McDis-RCON includes a comprehensive backup system that allows you to create and restore complete server backups directly through Discord, ensuring your server data is always protected.
Overview The backup system creates compressed ZIP archives of your entire server directory, making it easy to:
Protect against data loss
Roll back after failed updates
Test changes safely
Migrate servers
Maintain version history
Configuration Configure backup retention in md_config.yml:
### Description : Number of backups that McDis will save. ### Valid Values : [1, 5] (inclusive) ### Default Value : 3 Backups : 3
This setting controls how many backup versions are kept per process.
When you create a new backup and reach the limit, the oldest backup is automatically deleted to make room.
Backup Storage Structure Backups are stored in the .mdbackups directory:
McDis/ └── .mdbackups/ ├── my_server/ │ ├── my_server 1.zip (newest) │ ├── my_server 2.zip │ └── my_server 3.zip (oldest) ├── creative_server/ │ ├── creative_server 1.zip │ └── creative_server 2.zip └── velocity_proxy/ └── velocity_proxy 1.zip
Each process has its own subfolder in .mdbackups.
Creating Backups
Access File Manager
Click the Files button in the Discord panel.
Navigate to Backups
Use the dropdown to navigate to: McDis → .mdbackups → <your_server_name>
Ensure Server is Stopped
The backup system requires the process to be stopped before creating a backup. If the server is running, you’ll see: ✖ The process must be stopped to create a backup.
Stop your server first:
Create Backup
Select “Create new backup” from the dropdown.
Wait for Completion
McDis will compress the entire server directory. Progress may be shown for large servers. The backup is saved as <server_name> 1.zip.
Never create backups while the server is running! This can result in:
Corrupted world files
Incomplete data
Inconsistent state
Unusable backups
Backup Process Details When creating a backup, McDis-RCON:
def make_bkp(self, *, counter: list = None): if self.is_running(): return os.makedirs(self.path_bkps, exist_ok = True) bkp_path = os.path.join(self.path_bkps, f'{self.name} 1.zip') pattern = os.path.join(self.path_bkps, f'{self.name} [1-{self.client.config["Backups"]}].zip') bkps = glob.glob(pattern) sorted_bkps = sorted(bkps, key = os.path.getmtime, reverse = True) # Delete excess backups for i in range(self.client.config['Backups'] - 1, len(sorted_bkps)): os.remove(sorted_bkps.pop(i)) sorted_bkps.reverse() # Rename existing backups (increment numbers) for bkp in sorted_bkps: new_index = (len(sorted_bkps) + 1) - sorted_bkps.index(bkp) new_name = os.path.join(self.path_bkps, f"{self.name} {new_index}.zip") os.rename(bkp, new_name) # Create backup log log_filename = 'backup_log.txt' log_path = os.path.join(self.path_files, log_filename) log_content = f'Backup created on: {datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")}\n' with open(log_path, 'w') as log_file: log_file.write(log_content) # Create ZIP archive make_zip(self.path_files, bkp_path, counter) os.remove(log_path)
Steps:
Verify process is stopped
Find existing backups
Delete backups exceeding configured limit
Rename existing backups (1→2, 2→3, etc.)
Create timestamp log
Compress server directory to ZIP
Remove timestamp log
A temporary backup_log.txt file is created during backup to record the exact time the backup was made. This file is included in the ZIP but removed from the live server.
Restoring Backups Restoring a backup is DESTRUCTIVE! It will:
Delete ALL current files in the server directory
Extract the backup in their place
This action CANNOT be undone
Create a backup of your current state before restoring an old backup!
Create Current Backup
Before restoring, create a backup of your current state: McDis/.mdbackups/<server_name> → Create new backup
This gives you a way to revert if the restoration goes wrong.
Stop the Server
Ensure the server is completely stopped:
Navigate to Backups
Go to McDis/.mdbackups/<server_name>
Select Backup
Choose the backup version you want to restore from the dropdown:
<server> 1.zip - Most recent<server> 2.zip - Second most recentetc.
Confirm Restoration
McDis will ask for confirmation. Confirm you want to proceed.
Wait for Extraction
The backup will be extracted to the server directory. This may take a while for large backups.
Start Server
Once extraction is complete, start your server: Restoration Process def unpack_bkp(self, backup, *, counter: list = None): shutil.rmtree(self.path_files) os.makedirs(self.path_files, exist_ok = True) source = os.path.join(self.path_bkps, backup) unpack_zip(source, self.path_files, counter)
Steps:
Delete entire server directory
Create empty server directory
Extract backup ZIP to server directory
Restoration complete
Backup Rotation McDis-RCON uses a simple rotation system:
Example with Backups: 3 Initial state: After 1st backup: After 2nd backup: server 1.zip (newest) server 2.zip (older)
After 3rd backup: server 1.zip (newest) server 2.zip (middle) server 3.zip (oldest)
After 4th backup: server 1.zip (newest) ← new backup server 2.zip (middle) ← was server 1 server 3.zip (oldest) ← was server 2 ← old server 3 deleted
Backups are numbered from 1 (newest) to configured limit (oldest). When the limit is reached, the oldest backup is deleted automatically.
