Game Server Backups: What to Back Up and How Often

Save corruption, accidental deletes, plugin rogue behaviour, hardware failure: all of these require a backup to recover from. Nothing else works. Here is the practical guide for GMod, Rust, and Minecraft.

What to back up (per game)

Garry's Mod

garrysmod/data/: player data, economy data (DarkRP money/jobs), entity save states
garrysmod/cfg/: all config files including server.cfg
garrysmod/addons/: non-Workshop addons (custom Lua, private content)
garrysmod/lua/autorun/: custom Lua files including resource.AddWorkshop entries

Rust (Oxide/uMod)

server/<server-name>/: world save files (.map, .sav, .sav.X)
oxide/data/: plugin data (player permissions, kit data, economy, clans)
oxide/config/: per-plugin configuration files
server/<server-name>/cfg/: server.cfg and related config

Minecraft

world/, world_nether/, world_the_end/: world data (most important)
plugins/: plugin jar files and per-plugin data folders
server.properties: core server config
ops.json, whitelist.json, banned-players.json, banned-ips.json

Always skip game binaries, SteamCMD files, and log files. Game binaries reinstall via SteamCMD; logs are large and generally not needed for restore.

How often to back up

Daily minimum

For any active server with regular players. Losing more than 24 hours of progress is a serious trust issue with your community.

Before every major change

Installing a new addon, running a map change, or editing core config: take a manual snapshot first. No exceptions.

Pre-wipe (Rust)

Before a forced wipe, take a full backup including oxide/data/ so you have a record of the final wipe state.

Before game updates

Game updates occasionally break plugin compatibility. A pre-update backup lets you roll back cleanly.

Retention: keep at minimum the last 7 daily backups. For active servers, 14 days is more comfortable.

How to restore

Zeros Host panel restore

Open your server dashboard and go to the Backups tab.
Select the backup by date/time.
Click Restore: the panel stops the server, extracts the archive, and replaces the relevant files.
Start your server.

Manual restore from .tar.zst archive

# Stop the server first, then extract:
tar -I zstd -xf backup-2026-06-28.tar.zst -C /restore-working/

# Then copy files into place (example for GMod)
cp -r /restore-working/garrysmod/data/ /path/to/server/garrysmod/data/
cp -r /restore-working/garrysmod/cfg/ /path/to/server/garrysmod/cfg/

Always stop the server before restoring. Restoring files onto a running server causes corruption.

Off-site backups: do not rely solely on your host

Your host's backup system is the first line of defence, not the only one. Consider downloading a backup copy to your local machine or a personal cloud account (Google Drive, Backblaze B2) at least weekly. For critical data - economy databases, long-running world files - weekly off-site copies are the minimum.

This is not a criticism of any specific provider. It is basic data hygiene. Your world file is irreplaceable if players have been building in it for months. The cost of a manual download is zero.

Frequently asked questions

What files do I need to back up on a Rust server?

The essential files are your world save files (in server/<server-name>/), oxide/data/ for plugin player data, and oxide/config/ for plugin settings. Back these up before any wipe, before game updates, and on a daily schedule during active play.

How do I restore a .tar.zst backup file?

Stop your server first, then run: tar -I zstd -xf yourbackup.tar.zst -C /destination/. This extracts the archive to the destination directory. Then copy the relevant folders into your server install location and restart.

How often should I back up my game server?

Daily is the minimum for any server with regular players. For Rust servers approaching wipe day, consider twice daily to reduce potential rollback. Always take a manual backup before making significant changes to mods, configs, or plugins.

Are host backups enough, or do I need my own copies?

Host backups are the baseline. For world files or economy data that cannot be recreated, you should periodically download a copy to local storage or a personal cloud account. Infrastructure failures are rare but not impossible, and having an off-site copy is straightforward insurance.

Does backing up Workshop addons matter for GMod?

Generally no. Workshop addons re-download from Steam automatically when the server starts. What matters is backing up the data/ folder (player data, economy), cfg/ (server config), and any custom Lua files you have written yourself.

Automated backups are included on every plan

Configure backup frequency and retention from your dashboard. Manual snapshots are available any time, one click from the Backups tab.

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