How to Back Up and Restore Your Hytale Server Save

Your journey through Orbis is unique. From the procedurally generated landscapes to the dungeons you’ve conquered and the structures you’ve built, your world is irreplaceable. That is why keeping a secure backup is the most important habit for any server owner.

Whether you are saving your progress before a big update, moving your world from a local PC to the server, or restoring a previous save after a mishap, this guide will walk you through the process. In Hytale, your world data is stored in a specific folder called universe, and managing it is straightforward if you follow these steps.

Part 1: How to Back Up Your World

Creating a backup involves saving your world data and, crucially, your mod data to your local computer.

1. Shut Down the Server

   • Go to your Server panel.

   • Navigate to the Actions tab.

   • Click Shutdown.

     

   • Important: Never download or modify files while the server is running, as this can lead to data corruption.

2. Access Server Files

   • Click on the File Manager tab in the Server panel.

   • You can also connect to SFTP to access the server files. To do so, you can follow this guide: How to connect to FTP/SFTP

3. Download the Universe Folder

   • Locate the folder named universe. This folder contains all your world data, player data, and map chunks.

     

   • Click on the three dots and select Download. Save it to a safe location on your computer.

     

4. Download Your Mods (Crucial Step)

   • If your server uses mods, your save file depends on them to load correctly.

   • Locate the mods folder in the File Manager.

   • Click on the 3 dots and download this folder as well. Keep it with your universe backup.

Part 2: How to Restore or Upload a World

If you need to roll back to a previous backup or upload a single-player world from your PC, follow these steps.

1. Shut Down the Server 

   • Go to Actions > Shutdown and ensure the server is offline.

2. Prepare the Server 

   • Open the File Manager or connect to SFTP.

   • Locate the current universe folder.

   • Delete it or Rename it (e.g., universe_old) to prevent conflicts. The server needs a clean slate to accept the new save.

     

3. Upload Your Save 

   • Upload your backed-up universe folder into the main directory.

     

   • Ensure the folder is named exactly universe (all lowercase).

4. Restore Your Mods (Optional if your server has mods)

   • If your backup included mods, you must ensure those exact mods are installed on the server, or the world may crash or lose items.

   • Upload your backed-up mods folder to the main directory, overwriting if necessary.

   • Need help managing mods? Check our guide here: How to Add Mods to your Hytale Server 

5. Restart the Server 

   • Go to Actions > Restart.

     

      

The server will now load your restored world!

Troubleshooting

• "The server starts a brand new world instead of my backup."

  • Solution: This usually happens if the folder structure is wrong. When you open the universe folder on the server, you should immediately see data files. If you see another folder named universe inside it (e.g., universe/universe/data), move the files up one level so the server can find them.

• "The server crashes immediately upon loading the save."

  • Solution: This is almost always a mod mismatch. If you added blocks or creatures using mods in your save, but those mods are missing from the server's mods folder, the game cannot load the world. Ensure your mods folder matches the save file perfectly.

• "I cannot delete the old universe folder."

  • Solution: The server is likely still running or in a "Stopping" state. Go to the Actions tab and click Shutdown to ensure the status is fully "Stopped," and try again.

Conclusion

Your history is secure! By keeping regular backups of your universe and mods folders, you have ensured your community against griefers, corruption, or accidental deletions. You can now experiment freely with your server settings or build ambitious projects, knowing that you can always restore your world to a safe point with just a few clicks.

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to our customer care agents through our live chat or email at [email protected].

Happy gaming!