Backup & Recovery

Backup Overview

Backup Type	Frequency	Location	Managed By
SMAPI Auto-Backup	Each save	/data/Stardew/save-backups	SMAPI
Docker Volumes	Persistent	Host filesystem	Docker
Manual Backups	On-demand	Your choice	You

SMAPI Automatic Backups

SMAPI creates compressed backups of your save files every time the game saves.

Viewing Backups

docker compose exec server ls -al /data/Stardew/save-backups

You'll see timestamped zip files like:

FarmName_123456789_2024-01-15_14-30-00.zip
FarmName_123456789_2024-01-14_20-15-30.zip
...

Restoring from SMAPI Backup

1. Move current save aside:

docker compose exec server bash -c "cd /config/xdg/config/StardewValley && mv Saves Saves_old && mkdir Saves"

2. List available backups:

docker compose exec server ls -al /data/Stardew/save-backups

3. Restore the desired backup:

docker compose exec server unzip /data/Stardew/save-backups/BACKUP_FILENAME.zip -d /config/xdg/config/StardewValley/Saves/

4. Verify and restart:

docker compose exec server ls -al /config/xdg/config/StardewValley/Saves
docker compose restart

Docker Volume Persistence

Your data lives in Docker volumes that persist across container restarts and updates:

Volume	Contents
server_saves	Save files
server_settings	Server configuration
server_game-data	Game files
server_steam-session	Steam tokens

Inspecting Volumes

# List volumes
docker volume ls

# Inspect a volume
docker volume inspect server_saves

Manual Backups

For maximum safety, create periodic manual backups.

Backup Saves Volume

Linux/macOS:

docker run --rm -v server_saves:/saves -v $(pwd):/backup ubuntu tar czf /backup/saves-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /saves

Windows PowerShell:

docker run --rm -v server_saves:/saves -v ${PWD}:/backup ubuntu tar czf /backup/saves-backup-$(Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd").tar.gz /saves

Backup All Volumes

Create a comprehensive backup:

# Stop server first
docker compose down

# Backup each volume
docker run --rm -v server_saves:/data -v $(pwd):/backup ubuntu tar czf /backup/saves-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /data
docker run --rm -v server_settings:/data -v $(pwd):/backup ubuntu tar czf /backup/settings-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /data

# Restart server
docker compose up -d

Restore from Manual Backup

# Stop server
docker compose down

# Remove old volume
docker volume rm server_saves

# Recreate volume
docker volume create server_saves

# Restore from backup
docker run --rm -v server_saves:/data -v $(pwd):/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /data && tar xzf /backup/saves-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz --strip-components=1"

# Restart
docker compose up -d

Backup Best Practices

Frequency

Situation	Recommended Frequency
Active development	Before any changes
Regular play	Daily
Stable server	Weekly
Before upgrades	Always

Storage

• Keep backups off the server (cloud storage, different machine)
• Maintain multiple generations (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Test restore procedures periodically
• Document your backup locations

Automation

Consider automating backups with cron (Linux) or Task Scheduler (Windows):

# Example cron entry (daily at 3 AM)
0 3 * * * /path/to/backup-script.sh

Importing Existing Saves

To bring an existing save to your server:

1. Stop the server:

docker compose down

2. Copy save folder into volume:

docker run --rm -v server_saves:/saves -v $(pwd):/backup ubuntu cp -r /backup/YourFarm_123456789 /saves/

3. Start server:

docker compose up -d

4. Verify in game:

Connect via VNC and check that your save appears.

Recovery Scenarios

Corrupted Save

1. Check SMAPI backups for recent clean save
2. Restore from backup as described above
3. If all backups corrupted, check manual backups

Accidental Deletion

1. Saves volume persists unless explicitly deleted
2. Restore from SMAPI or manual backup
3. Consider more frequent backups

Server Crash

1. Docker auto-restarts containers
2. Last save should be intact
3. Check logs for cause: docker compose logs

Failed Upgrade

1. Don't panic — volumes persist
2. Rollback server version if needed
3. Restore saves from pre-upgrade backup