages can be changed and executed there. Write messages that identify the exact shutdown time, explain that the world will be saved, and tell players when they can reconnect. Keep the first warning long enough for players to finish activities; the documented GTXGaming default example is 10 minutes.
6. Verify the clock
Check the panel’s displayed time zone before saving the task. GTXGaming directs administrators to Server Details > Machine Local Time. Host Havoc likewise advises checking the panel time-zone setting. If your community plans in another time zone, convert the maintenance window explicitly and record both times in your operations notes. A correct-looking schedule can still run at the wrong hour when the machine is set to a different local clock.
7. Save, enable and inspect the task
Save the task, confirm that it is enabled, and review the next-run time shown by the panel. Check that the selected action is the message-enabled backup/restart action rather than a plain stop or restart. If the panel has an execution history, make sure the task appears there with the expected recurrence.
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8. Perform an operator verification
Run the first restart during a low-traffic maintenance window. Observe the countdown in game, the save operation, backup completion, shutdown and return online. This is a verification step for your particular panel and installation; provider documentation describes the configuration but does not constitute an independent test of your server.
What the warning-and-restart workflow should do
A safe maintenance task has a deliberate order. Players receive a countdown before the server becomes unavailable. The world is saved while the process is still running. A backup is created from that saved state. Only then does the server stop and start again. The exact implementation varies by host, so inspect logs or task output to confirm that your panel follows this order.
Countdown and player communication
Use a long enough lead time for the activities your players commonly undertake. Ten minutes is the documented GTXGaming example, not a guarantee that every panel uses the same duration. If your panel allows multiple templates, make each message progressively clearer: announce the scheduled restart, state the remaining time, remind players to move to safety and give the expected return time.
Save and backup
The backup should follow a save command or an equivalent built-in save operation. A backup made before the final save can preserve an older world state. Confirm the destination, available storage and retention rules in your provider’s settings. Neither the hosted-panel documentation nor the self-hosting guides establish a universal number of retained copies, so choose a policy that fits your storage budget and recovery needs.
Shutdown and return online
After the backup completes, the task should stop the server cleanly and start it again. Watch for the server process to exit and for the service to report online status. If the panel shows separate stop and start events, both should appear in the task history. A restart policy that only starts a process after a crash is not the same as a scheduled, warning-enabled maintenance task.
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Self-hosted Windows options
Use a dedicated Soulmask server manager
SoulMask Server Manager advertises scheduled restarts with optional broadcast warnings, configurable grace periods and automatic backups. It also advertises Discord webhooks and SteamCMD installation or update functions. In this model, configure the restart schedule in the manager, set the grace period, enable the backup step and enter webhook details only if your community needs an external notification.
Before relying on the manager, run a controlled maintenance cycle. Confirm that the in-game warning appears, that the grace period matches the text shown to players, that the backup file is created in the intended location and that SteamCMD updates are not scheduled for the same minute as a restart. The manager’s labels and defaults can change, so verify each option in the version you install.
Combine RCON with a script and service supervisor
RCON is the flexible choice when you want your own messages and timing. GTXGaming’s documentation identifies the StopCloseServer command and its aliases cancelclose and cc for cancelling a pending shutdown countdown. A typical script can:
- Send an initial RCON broadcast announcing the maintenance time.
- Wait for the chosen lead time, sending shorter reminders as the deadline approaches.
- Issue the game’s save command or the save operation supported by your server build.
- Start the close or shutdown countdown and allow it to finish.
- Wait for the Soulmask process to exit cleanly.
- Let the Windows service supervisor or wrapper start the server process again.
- Check that the port is listening and record the result in a log.
Keep the RCON password outside the script’s public directory and restrict the RCON port to trusted networks where possible. If a warning must be cancelled, use the documented StopCloseServer command or one of its aliases, then tell players that the maintenance window changed. Do not treat a successful RCON response as proof that a backup exists; verify the backup file separately.
Linux and container implementations
Container with persistent storage and Quadlet
The jsknnr container project documents persistent storage, RCON settings, backup intervals and a Quadlet service using Restart=always. Persistent storage is essential: if the container is recreated without the world and backup volumes mounted, a process restart does not protect the saved world. Configure the RCON variables and backup interval in the deployment, then confirm that the backup path is on durable storage.
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Restart=always is a recovery policy. It causes the service manager to bring the process back when it exits, but it does not, by itself, broadcast an in-game countdown or coordinate a save and backup before a planned stop. Add a scheduled RCON script or a manager for player warnings and orderly maintenance.
systemd service
A self-hosting guide describes running Soulmask under a systemd service and setting automatic backup intervals. Stopping the systemd unit alone does not provide a countdown. Pair it with a timer or external scheduler that sends warnings and performs the save and backup before issuing the stop. Ensure that the service’s restart behavior does not immediately race the maintenance script: the script should wait for a clean exit, and the supervisor should be the component that starts the process again.
