Restore a Game Server Backup on GlassHosting

When the experiment went wrong

You stopped, took a named backup, changed a mod or config, and the server will not boot cleanly. Or it boots, but the world is wrong. That is exactly why the backup existed. This guide is the restore half of the MSP habit in Stop, Backup, Edit, Start.

It applies across Glass Gaming titles on the panel: Minecraft, Valheim, Enshrouded, BeamMP, Vintage Story, Windrose, Palworld, Rust, Hytale, and the rest. Panel path is the same; only the console errors look different.

New to the panel? Start with the game panel beginner guide. Still deciding how to edit files next time? Use Panel File Manager and SFTP.

1. Quiet window, then Stop

Do not restore while friends are still online. A restore replaces files under the service. Live players writing the world at the same time is how you get half-new, half-old saves.

Tell the group the server is going down for a restore.
Open the game service in panel.glasshosting.com.
Click Stop and wait for a clean stopped state in the console.

If Stop never finishes cleanly, do not force a restore on top of a still-writing process. Open a billing ticket with the console lines before you overwrite anything.

2. Pick the named backup by label

Open the service Backups view and find the backup you took before the bad change. Prefer the label you wrote at backup time over “the newest automatic one.”

Match the label to the experiment: pre-mod, pre-config, pre-world-upload.
If you only have a workstation download from File Manager or SFTP, that is your restore source instead. See step 4.
“There was probably an auto backup” is not a plan. Named backups are how you pick the right rollback.

Why we push named backups before mods: Backups before installing mods.

3. Restore from the panel

With the server Stopped, choose the named backup.
Run Restore (wording in the panel may say Restore or similar).
Wait until the restore job finishes. Do not Start while it is still unpacking files.
When the job reports complete, click Start once.
Watch the console until ready, or until a clear error appears.

One Start. Read the console. Do not rapid-restart in a panic loop that interrupts saves again.

4. If your only copy is a download

Sometimes the safety copy lives on your laptop: a zip of the world folder, a configs tree, or a full service download you pulled before the edit.

Keep the server Stopped.
Prefer rename the broken folder (for example world → world-bad-2026-09-30) instead of deleting it first.
Upload the known-good folder via File Manager (small) or SFTP (large), then Start once and smoke-test.

Full File Manager vs SFTP detail: Panel File Manager and SFTP for Game Servers. Minecraft world uploads: Upload your Minecraft world.

5. Smoke-test before you invite everyone

Confirm the console looks healthy.
Have one trusted friend join with the panel IP and port (how friends join with IP:port).
Check that the world, mods, and settings match the pre-break state you expected.
Only then tell the rest of the group it is safe.

If join works but content is still wrong, you may have restored the wrong label. Stop again and pick the earlier named backup, or restore the renamed-on-disk folder you kept.

When to ticket instead of retrying

Restore finishes but the service still will not boot, and the console error is unclear.
You are not sure which backup is the last known-good and a wrong pick would destroy newer progress you still need.
Stop never reaches a clean stopped state and you need help protecting a live world.

Ticket from billing.glasshosting.com. Include the named backup label, what changed before the break, and the console lines. Skim the billing knowledgebase for related how-tos already published.

Quick checklist

Players out; quiet window agreed
Server Stopped cleanly
Named backup (or downloaded copy) identified by label
Restore finished before Start
Start once → console clean → one-friend join smoke-test
Ticket when Stop, restore, or console errors are beyond self-serve

Related guides

MSP note

GlassHosting treats restores like store rollbacks: stop, pick the labeled backup, restore, start, smoke-test. Order or manage plans at billing.glasshosting.com; operate day-to-day at panel.glasshosting.com. Glass Gaming, powered by GlassHosting.