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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.

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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:
    Time remainingMessage
    30 minutes”The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 30 minutes.”
    15 minutes”The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 15 minutes.”
    10 minutes”The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 10 minutes.”
    5 minutes”The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 5 minutes.”
    1 minute”The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 1 minute!“
    30 seconds”Server going down for snapshot in 30 seconds! Please log off now.”
    15 seconds”Server going down for snapshot in 15 seconds!“
    5 seconds”Server going down for snapshot in 5 seconds!”
  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.

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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:
sudo crontab -e
2

Add the cron entry

Add the following line to schedule the snapshot every night at 11:30 PM:
30 23 * * * /usr/local/bin/snapshot.sh >> /var/log/minecraft_snapshot.log 2>&1
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:
sudo crontab -l

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Checking snapshot logs

To watch the log in real time during a snapshot run: 
tail -f /var/log/minecraft_snapshot.log
Example log output from a successful run: 
[2025-04-03 23:00:01] Server is online. Starting 30-minute snapshot countdown.
[2025-04-03 23:00:01] Broadcasted: The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 30 minutes.
[2025-04-03 23:15:01] Broadcasted: The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 15 minutes.
[2025-04-03 23:20:01] Broadcasted: The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 10 minutes.
[2025-04-03 23:25:01] Broadcasted: The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 5 minutes.
[2025-04-03 23:29:01] Broadcasted: The server will go down for a daily snapshot in 1 minute!
[2025-04-03 23:29:31] Broadcasted: Server going down for snapshot in 30 seconds! Please log off now.
[2025-04-03 23:29:46] Broadcasted: Server going down for snapshot in 15 seconds!
[2025-04-03 23:29:56] Broadcasted: Server going down for snapshot in 5 seconds!
[2025-04-03 23:30:01] Broadcasted: Saving world states and stopping server for snapshot...
[2025-04-03 23:30:07] Creating snapshot: /usr/local/games/minecraft_server/java/backups/snapshot_20250403_233007.tar.gz
[2025-04-03 23:30:42] Snapshot successfully saved.
[2025-04-03 23:30:42] Restarting server...
[2025-04-03 23:30:42] Cleaning up snapshots older than 7 days...
[2025-04-03 23:30:43] Daily snapshot routine complete.

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Snapshot archive naming

Snapshot files follow the pattern snapshot_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz and are stored in: 
/usr/local/games/minecraft_server/java/backups/
They can be restored interactively at any time with serv restore.