Back Up, Migrate or Wipe a DayZ Server

Create a complete DayZ backup

Schedule downtime, let players disconnect, and use a graceful shutdown. Wait until DayZServer or DayZServer_x64.exe exits. Archive:

• the active mission under mpmissions;
• profiles and its logs;
• mission persistence, normally under storage associated with the instance;
• any custom root selected through -storage;
• serverDZ.cfg, BattlEye, keys and mod lists;
• launch and update scripts.

Record build, branch, terrain, instanceId, ports and mod order. Open the archive to verify it and store it off the host. An untested backup remains an assumption.

Migrate without creating a fresh world

Install the same build on the destination and start it once with a temporary config. Stop it, restore under the service account, then reproduce mission, instanceId, -profiles, -storage and launch parameters. Reinstall identical mods, keys and dependencies before the first world load.

Do not change terrain, major version and mod list during the move. If a fresh persistence directory appears, stop immediately and compare mission, instance ID and storage path before letting players join.

Perform a deliberate controlled wipe

Define what “wipe” means: characters only, economy and persistence, or a complete new mission. There is no universal deletion path for every terrain and panel. Back up, stop, then move or delete only the documented persistence directory for the active mission. Do not remove mission templates, serverDZ.cfg, keys or mods unless those should be rebuilt too.

On restart, verify that the mission generates clean persistence. Join with a test account, inspect spawn and economy, restart again, and tell players precisely what was reset.

Validation and rollback

Before reopening, test startup, correct map, vanilla/modded joins, character, loot, structures, restart and persistence. Keep the old server or archive untouched until the community validates the move.

If the terrain is correct but characters or bases are missing, stop play, preserve logs and restore a consistent set. For import, export and snapshots, compare DayZ hosts. The serverDZ.cfg guide helps reproduce mission and instance settings.