InstantBackup vs Minecraft Backup

InstantBackup is a free Minecraft Java dedicated-server mod for incremental world backups. It uses XXHash64 to detect changes and saves only new or modified files. Identical content is shared between backup versions, and blobs are compressed with ZSTD by a dedicated thread pool. Backups can be run manually, scheduled, or managed through an offline command-line interface after the server shuts down. In-game commands create, list, export, delete, and configure backups; every such command requires OP level 2. Scheduling supports intervals, checks whether players are online, and can exclude Carpet fake players. The mod supports Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge for listed Minecraft versions from 1.18.2 through 1.21.11. The default retention cap is 30 versions, while a setting of zero means unlimited. There is no one-click in-game restore: the recommended route exports a ZIP, stops the server, replaces the world directory, and restarts it. The project is licensed under GPL version 3.0 or later, and its listed 1.0.0-beta release is a pre-release.

Minecraft Backup is a Linux script for backing up Minecraft server world folders. It can create tar archives or use the restic backend, and connects to servers managed with screen or tmux, as well as servers with RCON or Docker RCON enabled. The script works with vanilla servers and does not require plugins. Backups can be scheduled with cron; the README includes an hourly example. For older backups, users can choose no deletion, sequential deletion of the oldest backup, or thin retention. Thin retention keeps the last 24 hourly and 30 daily backups, then uses available space for weekly backups. Backups are stored locally, and restoration uses tar extraction for tar files or restic restore for restic backups. The script can post backup status messages in Minecraft chat. It requires tar and a compression program such as the default gzip; RCON also requires xxd. Player data can become out of sync with world data during backups, potentially duplicating or losing items. RCON is recommended because it waits for the server to confirm saving is complete. The README also warns that Minecraft bug MC-217729 can cause a backup to fail.