Backups

Protect your server data with automated and manual backups

Overview

Every Modrinth server includes 15 backup slots at no additional cost. Backups are stored securely off-site and can be restored at any time.

Backups are stored separately from your server, so they remain safe even if your server has issues.

Automatic Backup Schedules

Modrinth can automatically create backups on a schedule you define.

Setting Up Auto-Backups

1. Go to Backups tab

   Navigate to Backups in your server management panel.

2. Enable automatic backups

   Toggle the Automatic backups switch to enable scheduled backups.

3. Configure schedule

   Choose your backup frequency:

   • Every 6 hours
   • Every 12 hours
   • Daily (recommended)
   • Every 2 days
   • Weekly
4. Set retention

   Decide how many automatic backups to keep before old ones are deleted.

Daily backups provide a good balance between protection and storage usage. Adjust based on how frequently your world changes.

How Auto-Backups Work

1. Scheduled backup runs at the configured time
2. Server saves world data to ensure consistency
3. Backup archives created with world files and configs
4. Upload to storage happens in the background
5. Old backups pruned automatically based on retention policy

Backup creation temporarily increases server load. If running a high-player server, schedule backups during off-peak hours.

Manual Backups

Create a backup manually whenever you need to preserve the current server state.

Creating a Manual Backup

1. Navigate to Backups

   Open the Backups tab in your server panel.

2. Click Create Backup

   Click the Create Backup button in the top-right.

3. Name your backup

   Enter a descriptive name:

   Before_Major_Update
   Pre_Mod_Installation
   Working_Version_2024_03_14
   
4. Wait for completion

   Watch the progress bar as the backup is created and uploaded.

Always create a manual backup before:

• Installing major mods or updates
• Making significant configuration changes
• Updating server software
• Performing world edits

When to Create Manual Backups

Before updates

Create a backup before updating:

• Minecraft version
• Server software
• Major mods

Before changes

Backup before:

• Installing new mods
• Editing world data
• Changing server properties

After milestones

Save progress after:

• Completing major builds
• Reaching goals
• Server events

Before troubleshooting

Protect data before:

• Debugging issues
• Testing fixes
• Removing problematic mods

Restoring from Backups

Restore Process

Important: Restoring a backup will replace all current server data. Make sure this is what you want to do.

1. Stop your server

   Stop the server before restoring. This prevents data conflicts.

2. Select backup

   In the Backups tab, find the backup you want to restore.

3. Click Restore

   1. Click the Restore button next to the backup
   2. Read the confirmation warning
   3. Type the server name to confirm
   4. Click Confirm Restore
4. Wait for restoration

   The backup will be downloaded and extracted. This may take several minutes depending on size.

   Progress is shown in real-time:

   Downloading backup... 45%
   Extracting files... 78%
   Restoring complete!
   
5. Start server

   Once restoration completes, start your server normally.

If restoration fails, your server will remain in its pre-restore state. Contact support if you encounter issues.

What Gets Restored

A full backup restore includes:

• World data - All dimensions and chunks
• Player data - Inventories, positions, stats
• Server configurations - server.properties and config files
• Installed mods/plugins - All mod files
• Permissions and data - Player permissions and plugin data

Backups do not include:

• Server software binaries (automatically reinstalled)
• Custom startup scripts (reconfigured automatically)
• Network settings (preserved separately)

Backup Retention Policies

Understanding Backup Slots

You have 15 backup slots:

📦 Slot 1: Auto_2024_03_14_12_00
📦 Slot 2: Auto_2024_03_13_12_00  
📦 Slot 3: Manual_Before_Update
📦 Slot 4: Auto_2024_03_12_12_00
...
📦 Slot 15: Auto_2024_03_01_12_00

Automatic Cleanup

When backup slots are full:

1. Manual backups are kept and never auto-deleted
2. Oldest automatic backups are deleted first
3. New backups fill the freed slots

If you want to preserve an automatic backup, rename it to convert it to a manual backup.

Managing Backup Storage

Check storage usage

View backup storage in the Backups tab header:

Backups: 12 / 15 slots used
Total size: 8.4 GB

Delete old backups

Manually delete backups you no longer need:

1. Find the backup in the list
2. Click the three-dot menu (…)
3. Select Delete
4. Confirm deletion

Deleted backups cannot be recovered. Make sure you don’t need them.

Rename backups

Give backups descriptive names:

1. Click the three-dot menu (…)
2. Select Rename
3. Enter new name
4. Click Save

Download Backups Locally

You can download backups to your computer for extra security or to use in other environments.

Downloading a Backup

1. Open Backups tab

   Navigate to Backups in your server panel.

2. Select backup to download

   Find the backup you want to download.

3. Click Download

   1. Click the three-dot menu (…) next to the backup
   2. Select Download
   3. Choose a location on your computer
   4. Wait for the download to complete

Backup downloads are provided as compressed .tar.gz archives to reduce file size.

Using Downloaded Backups

You can use downloaded backups to:

• Run locally - Extract and run on your own computer
• Migrate servers - Move to a different hosting provider
• Archive - Keep offline backups of important worlds
• Share - Send world to others

Extracting a Backup

On Windows:

# Using 7-Zip
7z x backup.tar.gz
7z x backup.tar

On macOS/Linux:

tar -xzf backup.tar.gz

After extraction, you’ll find your world folder, server files, and configurations ready to use.

Backup Progress Tracking

Modrinth provides real-time progress updates for backup operations via WebSocket connection.

Backup States

State	Description
Queued	Backup is waiting to start
Ongoing	Backup is being created
Done	Backup completed successfully
Failed	Backup encountered an error
Cancelled	Backup was manually cancelled
Unchanged	No changes since last backup

Progress Indicators

During backup operations, you’ll see:

Creating backup...
[================>             ] 65%

Files processed: 1,234 / 1,890
Size: 2.4 GB

You can continue using your server normally during backup creation. Performance impact is minimal.

Cancelling Backups

If you need to stop a backup in progress:

1. Find the ongoing backup in the list
2. Click the Cancel button
3. Confirm cancellation

The partial backup will be discarded.

Backup Best Practices

Regular schedule

Enable automatic backups with daily frequency for active servers.

Before changes

Always create a manual backup before:

• Major updates
• Mod installations
• Configuration changes

Test restores

Periodically test backup restoration to ensure they work correctly.

Keep local copies

Download important backups to your computer for additional safety.

Backup Naming Convention

Use descriptive names for manual backups:

✅ Good names:
   - Before_1.20_Update
   - Pre_Mod_Cleanup_2024_03
   - Working_Dragon_Fight_Arena

❌ Bad names:
   - backup1
   - test
   - asdf

Troubleshooting Backups

Backup Creation Failed

Not enough storage

Solution: Delete old backups to free up slots, or contact support to increase your backup quota.

Server is offline

Solution: Backups can only be created when the server is running. Start your server and try again.

Another backup in progress

Solution: Wait for the current backup to complete before starting a new one.

Restore Failed

1. Verify server is stopped

   Make sure your server is completely stopped before restoring.

2. Check backup integrity

   If a backup is corrupted, try a different backup.

3. Contact support

   If restoration repeatedly fails, contact Modrinth Support with:

   • Server ID
   • Backup name
   • Error message

Backup Shows “Unchanged”

This means no files were modified since the last backup:

• Server was offline
• No players joined
• No world changes occurred

This is normal and saves storage space.

Need more than 15 backup slots? Contact support to discuss your requirements.