How to Back Up and Update a RimWorld Together Server Safely

A RimWorld Together server already backs itself up: by default it zips the Assets, Configs and Logs folders into Backups/Servers every hour and keeps the newest 6. To update safely, run backup in the console, stop the server, copy the whole folder somewhere else, replace the server files with the new release while keeping Assets and Configs, then start it and have every player update the mod to the same version. To roll back, stop the server and unzip a backup over the server folder.

What does the server actually store?

Everything that makes your shared planet lives in two folders next to the GameServer executable:

Lose Assets and the planet is gone. Lose Configs and the server forgets its mod rules and settings. Everything else can be downloaded again.

How do automatic backups work?

The settings are in BackupConfig.json inside Configs:

{
  "AutomaticBackups": true,
  "IntervalHours": 1,
  "AutomaticDeletion": true,
  "Amount": 6
}

With the defaults you only ever have the last six hours. That is fine for a crash, but not for "someone raided my colony on Saturday and we noticed on Monday". For an active community, a gentler setup is IntervalHours 6 and Amount 28, which covers about a week. Each backup is a zip of the whole planet, so watch disk use if your world is large.

The timer starts from when the server starts, so a server that restarts every few hours may rarely reach its first automatic backup. Make manual ones before anything risky.

Which backup commands should I know?

Type these in the server console:

Full backups are named by date and time, like Server_2026-10-7_20-15-3, so you can tell them apart.

backupuser is worth running before you touch one player's data, for example before resetplayer. A user backup is overwritten the next time you back up the same player, so download it if you need to keep it.

How do I update to a new RimWorld Together release?

New releases come out often, and the server must match the version players have, so you will do this a lot. Release notes sometimes warn that saves may not carry over, so always read them first on the GitHub releases page.

1. Tell your players the server is going down, and ask them to save and quit.
2. Run backup in the console and wait for the [Server backup] line.
3. Stop the server.
4. Copy the whole server folder somewhere safe, or at least Assets and Configs. This is your real safety net, outside the server's own Backups folder.
5. Download the new server zip for your system, such as Server-linux-x64.zip or Server-win-x64.zip.
6. Unzip it over the old files. Keep Assets, Configs and Backups.
7. Start the server and check getversion.
8. Have every player update the mod. Steam usually does this on its own for the Workshop version, and players can check the version at the top left of the main menu.
9. Join with a non admin account to make sure normal players get in.

Since the 26.8.16.1 release, the server's settings are split across several files in Configs instead of one. After a big update, look through Configs for new files or keys before you assume a setting is missing. The 26.8.31.1 notes also ask community servers to fill in SteamWorkshopURL in ServerConfig.json, which matters more now that automatic mod download is rolling out.

If a release breaks something, the newest versions are not the only option. Older server builds stay on the releases page, so you can go back to the previous one as long as players do the same.

How do I restore a backup?

1. Stop the server.
2. Move the current Assets and Configs folders aside rather than deleting them, in case you picked the wrong backup.
3. Unzip the backup from Backups/Servers into the server folder. Its paths are relative to the server folder, so Assets and Configs land where they belong.
4. Start the server and check that settlements and accounts are there.

Restoring rolls the planet and every stored colony back for everyone. Tell players that progress after the backup time may not match the planet, and decide together before you restore.

For one player, unzip their file from Backups/Users instead, with the server stopped. It contains only their account, save, settlements and sites.

How do I reset a player or the whole server?

• resetplayer Name wipes one player's colony so they can start again on the planet. Run backupuser Name first.
• resetserver makes a full backup, then deletes Assets and Configs and shuts the server down. The next start is a fresh server with default settings, and the first player to join creates a new planet.

Because resetserver deletes Configs too, copy out ModConfig.json, ServerConfig.json and anything else you tuned before running it, and put them back before the first player joins. Remember that the first player creates the planet with their mods, so they should be running the final mod list.

Backups and updates on a hosted server

On a RimWorld Together server from GamezServers, you get a second layer on top of the mod's own backups: one click backups from the panel that are stored off the server, and automatic ones before game updates. Restoring is a button in Settings, so a bad update is a few clicks to undo. The Version setting picks the RimWorld Together release, either latest or a specific tag such as 26.10.4.1, so you can line the server up with your players. Take a panel backup before you change it. BackupConfig.json and the rest of Configs are in the browser file manager, and SFTP is there for downloading big backups. If players still cannot get in after an update, our connection fixes for RimWorld Together list every rejection reason, and the general guide to restoring a game server backup covers the panel side.

FAQ

Where are RimWorld Together backups stored?

In the Backups folder next to the server executable: Backups/Servers for full backups and Backups/Users for single player backups.

How often does RimWorld Together back up?

Every hour by default, keeping the newest 6. Change IntervalHours and Amount in BackupConfig.json.

Will updating the server wipe our planet?

Not if you keep the Assets and Configs folders. Some releases warn that older saves may not be fully compatible, so back up first and read the release notes.

Does resetserver delete my settings?

Yes. It backs up first, then deletes both Assets and Configs. Copy your config files out before running it.

Can I go back to an older RimWorld Together version?

Yes. Older server builds stay on the GitHub releases page. Every player needs the matching mod version.