Restore a world from a backup

A recent backup lets you recover a world damaged by a crash, a bad command, or an unwanted change. The restore takes a few minutes through the panel’s file manager.

Cause / The problem

The world folder (or its Nether/End counterparts) is corrupted, accidentally deleted, or overwritten by a mistake. Without a backup, player progress is lost.

Solution

1. Stop the server. Never restore a world while the server is running: in-memory chunks would be written back and corrupt the restore. Use the Stop button in the panel.
2. Locate the backup. Panel’s Backups tab, or a backups/ folder reachable from the file manager. Worlds are stored there as compressed archives (.zip or .tar.gz).
3. Rename the current folder to keep it as a safety net:

   mv world world.broken

4. Extract the backup to the server root. The folder regains its original name (world). For extra worlds (Bukkit/Paper multi-world setups), also restore world_nether, world_the_end, and any custom world declared in bukkit.yml / server.properties.
5. Check permissions. Files must be owned by the server user (usually container or minecraft):

   chown -R container:container world

6. Start the server. Check the console for any Failed to load region file error, then log in to verify the world’s state.

Always keep at least two backups: the panel’s automatic one and a manual copy downloaded locally.