How to schedule automatic restarts and backups on your Minecraft server

A schedule runs tasks on its own at a time you choose. Two schedules make almost any server easier to run: a daily restart and a daily backup.

Create a daily restart

1. Open your server in the panel and go to Schedules.
2. Create a new schedule and name it, like Daily restart.
3. Set when it runs. Pick a quiet hour when nobody plays, like 5 in the morning, every day.
4. Add a task: restart the server.
5. Save. It now runs every day by itself.

Check the time zone shown on the schedule, so 5 in the morning really is 5 in the morning for you.

Warn players first

Nobody likes being kicked in the middle of a fight. Add a task before the restart that sends a console command, then give the restart a short delay:

1. Task 1: send command say Server restarts in 5 minutes!
2. Task 2: restart, with a delay of 5 minutes (300 seconds) after task 1.

Create an automatic backup

Make a second schedule, like Nightly backup, set it a little before the restart (for example 4:30), and add the task create backup.

Backups use storage space. If your backup list fills up, delete the oldest ones from the Backups page every now and then. See How to back up your server.

Why restart every day?

A restart clears memory, unloads chunks nobody is using and fixes small glitches that build up over time. Servers with mods or many players especially run smoother with a daily restart. See How to reduce lag.

Pause or delete a schedule

Open the schedule to turn it off for a while, change the time or delete it. Turning a schedule off doesn't delete its tasks.