Hosted panel, manager and script comparison
| Approach | Warnings | Save and backup behavior | Recurrence | Clock visibility | Recovery and notifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosted Scheduled Tasks | Depends on the selected action; the documented “Backup and Restart with Messages” task sends a 10-minute countdown. | The documented GTXGaming action saves, backs up and restarts in that sequence. | Daily or repeating schedules; Host Havoc documents repeat intervals, and GTXGaming shows a six-hour example. | Check panel settings; GTXGaming points to Server Details > Machine Local Time. | Panel-managed restart; provider-specific logs and notification features must be checked in the panel. |
| SoulMask Server Manager on Windows | Optional broadcast warnings and configurable grace periods. | Advertised automatic backups; verify ordering and destination in your installation. | Scheduled restarts configured in the manager. | Use the manager’s displayed local time and verify the next-run value. | Advertised Discord webhooks; SteamCMD installation and update functions are also advertised. |
| RCON plus script | Fully scriptable broadcasts and countdowns. | Script controls save and close steps; backup verification is your responsibility. | Provided by the operating-system scheduler or another task runner. | Uses the scheduler or host machine clock; document any conversion. | A service supervisor can relaunch the process; secure RCON credentials and port access. |
| Linux container or systemd | Not supplied by Restart=always or a plain service stop; add RCON or a manager. |
Configure the documented backup interval and persistent storage, then verify the resulting files. | Use a timer, scheduler or manager alongside the service. | Uses the host or scheduler clock; verify it explicitly. | Process recovery is available through the supervisor; player-facing notices require another component. |
Prevent timing and concurrency failures
Use one authoritative maintenance schedule
Do not allow a repeating restart, an update task and a crash-recovery policy to run concurrently. The cited documentation does not define a universal lock mechanism. Inspect your panel or scripts and create your own guard, such as a maintenance flag or a scheduler rule that prevents overlap. At minimum, compare the next-run times of every task that can stop or start Soulmask.
Account for update jobs
If SteamCMD updates are enabled in a manager, place updates inside the same planned maintenance window or at a clearly different time. An update that starts while a backup is running can produce confusing logs and an incomplete maintenance cycle. Verify that the update task cannot launch a second server process while the scheduled restart is still stopping the first one.
Protect RCON and service credentials
Keep RCON credentials private, avoid publishing them in chat or version-control repositories, and restrict the RCON port to trusted networks where possible. The container documentation exposes RCON configuration variables, while the self-hosting guidance warns administrators to protect server ports. Exact firewall rules depend on your deployment, so apply the narrowest network access that still allows your maintenance script to connect.
Test and document the first restart
- Announce the test: Tell moderators and players that the first run is a controlled maintenance test.
- Record the expected times: Write down the panel or machine local time, the warning start, the planned shutdown and the expected return.
- Watch the countdown: Confirm that the message appears in game and that its remaining time matches the configured grace period.
- Check the save: Look for the save confirmation or corresponding log entry before shutdown.
- Check the backup: Confirm a new file or snapshot exists at the configured destination and that its timestamp matches the run.
- Observe shutdown: Ensure the process exits cleanly rather than being killed while it is writing the world.
- Observe startup: Verify that the service or container returns online and that players can reconnect.
- Record deviations: Note clock differences, message delays, backup duration and any overlap with another task, then adjust the schedule.
Troubleshooting common failures
Players receive no warning
Check that the task is the message-enabled action, not a plain restart. Confirm the message templates are enabled in Service Settings or the manager, and verify that the RCON connection points to the correct instance. A container or systemd restart policy alone will not create an in-game countdown.
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The restart runs at the wrong hour
Read the panel’s time-zone setting or the machine-local clock shown in the server details. Recalculate the intended maintenance window in that clock and inspect the next-run preview. Do not rely on the time zone configured on the administrator’s computer.
The world returns to an older state
Determine whether the final save completed before the backup began. Check the backup destination and timestamp, and make sure persistent storage is mounted for containers. If the backup policy retains multiple copies, identify which copy was created by the failed run before restoring anything.
The server never comes back online
Inspect the task history and service logs for a failed start, a port conflict or a supervisor that is waiting for the old process to exit. Confirm that only one restart mechanism is active and that an update task did not start a second process. For containers, verify that the persistent volumes and required RCON variables are still present.
A pending shutdown must be cancelled
Use the documented RCON StopCloseServer command, or its aliases cancelclose and cc, when your deployment supports them. After cancelling, send a replacement announcement so players know that the original maintenance time no longer applies.
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Operational checklist
- Use a task or manager that explicitly supports warnings when players need notice.
- Give players a practical lead time; the documented example is a 10-minute countdown.
- Save first, then back up, then stop and restart.
- Verify the backup destination, storage capacity and retention policy.
- Check panel or machine local time and convert community-facing times explicitly.
- Prevent overlapping restart, update and crash-recovery actions.
- Keep RCON credentials private and restrict access to trusted networks where possible.
- Test a complete countdown, save, backup, shutdown and return-online cycle during low traffic.
- Keep an operator record of the schedule, next-run time, backup location and cancellation command.
What to verify when panel labels change
Provider interfaces and defaults can change. Before enabling a recurring task, verify three details in the current interface: the exact action label, the local-time setting and the backup behavior. If any of those details are unclear, choose a maintenance window when an administrator can watch the server and perform a manual save or backup rather than assuming the task will do it.
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