Managing game server and bot files

The Files tab is your server's file manager, right in the browser. Use it to upload a plugin, edit configuration, download a log or delete an old world. This guide shows what it can do, where its limits are and how to edit configuration so your changes don't get lost.

The Files tab#

In the customer area, open My services, click the server and go to the Files tab. You'll see the contents of the server folder: the root / is the server's main folder.

You can also drag files from your computer into the list.

Typical files and folders:

Uploading files#

1. Go to the folder where you want to upload the files (for example plugins).

2. Click Upload and choose the files, or drag them into the list.

   You'll see the progress as Uploading … — … %.

3. If a file with the same name already exists, confirm or decline overwriting it.

Changes to plugins, mods and most configuration take effect only after a server restart (Console tab › Restart).

Limits#

While Minecraft software is being changed or a modpack is being installed, uploading isn't possible (A software change or modpack install is running on this server.). Wait for it to finish.

Larger files over SFTP#

The Network tab shows the SFTP address in the form sftp://…. For now, we hand out SFTP login details through support: send us the service ID (contacts). Then connect with any SFTP client (FileZilla, WinSCP, Cyberduck) and upload without the 100 MB limit.

Editing a file in the editor#

1. Click the file name. The editor opens.

2. Make your changes.

3. Save with Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on a Mac) or the Save button.

   You'll see Saved.

4. Close the editor with the Close button. If you have unsaved changes, the editor asks whether you really want to close it.

The editor keeps the file's line endings (Windows or Linux), so it won't break your files.

Editing configuration safely#

A running server keeps its configuration loaded in memory and overwrites some files when it stops or starts. So do it like this:

1. In the Console tab, click Stop and wait until the server is stopped.
2. First download the file you're about to edit (Download), or make a backup. If something goes wrong, you have something to go back to.
3. Edit and save the file.
4. Start the server with the Start button and watch the console for errors while it loads.

YAML rules (.yml, .yaml)#

Most Minecraft plugin configurations use the YAML format. One indentation mistake and the plugin won't load its configuration.

# Comments start with a hash sign
nastaveni:
  zapnuto: true
  zprava: "Welcome to the server: have fun"
  seznam:
    - prvni
    - druhy

• Indent with spaces, never tabs. Usually two spaces per level.
• There must be a space after the colon that follows a key (zapnuto: true).
• Put text with special characters (:, #, &, {) in quotes.
• List items start with a hyphen and a space.

JSON rules (.json)#

JSON is used, for example, by Discord bots and Rust plugins.

{
  "prefix": "!",
  "povoleneKanaly": ["obecne", "boti"],
  "debug": false
}

• Keys and text values go in double quotes.
• There must be no comma after the last item.
• JSON doesn't support comments.

Before saving a file, you can check it in any YAML or JSON validator. Don't paste configuration containing passwords and tokens into online tools, though.

Verification#

• The uploaded file shows up in the folder listing with the right size.
• After restarting the server, the console shows no loading errors (for a plugin, for example, its name appears in the output of plugins).

Troubleshooting#

The file is larger than 100 MB — upload it with an SFTP client (e.g. FileZilla).#

The file exceeds the browser upload limit. Ask us for SFTP access, or split the file up (for example a world without the dimensions you don't need).

The file was downloaded instead of opened#

It's binary or larger than 1 MB (The file is too large to edit in the browser (max 1 MB) — download it instead.). Edit it on your computer and upload it back.

I uploaded a .zip, but the server doesn't use it#

The customer area doesn't extract archives. Delete the archive, extract it on your computer and upload the contents. Watch out for a doubled folder (resource-main/resource-main/…): upload the folder that contains the actual files.

My change was lost after a restart#

The most common causes:

• You edited the file while the server was running, and the server overwrote it with its own version from memory when it stopped. Follow the “Editing configuration safely” section.
• The plugin saves its configuration itself when the server stops. Edit it only while the server is stopped, or use the plugin's reload command.
• The value is set by the customer area. For Minecraft, part of the settings is managed by the Server properties tab (server-ip and server-port are locked) and startup by the Startup tab; for other games, by Settings › Variables.
• You edited a different file, for example a copy in another folder. Check the path at the top.

A plugin or bot reports a configuration error#

Look for the error line in the console; it usually gives the line number in the file. Most often it's a tab or wrong indentation in YAML, or a missing quote or extra comma in JSON. Go back to the original you downloaded, or restore a backup.