Create a 7 Days to Die server backupBack up world, player data and configuration

Published on August 9, 2026 · last updated on November 3, 2026

What needs backing up

Four components make up a complete backup:

• The save folder with the world, all builds, player data and progress. Its name is made up of the world name and the game name.
• The generated world, if you use a random world (RWG) - it is stored separately from the save and cannot be regenerated identically without the matching seed.
• The serverconfig.xml with all server settings.
• The Mods folder on modded servers, together with the information which version of the overhaul is running.

The second point is often overlooked: an RWG world is created from WorldGenSeed and WorldGenSize. Note both values - then the map can be regenerated if necessary, even if the files are missing. The connections are explained in Navezgane & RWG.

Create a backup

1. Stop the server. 7 Days to Die writes when shutting down - a backup while it is running catches an intermediate state.
2. Connect via WebFTP or SFTP.
3. Download the save folder, the generated world, the serverconfig.xml and, if applicable, the Mods folder.
4. Name them locally with the date, for example 7dtd-2026-08-09.zip.
5. Start the server again.

The saves can become large, especially on extensively explored maps. If the download takes a long time, that is normal - rather download less often but completely than often but only in parts.

When to back up?

• Before every game update. Larger 7 Days updates are regularly not backwards compatible - old saves often do not keep running afterwards.
• Before installing an overhaul such as Darkness Falls. A new world is required anyway - and you want to keep the old one.
• Before changes to the serverconfig.xml that affect the world.
• After successfully surviving a blood moon night, when the base is standing - that is where most of the play time goes.

The first point is the most important. In 7 Days to Die, a version change means losing the world more often than in other games - a backup beforehand is not caution but a must.

How many states you should keep

A single backup that is overwritten on every run is the worst of all compromises: if it only becomes apparent after two weeks that a world is damaged, the copy has long contained the same damage. So keep them staggered:

• The last two to three regular states with the date in the file name, so that you can also pick an older point in time.
• One state from before the last game update that you do not touch. It is the only way to go back to the old game version if necessary.
• One state from before switching to an overhaul, as long as the vanilla round is to keep running.

Because the saves grow, a short note next to every backup is worthwhile: game version, mod state, WorldGenSeed and WorldGenSize. These four details later decide whether an archive can still be loaded at all - a ZIP file without context is hard to place months later.

If you only want to restore a single player, you do not need the whole world: the player data sits in a subfolder of its own in the save, named after the respective ID. Which ID belongs to whom is shown by the console - described in set up an admin. The rest of the world remains untouched.

Restore a backup

1. Stop the server.
2. Rename the current save folder instead of deleting it.
3. Upload the backed-up folders to their original place.
4. Check that the world and game names in the serverconfig.xml match the folder names - otherwise the server starts with a new, empty world.
5. On modded servers, restore the same mod state as at the time of the backup.
6. Start and watch the console.

Step 4 is the most common pitfall: if the names do not match, the server cannot find the save and silently creates a new one. That looks like data loss, but it is only a naming problem.

Step 5 likewise: a save from an overhaul cannot be loaded with vanilla - see install mods.

What a backup does not cover

A backup is a point in time, not an insurance policy. You should know three limits before relying on it:

• Everything since that state is gone. Restoring the world from the previous day takes a day of progress away from the whole group. Announce it beforehand instead of doing it silently - the annoyance about it is regularly bigger than the original damage.
• The environment has to match. Game version and mod state belong to the save. An archive from an older version often cannot be loaded any more after an update - hence the untouched state from before the version change.
• There is no copy with us. Backups are self-service throughout via the WebFTP file manager or SFTP. No automatic backups run in the background from which something could be restored in an emergency - what you have not downloaded yourself does not exist.

The last point becomes particularly important when a round takes a break: with prepaid, the server stops as soon as the credit runs out, and a stopped server does not remain indefinitely. So take the backup while the server is still running, not once the break has already begun.

A backup also does not replace finding the cause. If the server becomes sluggish again after restoring, it is not the save but the load - the levers for that are in server lagging.

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