Rollback after a crash: what is lost
Why progress disappears after a server crash, how autosave works, what can be restored, and how to reduce losses.
Updated August 13, 2026
The server keeps world changes in memory and writes them to disk periodically. If it crashes, everything that hasn't been saved yet is lost.
How much is lost
By default, autosave runs every few minutes, so a typical loss is from a few seconds to a few minutes of gameplay. It feels like a “rollback”: broken blocks are back, mined resources are gone.
What is lost most often
| Data | Where it is stored |
|---|---|
| Blocks and builds | In world chunks: lost since the last save |
| Inventories | world/playerdata: saved on logout and autosave |
| Balances and permissions (MySQL) | In the database: usually not lost |
| Balances in files | Lost along with the plugin's last save |
This is one of the reasons to move plugins to MySQL: the database writes transactionally.
How to reduce losses
- Don't disable autosave — Autosave.
- Set up auto-restart: a proper shutdown saves everything.
- Find the cause of crashes — Server crashed, OutOfMemoryError.
- Keep backups.
Recovering what was lost
You can't do it selectively: the data simply isn't there. Compensating with items through the administration is common practice, but log the payouts, otherwise it becomes a source of duping — Dupes.
Frequent crashes
Regular rollbacks are a symptom. Look for the cause instead of getting used to compensation — Server frozen, Logs.
