Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore

Only Administrators can create or restore PalCenter backups.

What a backup contains

A current PalCenter backup includes:

• Configured Palworld servers and Administrator passwords
• Notification providers and credentials
• Historical metrics, events, and active-player tracking
• Users, roles, and password hashes
• Internal system configuration and session-signing secret
• Backup metadata, including format, PalCenter version, and creation time

The result is a single file named similar to:

palcenter-backup-2026-07-24.tar.gz

Backups contain sensitive information. Store them in encrypted, access-controlled storage.

Create a backup

1. Sign in as an Administrator.
2. Open Backup & Restore.
3. Review the current data availability.
4. Select Create and Download Backup.
5. Store the downloaded archive safely.

PalCenter briefly pauses data services while creating a consistent archive.

Restore a backup

1. Create and download a backup of the current installation first.
2. Under Restore a backup, select a .tar.gz archive created by PalCenter.
3. Select Restore Backup.
4. Read the replacement warning.
5. Select Confirm Restore.

PalCenter validates the archive, required files, databases, users, and system configuration before replacing any data. If replacement or reopening fails, PalCenter attempts to recover the previous data.

Important restore warnings

A restore replaces current server connections, notifications, history, users, roles, login credentials, and system configuration with the backup contents. Because the session-signing secret may change, users may need to sign in again.

Do not edit or repack a PalCenter archive. Invalid or incomplete uploads are rejected before they can replace application data.

Cold volume backups

You may also stop the container and back up the complete /app/data volume. Never copy only a live SQLite file while PalCenter is running.