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How to Create a Backup of Your Ground Branch Server ​

A Ground Branch server does not store a game world. Everything that defines your server lives in its configuration: admins, bans, map list, voting rules and the mod list. Those are exactly the files a backup preserves.

No world save

Ground Branch is mission based — every round starts the map fresh. There is therefore no save game you could download or move to another server. Player progress, operators and loadouts are stored on the players' own PCs, not on the server.

When should you create a backup? ​

  • Before updating the server version
  • Before major changes to the configuration
  • Before adding or removing mods
  • Before changing admin, ban or voting settings
  • At regular intervals so you always have a safe state to return to

Create a backup ​

You can find the exact process for creating, managing and restoring a backup in the general guide: Create Backup.

Caution

Stop your server before creating or restoring a backup. A running server keeps writing to its files and may overwrite your changes when it shuts down.

Back up the configuration separately ​

If you only want to save the server settings, download the configuration folder via SFTP.

  1. Stop the server
    Stop your server via the dashboard.

  2. Connect via SFTP
    Connect to your server via SFTP.

  3. Download the folder
    Download the following folder completely to your PC:

    /GroundBranch/ServerConfig/
  4. Start the server
    Start your server again.

What is inside the configuration folder? ​

FileContents
Server.iniGeneral server settings
Admin.iniAdmins and admin groups — see Add Admin
Ban.iniDefault ban duration — see Kick & Ban Players
TeamKill.iniAutomatic bans for team kills
Vote.iniRules for player votes
MapList.iniMap list of the server
mods.txtMod list — see Add Mods
AdminSetupPassword.txtOne-time password for the first admin

Note

The ServerConfig folder and the files inside it are only created on the first server start. If you cannot find it, start your server once.

Tip

Lock important backups (e.g. before major changes) so they cannot be overwritten by automatic backups. Also download especially important backups to your PC in case your backup limit is reached.

Info

Automatic backups as well as restarts can be requested free of charge via a support ticket. The "Scheduled Tasks" feature is currently in development and will be released this year.