uniz.hostArchived servers on uniz.host — where the world went and how to get it back
Last updated October 1, 2026
A server left stopped long enough is archived automatically: the platform packs the whole disk into a single stored file and releases the disk. The threshold is 7 days stopped, or 1 day if the owner's account has never made a real top-up. A running server is never touched. An archived world can be restored free within 90 days after archiving (30 if you have never topped up); restoring once before then starts the clock over, and if nobody comes back in that time the server's data is deleted. The server header shows the state "Archived" with the stored size, and its power buttons are replaced by one button, "Restore & start". Pressing it recreates the disk, unpacks your world onto it and starts the server. Restoring is free, nothing is billed while a server sits archived because nothing is running, and the Files and Console tabs stay unavailable until it is back.
- Open the archived server's page
- Press restore and start
- Wait for the state to go from Restoring to Running
On this page · 8 sections
One day you open the server page and the start button is gone: the header reads "Archived" and offers a single button, "Restore & start". That is not a deletion yet, and it is not a fault. It is what happens to a server left stopped long enough. This guide covers why, what you can do meanwhile, and how to bring it back.
What archiving is
A running server has its own disk holding the world and every file on it. That disk is reserved for you alone whether the server is on or off.
Once a server has been stopped long enough, the platform packs everything on that disk into one file, stores it, and releases the disk for other work. The server's state becomes "Archived".
Archiving is not yet a deletion — the world is only moved. The state line in the server header shows you the size of the stored file. The storage has a limit, though: see the next section.
When it happens
| Account | Archived after being stopped for | Restorable free for (from the day it is archived) |
|---|---|---|
| has made a real top-up | 7 days | 90 days |
| has never made a real top-up | 1 day | 30 days |
The clock runs from when the server stopped, not from your last visit to the site.
The shorter threshold applies to accounts that have never made a real top-up, so disk comes back sooner. Coupon credit, referral credit and adjustments by our team do not count as a real top-up. Once a real top-up is made, your servers go back to the seven-day threshold.
Two things never happen:
- A running server is never touched, however long it has been up. Archiving only ever looks at servers that are already stopped.
- A backup in progress is never interrupted. If a backup or restore is under way, the server is skipped for that pass.
A server that is asleep counts as stopped. If nobody joins before the threshold, it is archived normally — which is the right outcome, because a server nobody plays on should not hold a disk indefinitely.
Bringing it back
Open the archived server's page
The server is still in your list as usual, with its state reading "Archived". On the Overview tab, the Running cost card reads "Not charged · restore free within 90 days after archiving (30 if the owner has never topped up); after that the data is deleted".
Press restore and start
In this state the usual start, stop and restart buttons in the server header are gone, replaced by a single button: "Restore & start". Pressing it opens a "Restore this server" window asking you to confirm, which also tells you whether the game address or port numbers will change. Once you confirm, the platform does two things in sequence — creates a fresh disk and unpacks your world back onto it, then starts the server.
Restoring is free. Charges resume only once the server is online, exactly as with an ordinary start.
Wait for the state to go from Restoring to Running
While it works the state reads "Restoring", with a note that the server starts by itself when done, and the restore cannot be started again. You can close the tab: the work runs on our side and does not depend on your browser.
How long it takes depends on the size of the world, and it is always longer than a plain start because the file has to be unpacked first. Games installed through Steam take longer still — the game's own files are deliberately excluded from the archive, since they can be downloaded again and storing them would bloat the file for nothing, so they are fetched again during the restore. Your saves and configuration always come from the archive.
What is available while archived
With no disk to touch, the screen closes off everything that needs one.
| What you want to do | While archived |
|---|---|
| Browse or edit files | no — it says file management is unavailable while the world is archived |
| Watch the console | no — nothing is running to produce logs |
| Take or restore a backup | no — restore the server first |
| Change size or machine (Settings tab, Size and machine group) | yes, and it applies immediately |
| Delete the server | yes |
Changing size is worth a note. Because the server is already archived, the change applies immediately with nothing to wait for, and the screen tells you your world is restored onto the new machine the next time you press Start. That is the cleanest way to move to another machine: let it archive, change the size, then restore.
