How to Back Up Your Minecraft Server

Regular backups protect your server against data loss from crashes, bad updates, or accidental changes. 3LifeHosting.com servers include built-in backup functionality through the control panel.

Creating a Backup

1. Go to your server in the control panel
2. Click the Backups tab
3. Click Create Backup
4. Optionally, give the backup a name (e.g. "Before 1.21 upgrade")
5. Click Start Backup

The panel compresses your entire server directory into an archive. Depending on your world size, this may take a few minutes.

Your plan includes a set number of backup slots. If you've reached the limit, delete an older backup before creating a new one.

Restoring a Backup

1. Go to the Backups tab
2. Click the three-dot menu on the backup you want to restore
3. Click Restore
4. Choose whether to delete existing files before restoring or merge

Delete existing files is recommended when restoring to avoid conflicts between old and new files.

Downloading a Backup

To keep a local copy:

1. Click the three-dot menu on the backup
2. Click Download

Store these off-site for extra safety.

What's Included in a Backup

A full backup includes everything in your server directory:

• world/ — Your world data (overworld, nether, end)
• plugins/ or mods/ — Installed addons
• server.properties — Server configuration
• Config files (e.g. bukkit.yml, paper-global.yml)
• whitelist.json, ops.json, banned-players.json

Manual World-Only Backup

If you only need the world data:

1. Stop the server (this ensures the world is fully saved)
2. Go to the File Manager
3. Select the world/ folder (and world_nether/, world_the_end/ if they exist)
4. Click Archive to create a downloadable zip
5. Download the archive

When to Back Up

Create a backup before:

• Updating the Minecraft version
• Switching server software (e.g. Paper → Forge)
• Installing or removing mods/plugins
• Editing config files you're unsure about
• Handing out operator permissions to new people
• Any destructive change you might want to undo