Backup Configuration

Protect your server data with automatic backups.

Command Line Options

Enable automatic backups with command-line arguments:

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar \
  --assets ../HytaleAssets \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir ./backups \
  --backup-frequency 30 \
  --backup-max-count 5

Backup Options

Option	Description	Default
--backup	Enable automatic backups	disabled
--backup-dir <path>	Backup directory (required when --backup is enabled)	none
--backup-frequency <minutes>	Minutes between backups (minimum: 1)	30
--backup-max-count <count>	Maximum backups to keep in each directory	5

Example Configurations

Frequent Backups (High Activity Server)

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar \
  --assets ../HytaleAssets \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir ./backups \
  --backup-frequency 15 \
  --backup-max-count 10

Backs up every 15 minutes, keeps last 10 backups (2.5 hours of history).

Hourly Backups (Low Activity Server)

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar \
  --assets ../HytaleAssets \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir ./backups \
  --backup-frequency 60 \
  --backup-max-count 24

Backs up every hour, keeps last 24 backups (24 hours of history).

Extended History

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar \
  --assets ../HytaleAssets \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir /mnt/backup-drive/hytale \
  --backup-frequency 30 \
  --backup-max-count 48

Backs up every 30 minutes to external drive, keeps 48 backups (24 hours of history).

Backup Format and Storage

Backups are stored as ZIP archives with filenames in the format yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss.zip (e.g., 2024-01-15_14-30-00.zip).

The backup directory structure:

backups/
├── 2024-01-15_14-30-00.zip    # Recent backups
├── 2024-01-15_14-00-00.zip
├── 2024-01-15_13-30-00.zip
└── archive/                    # Archived backups (automatic)
    └── 2024-01-14_12-00-00.zip

Automatic Archiving

The server automatically archives older backups before deletion:

• Every 12 hours, the oldest backup is moved to the archive/ subdirectory instead of being deleted
• The archive directory also respects --backup-max-count

Backup Contents

Each backup ZIP contains the entire universe/ directory:

• All world data and chunk files
• Player data
• World configurations

Manual Backup Command

Use the /backup command in-game or from the console to trigger an immediate backup:

/backup

Note: This command requires --backup-dir to be configured, even if --backup is not enabled.

Manual Backup (Server Stopped)

For manual backups when the server is stopped:

# Stop server first, then:
cp -r universe/ backups/manual-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)/

Restore from Backup

1. Stop the server
2. Extract the backup ZIP
3. Replace the universe/ directory
4. Start the server

# Stop server
sudo systemctl stop hytale

# Restore backup
rm -rf universe/
unzip backups/2024-01-15_14-30-00.zip -d .

# Start server
sudo systemctl start hytale

Permissions

Permission	Description
hytale.status.backup.error	Receive in-game notifications when a backup fails

Players with the hytale.status.backup.error permission will be notified in-game if a backup operation fails.

Best Practices

1. Test restores regularly - Verify backups work
2. Store off-site copies - Protect against hardware failure
3. Monitor disk space - Ensure room for backups
4. Document backup schedule - Know your recovery point
5. Automate notifications - Alert on backup failures

External Backup Solutions

Consider combining with:

• Cloud storage (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage)
• Rsync to remote servers
• Scheduled cron jobs for additional copies
• RAID storage for redundancy