Where the archive is kept
In our own storage, running inside the same cluster as your server — it is not shipped out to an external provider. The backups you take yourself live in the same system.
One consequence is worth knowing: deleting a server deletes its archive with it, because the archive belongs to that server rather than to your account. Archiving also replaces the server's automatic backups: once the archive is made, the archive itself is the copy of the world, and the automatic backups are deleted. Backups you made by hand or uploaded yourself stay. The archive and those backups are deleted once the deadline above passes. If you want to keep a world after you are done with the server, restore it first, then download a backup you took yourself to your own machine, or take a fresh one in the Backups tab and download that, and delete afterwards.
Archiving is not a backup
These two get confused more than anything else here, and the difference matters exactly when something has gone wrong.
| Archive | Backup | |
|---|---|---|
| Who triggers it | the platform, after a long stop | you, on a schedule or on demand |
| How many copies | one — the state it stopped in | as many as you configure |
| Can you rewind | no, only the latest state | yes, to a chosen date and time |
| What it is for | parking a server nobody is using | a broken, griefed, or regretted world |
Put simply: archiving stops an unused server from holding a disk. Backups stop you losing your work. If you want the ability to rewind, set that up yourself in the Backups tab.
Who can restore
Restoring is starting a server, so it needs the same power permission. Owners always have it; team members need it granted.
Read next
- Restore a backup — what archiving cannot do for you
- Auto-sleep — why the server stopped in the first place
- Credits and billing — when you are charged and when you are not
- Dashboard tour — every server state and what it means
Frequently asked questions
Is my world gone?
Not yet. Archiving moves where it is stored. The platform packs everything on the server's disk into a single file, keeps it in our storage, and releases the disk; the state line in the server header even shows you the size of that stored file. But the storage has a limit. A server left off for a long time is archived for you. You can restore it free within 90 days after archiving (30 if you have never topped up); restore it once before then and the clock starts over. We have to keep the space for people still playing, so a server nobody comes back to in that time is deleted. What is deleted is that server's world, files and backups; your account and your credit stay.
Does restoring cost anything?
No. Restoring is free, and nothing is billed while the server sits archived, because billing counts the time a server is actually running and an archived server runs nothing at all. Charges resume once the restore finishes and the server is online.
Why was my server archived after only a day?
Because the owner's account has never made a real top-up. Servers on those accounts are archived one day after being stopped rather than seven, to return disk sooner. Coupon credit, referral credit and adjustments made by our team do not count as a real top-up. The world is stored the same way and restoring is free the same way; what differs is the deadline, 30 days after archiving instead of 90. Once a real top-up is made, the seven-day and 90-day thresholds apply again.
How long does a restore take?
It depends on the size of the world, and it is always longer than an ordinary start, because a disk has to be created and the file unpacked onto it first. Games installed through Steam take longer still, because the game's own files are deliberately left out of the archive — they can simply be downloaded again, and storing them would bloat the file for nothing — so they are fetched again during the restore. Your saves and configuration always come from the archive.
What can I do while a server is archived?
Deliberately very little, because there is no disk to touch. The Files tab says file management is unavailable while the world is archived, the console has no logs to show, and the usual power buttons are replaced by a single restore button. What you can still do is change the size or the machine, in the Size and machine group on the Settings tab, which applies immediately and is used by the next restore.
How is archiving different from a backup?
They solve different problems. Archiving is about *storage*: the platform does it for you when a server has been stopped a while, there is exactly one copy — the state it was in when it stopped — and it has one destination, back to the same server. A backup is about *time*: you choose how many to keep, when they are taken, and which point you go back to. If you want the ability to rewind, you have to set up backups; archiving does not give you that.
Related guides
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