Backup Best Practices
Schedule Regular Backups Create backups on a regular schedule (daily, weekly) depending on server activity.
Before Major Changes Always backup before:
Server updates
Plugin installations
World edits
Configuration changes
Test Restorations Periodically test restoring backups to ensure they’re valid and complete.
External Backups Download important backups to external storage (cloud, NAS) for disaster recovery.
Backup Size Considerations Typical Backup Sizes
Vanilla server (new world) : 50-100 MBVanilla server (established) : 200-500 MBModded server : 500 MB - 2 GB+Long-running server : 1-5 GB+
Backup size depends on:
World size (explored chunks)
Number of plugins/mods
Player data
Log files
Custom resourcepacks
Reducing Backup Size To reduce backup sizes:
Clean up logs before backup: # In file manager terminal rm McDis/my_server/logs/ * .log.gz
Remove old world backups: rm -rf McDis/my_server/world_backup_ *
Exclude crash reports: rm -rf McDis/my_server/crash-reports/ *
Increase backup retention interval (fewer backups kept)Backups : 2 # Instead of 3 or more
Backup Automation While McDis-RCON doesn’t have built-in scheduled backups, you can automate them using plugins:
Example Backup Plugin # McDis/my_server/.mdplugins/auto_backup.py import asyncio from datetime import datetime class mdplugin : def __init__ ( self , process ): self .process = process self .backup_interval = 86400 # 24 hours in seconds asyncio.create_task( self .backup_scheduler()) async def backup_scheduler ( self ): while True : await asyncio.sleep( self .backup_interval) if self .process.is_running(): # Stop server self .process.stop() # Wait for shutdown while self .process.is_running(): await asyncio.sleep( 1 ) # Create backup self .process.make_bkp() # Restart server self .process.start()
Downloading Backups To download backups to your local machine:
Small Backups (< 5MB)
Navigate to Backup
McDis/.mdbackups/<server>/<server> 1.zip
Click Request
The ZIP file is attached to a Discord message
Download
Click the attachment to download
Large Backups (> 5MB)
Enable Flask Server
Configure and enable Flask in md_config.yml and Tools → Flask
Request Backup
Click Request on the backup file
Get Download Link
A download link is generated and sent in Discord
Download via Browser
Click the link to download through the Flask server
Configure Flask links as “Single Use” and “Temporary” for security when downloading sensitive backups.
Uploading Backups To upload a backup created elsewhere:
Enable Uploader
Tools → Uploader → Set path to .mdbackups/<server>
Upload ZIP
Drag your backup ZIP file into the Discord panel channel
Verify Upload
Check the .mdbackups/<server> folder to confirm the file was uploaded
Rename if Needed
Use Edit to rename to match the naming scheme (<server> 1.zip)
Troubleshooting
Possible causes:
Server is still running
Insufficient disk space
Permission errors
Path too long (Windows)
Solutions:
Ensure server is fully stopped
Check disk space: df -h (Linux) or File Explorer (Windows)
Verify write permissions on .mdbackups/
Shorten server name or move McDis to shorter path
Possible causes:
Corrupted backup file
Insufficient disk space
Permission errors
Server is running
Solutions:
Try a different backup version
Free up disk space
Check permissions
Ensure server is stopped
Possible causes:
Large world size
Many mods/plugins
Lots of player data
Log files included
Solutions:
Clean up logs before backup
Remove old crash reports
Prune world chunks
Consider reducing Backups setting
Solution:
Navigate to .mdbackups in the file manager. This folder is hidden in some file browsers due to the leading dot.The folder structure is: McDis/.mdbackups/<process_name>/
Advanced: Manual Backup Management You can also manage backups manually via file manager terminal or SSH:
Create Manual Backup # Linux cd /path/to/mcdis zip -r ".mdbackups/my_server/my_server 1.zip" my_server/
List Backups ls -lh .mdbackups/my_server/
# DANGER: This deletes current files! rm -rf my_server/ mkdir my_server unzip ".mdbackups/my_server/my_server 1.zip" -d my_server/
Manual backup management bypasses McDis-RCON’s safety checks. Use with caution!
Backup vs. Version Control For configuration files and plugin code, consider using Git:
cd /path/to/mcdis/my_server git init git add config/ git add plugins/ git commit -m "Initial config"
Combine McDis-RCON backups (for full server state) with Git (for configuration tracking) for comprehensive protection.
File Manager Navigate and manage server files
Process Control Stop servers before creating backups
Configuration Configure backup retention policy
Discord Panel Access backup tools through the panel
