Backups
Create, delete, and schedule automatic snapshots of your server.
The Snapshots panel protects your server data with point-in-time snapshots. You can create manual snapshots, schedule automatic ones, search and delete existing snapshots, and download the current server folder as a zip.
Creating a snapshot
- Click Create snapshot in the toolbar
- Enter a short label for the snapshot (e.g. "before mod update") — this is required
- Click Create snapshot to confirm, or press Enter
Cliff creates a compressed archive of your server's files. The snapshot appears in the table with its creation timestamp, ID, label, and size.
Automatic snapshots
When auto snapshots are enabled, Cliff automatically creates a snapshot before risky actions such as adding or removing mods and datapacks. These are labeled with the action that triggered them.
Snapshots can be created while the server is running.
The snapshot table
Each row shows:
- Checkbox — Select the snapshot for bulk actions
- Created — Timestamp of when the snapshot was taken
- ID — The snapshot's identifier
- Reason — The label you (or Cliff) gave the snapshot
- Size — Compressed size on disk
Use the Search snapshots field to filter by label or ID.
Deleting snapshots
Deletion is done via bulk selection:
- Tick the checkbox next to each snapshot you want to remove (or use the column-header checkbox to select all filtered snapshots)
- The Delete selected action appears in the bulk action bar
- Click it and confirm the deletion
Warning
Deleting snapshots is permanent. There is no retention limit enforced by Cliff — snapshots accumulate until you delete them, so review the list periodically.
Downloading the current server folder
The Download server button in the toolbar downloads the current state of the server folder as a .zip file. This is useful for off-site backups or transferring a server to another machine.
- The server must be stopped before downloading — the button is disabled while the server is running.
- This downloads the live server folder, not a specific snapshot. To preserve a point-in-time state, create a snapshot first.
Snapshot settings
Click the Settings button in the toolbar to open the snapshot settings modal.
Auto snapshots
Toggle Auto snapshots to have Cliff automatically create a snapshot before mod or datapack add/remove operations. This gives you a one-click undo if an install or delete goes wrong.
Scheduled snapshots
Toggle Scheduled snapshots to have Cliff automatically create snapshots at a regular interval. When enabled, you can choose an interval:
- Preset intervals — Every 30 min, every hour, every 6 hours, every 12 hours, every day, or every week
- Custom interval — Enter a number and pick a unit (minutes, hours, or days)
The default interval is 6 hours. The modal also shows when the last scheduled snapshot was taken (or "No scheduled snapshot yet" if none has run).
Note
Scheduled snapshots continue to accumulate until you delete them. There is no automatic retention cleanup — periodically delete old snapshots to keep disk usage in check.