# How to Back Up and Restore Your Romestead World (/docs/romestead/world-backups)



import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

Your Romestead world is the long-term investment of your group — hours of building, biome progression, restored gods, and a settlement that only exists in the save file. Lose it and there's no undo button inside the game. The XGamingServer panel has two backup mechanisms that cover the realistic ways a save gets damaged:

* **Manual backups** — one-click snapshot before a risky change (mod install, major patch, settings overhaul)
* **Scheduled automatic backups** — recurring snapshots so you always have a recent restore point even when no one's around to think about it

Manual Backup Before Risky Changes [#manual-backup-before-risky-changes]

Take one of these before: applying a server update, editing the config in a non-trivial way, or letting an unknown player join.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Open the Backups tab [#open-the-backups-tab]

    In the [XGamingServer Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), select your Romestead server. Click **Backups** in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Create a backup [#create-a-backup]

    Click **Create Backup** at the top right. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., `pre-patch-2026-06-01` or `before-mod-test`) — future you will thank current you.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Wait for it to finish [#wait-for-it-to-finish]

    The backup will appear in the list with a spinner while it's compressing. Romestead's world save is small enough that this typically takes seconds, not minutes. Don't restart the server until it's done.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Set Up Scheduled Backups [#set-up-scheduled-backups]

For "set and forget" protection, run a backup on a fixed cadence. The right frequency depends on how active your world is.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Open the Schedules tab [#open-the-schedules-tab]

    From your Romestead server, click **Schedules** in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Create a new schedule [#create-a-new-schedule]

    Click **Create Schedule**. Name it `Daily World Backup` (or whatever fits your cadence). Set the cron expression — `0 4 * * *` runs every day at 04:00 server time, which is a quiet window for most groups.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Add a Backup task [#add-a-backup-task]

    In the new schedule, click **New Task** → select **Create Backup** as the action. No payload needed.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Save [#save]

    The schedule now fires automatically. You can disable it temporarily without deleting it (handy during big events you want to keep one specific snapshot of).
  </Step>
</Steps>

> **Storage limit:** Each plan has a backup count cap. When you hit it, the oldest backup is rotated off. Pin important snapshots (the **Lock** icon on a backup) so they survive rotation — useful for end-of-season snapshots you want to keep forever.

Restore from a Backup [#restore-from-a-backup]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Stop the server [#stop-the-server]

    From the **Dashboard**, click **Stop**. The world file can't be replaced while it's actively being written to.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Restore the backup [#restore-the-backup]

    On the **Backups** tab, click the **⋯** menu next to the backup you want, then **Restore**. Confirm the prompt. The current world state is overwritten — that's the whole point.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Start the server again [#start-the-server-again]

    Click **Start** on the **Dashboard**. Players reconnect and the world is exactly where the backup was taken.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Download a Backup Off-Site [#download-a-backup-off-site]

For truly important worlds (or before a server cancellation / region migration), pull the backup to your own machine:

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Open the Backups tab [#open-the-backups-tab-1]

    On the **Backups** sidebar entry, click the **⋯** menu next to the backup.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Download [#download]

    Click **Download**. Your browser pulls a `.tar.gz` archive containing the world save. Store it somewhere safe (cloud drive, NAS).
  </Step>
</Steps>

What's in a Backup? [#whats-in-a-backup]

A panel backup of your Romestead server captures the **entire `server-files/` directory** — the world save under `saves/`, your edited `config.json`, any logs, and the `Server.dll` binary. That means a restore puts you back to **exactly** the snapshot, including which version of the dedicated server tool was installed. Convenient when a new patch breaks something — restore to the previous patch's snapshot until Beartwigs ships a fix.

Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

| Problem                                | Fix                                                                                                            |
| -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Backup failed" in panel               | Usually a disk quota issue. Check available space on the **Dashboard** widget; delete old backups to free room |
| Restore didn't bring back my world     | The backup was taken before the world existed (fresh install). Pick a later snapshot                           |
| Backups eating my storage allotment    | Reduce the schedule cadence (daily → every 3 days), or shorten the retention via the panel's backup cap        |
| Need a backup before a Beartwigs patch | Take a manual backup right before clicking update — that's what the lock icon is for                           |

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Server Configuration](/docs/romestead/server-config)
* [Join Your Server](/docs/romestead/join-server)
* [Admin Setup](/docs/romestead/admin-setup)