A backup that lives only on the same server as the world it protects is not really a backup. Making one takes a click; making one that will still exist when you need it takes one more.
What to do
- Stop the server first, if you can
A backup taken while the world is being written can capture a chunk half-saved. If the server can be stopped for a minute, stop it. If it cannot, run
save-allin the console first and give it a moment to finish. - Create the backup in the panel
The backups section makes a snapshot of your server files. Name it after what you are about to do — «before 1.21 upgrade» beats «backup 3».
- Download it
This is the step that matters. A backup stored next to the server is gone in every scenario that takes the server with it: a bad upgrade you cannot undo, a plugin that wiped files, an unpaid invoice that reached day 7.
Your plan includes a fixed number of backup slots. When they are full, making a new one usually means removing an old one, and the one you remove might be the only copy of something. Download before you rotate.
Six backups called «backup» are six unknowns. A date plus a reason — 2026-09-06 before mod update — turns a panicked restore into a two-second decision.
The file is on your own computer and opens as an archive. A download that ends at 0 bytes or refuses to open is not a backup.