Create a DayZ server backupBack up game state, mission and configuration

Published on August 9, 2026 · last updated on November 8, 2026

What belongs together

A complete DayZ backup consists of four parts. If one is missing, the backup is worthless in an emergency:

• The mission folder - it holds the Central Economy configuration, meaning types.xml, events.xml and the other XML files. This is where weeks of work are stored.
• The storage folder inside the mission - the actual persistent game state with bases, vehicles and placed objects.
• serverDZ.cfg with all server settings.
• The mod list including startup parameters - at the very least, write down which mods are loaded in which order.

You do not have to back up the mod folders themselves; they can be downloaded again. The exact load order, on the other hand, is tedious to reconstruct - write it down as well.

Create the backup

1. Stop the server. DayZ writes the persistent game state on shutdown - a backup taken while the server runs captures an intermediate state.
2. Connect via WebFTP or SFTP.
3. Download the mission folder (including storage), serverDZ.cfg and your mod list.
4. Name it locally with the date, for example dayz-2026-08-09.zip.
5. Start the server again.

Backups are always self-service with us - there are no automatic backups. In return, you decide what gets backed up and when, and the data stays with you.

When to back up

In DayZ, it pays off more often than in most other games, because more can go wrong:

• Before every mod update - the most common reason for a server that suddenly no longer starts.
• Before every DayZ update, because all mods have to catch up afterwards anyway.
• Before changes to the Central Economy - a broken XML file can shut down the loot completely.
• Before a map change.
• Regularly, once players have built large bases - a lot of playtime is stored there.

What typically goes wrong and how to make sense of it is covered in server will not start.

How many versions you should keep

A single backup is better than none, but it has a gap: a damaged game state or a broken XML file often only gets noticed days later - by then, you have long since backed up the error and overwritten your only copy. Three versions cover everyday needs:

• The current state - from the last scheduled restart or maintenance window.
• The state before the last change - before the mod update, the loot change or the map change.
• A known good state that you keep longer and deliberately do not overwrite. It is your fallback if the problem turns out to be older than you thought.

It is practical to tie the backup to the restart window you have planned anyway: the server is briefly off, the persistent game state has just been written and nobody loses progress. How to schedule restarts and announce them in advance is covered in set up admin & RCON.

Check the backup before you need it

The most unpleasant moment is when the archive turns out to be unusable. With the many small files of a DayZ mission, transfers like to break off without anyone noticing - the folder is there, just incomplete. Two minutes of checking right after the download are enough:

• Is the storage folder included and not empty? If it is missing, you have backed up the configuration but no game state.
• Do types.xml and events.xml open without an error? You can spot a truncated XML file at its end, where the closing tag is missing.
• Is the mod list with the load order included? Ideally as a text file right inside the archive, not in a note somewhere else.
• Does the file size roughly match your previous backups? A suddenly much smaller archive is a reliable warning sign.

There is also a limit to keep in mind: a backup restores a state, not the time in between. Anything players built or found after the backup was taken is gone once you restore it. So announce a rollback instead of doing it silently - and check beforehand whether restoring individual Central Economy files would be enough.

Restore a backup

1. Stop the server.
2. Rename the current mission folder instead of deleting it.
3. Upload the backed-up files to their original location.
4. Check that the folder name matches the template entry in serverDZ.cfg - otherwise the server will not start.
5. Activate the mods in the recorded order and start the server.

If a partial rollback is enough, you can restore only the storage folder and keep the current mission - for example when a griefer has run wild but you want to keep the loot adjustments you made in the meantime.

Important: a storage folder from another map or another mod setup does not fit. The game state depends on the combination of mission and loaded mods.

Frequently asked questions