Minecraft Server Backups: Snapshot Before You Update

Snapshot before the plugin, pack, or version change

The backups guide says to take a manual snapshot before updating Minecraft versions or testing a new plugin. The page names griefing, corrupt chunks, and bad updates. Name the archive for the change. The example on /docs/backups is “Pre-1.21.4-Update”. A friends SMP can use “Pre-Essentials-update” or “Pre-Paper-switch”.

Switching engines is the same moment. /docs/software says stop the server, take a backup under the Backups tab, open the Software tab, select the new engine, click Switch, then Start. A modpack update belongs here too. /modpack-server-hosting tells you to take a backup before you update the pack, and points restore at /docs/backups. The installer clicks on /docs/modpacks are separate: stop, Modpacks tab, pick the version, Install Modpack, then Start. Friends still need that same pack on their launcher.

If the world just arrived from another host, snapshot after the first boot that looks right. /blog/move-from-aternos-to-chunkly keeps the local zip until a session feels good, then points Village and Kingdom at Backups and Create Backup Now.

What Chunkly backups cover

/docs/backups says Village and Kingdom include automated rolling backups stored on redundant storage arrays off-site from your primary compute node. A backup captures the file tree: world chunks, inventories, plugins, and configs. The page, the FAQ, and the terms do not say how many copies are kept or for how many days. If you need a file you control, copy the world over SFTP.

Village is Budget at €0.85 per GB of RAM per month. Kingdom is Premium at €1.90/GB. Paid plans bill monthly through Stripe, and you can cancel from the billing portal. Campfire is the free Vanilla server: one world, 2 GB, about five players online, no credit card. The Campfire card lists DDoS, NVMe, SFTP, and backups with that stack. The automated rolling line and the restore steps are written on /docs/backups for Village and Kingdom.

Create it from that guide: open the world in the Chunkly Panel, click the Backups tab, click Create Backup Now, name it, and wait about 15–45 seconds. Sleep is a different save. Campfire sleeps after about 6 minutes idle. Village Paper and Vanilla sleep after about 12 minutes and wake on join, often in 15–30 seconds. Village Paper and Vanilla are not always-on. Kingdom can disable sleep under Settings → Idle Policy. Modpacks stay running by default. The off-site archive is still /docs/backups. Idle detail is /docs/sleep-wake.

Copy the full world over SFTP

The backups guide does not document a download of the archive from the Backups tab. The documented way onto your own computer is SFTP. /docs/sftp is full root file access for custom worlds, server.properties, and plugins. The same login is how FileZilla pulls those folders down.

In the Chunkly Panel, open Settings → SFTP Details. Host is sftp.chunkly.net (or your node IP). Port is 2022. Username looks like your-account-email#worldid. Password is your panel password. In FileZilla: Site Manager, New Site, name it “Chunkly Minecraft”, protocol SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol, logon type Normal, then Connect and accept the SSH host key. The guide title also names WinSCP. The steps it prints are FileZilla.

/world holds Overworld data, player data, and region chunks. On Paper, Nether is /world_nether and the End is /world_the_end. /plugins or /mods holds the jars. server.properties holds difficulty, PvP, view distance, MOTD, whitelist, and max players. The backups page does not describe a MySQL export. Friends join the live world at name.play.chunkly.net, hostname alone, Java port 25565.

How often a friends SMP should snapshot

How often follows the change, not a retention contract. /docs/backups says snapshot before a Minecraft version update and before a new plugin. Add the software switch on /docs/software and the pack update on /modpack-server-hosting. A quiet week with no jar and no version change does not need a fresh named snapshot just to mark the calendar.

Village and Kingdom rolling backups run without a click. The page calls them automated and rolling. It does not say hourly, nightly, or a keep-count. Use Create Backup Now after a build you would hate to lose, and again before a plugin you have not run. Name it, then update. Keep one SFTP copy after a season you care about. That file stays yours after you cancel in Stripe.

Restore it yourself, then write support if the row is missing

You can restore from the panel. /docs/backups prints the steps. Stop the server with the Stop button on the dashboard. Open the Backups tab. Locate the snapshot. Click the Restore action button. Confirm the prompt. The panel unpacks the world files and restores that configuration. When it finishes, click Start.

Restoring overwrites the current world with the snapshot. Progress after that timestamp is replaced, including an hour of mining after “Pre-Essentials-update”. Tell the group, then join yourself. Check spawn, one inventory, and a build from that snapshot. On Paper, step into the Nether if you expect that folder back. A failing jar may be the plugin from the snapshot, because configs and jars are in the file tree.

Email [email protected], or open a panel help-desk ticket, when the row is missing, the restore does not finish, or you cannot tell which name is the pre-update archive. The docs page does not publish a restore-time promise, and support cannot rebuild blocks placed after the snapshot. A bad plugin is a Restore click, not a ticket, unless that click fails.

FAQ

How often should I back up? Before the change. /docs/backups says a manual snapshot before a version update or a new plugin. Do the same before a software switch and before a modpack update. Village and Kingdom also roll backups off-site. No daily schedule or keep-window is published.

Can I restore a backup myself? Yes. Stop, Backups tab, Restore, confirm, then Start. Newer progress is overwritten. The steps are /docs/backups. Write [email protected] if the row is missing or the restore does not finish.

Can I download the backup from the panel? That download is not in the backups guide. Copy the world over SFTP: Settings → SFTP Details, port 2022, then /world and, on Paper, /world_nether and /world_the_end. Clicks are /docs/sftp.

Do backups include inventories and plugins? The file tree on /docs/backups is world chunks, inventories, plugins, and configs. It does not describe a MySQL dump.

Does Campfire include rolling backups? The Campfire card lists backups with DDoS, NVMe, and SFTP. /docs/backups states automated rolling backups for Village and Kingdom. Campfire is one free Vanilla world, 2 GB, about five online, no card, sleeping after about 6 minutes.

Does sleep count as a backup? No. Sleep writes to NVMe and pauses Java. Village Paper and Vanilla are not always-on. The archive you restore is /docs/backups, and idle times are on /docs/sleep-wake.