Skip to main content
The snapshot.sh script performs a nightly world backup. It broadcasts an in-game countdown before stopping the server, takes a compressed snapshot, and restarts automatically. Snapshots older than 7 days are deleted as part of the same run.

​
Snapshot behavior

When the cron job fires:
  1. If the server is online, a 30-minute countdown begins. In-game chat warnings with an audible alert are broadcast at the following intervals:
  2. The stop command is sent to the server console. If the server does not exit within 30 seconds, it is force-killed.
  3. A .tar.gz snapshot is saved to backups/ containing:
    • All world directories (world, world_nether, world_the_end, and any others matching the world* prefix)
    • whitelist.json
    • server.properties
  4. The server is automatically restarted.
  5. Any snapshot files older than 7 days are deleted from the backups/ directory.
If the server is offline when the cron fires, the countdown is skipped entirely and the snapshot is taken immediately.

​
Cron setup

The snapshot script takes 30 minutes to complete its countdown before stopping the server. Schedule the cron job at 11:30 PM — not midnight — so the server actually goes down at midnight. Scheduling at midnight means the server won’t stop until 12:30 AM.
1

Open the root crontab

The snapshot script must run as root (or the user owning the server directory) to have permission to stop the server and write backup files:
2

Add the cron entry

Add the following line to schedule the snapshot every night at 11:30 PM:
Output is appended to a log file so you can review past runs.
3

Verify the entry was saved

Confirm the cron entry is present:

​
Checking snapshot logs

To watch the log in real time during a snapshot run:
Example log output from a successful run:

​
Snapshot archive naming

Snapshot files follow the pattern snapshot_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz and are stored in:
They can be restored interactively at any time with serv restore.