How to Back Up and Wipe Your DayZ Server
Learn where DayZ stores world and player data, how to back it all up before a wipe, and how to do a full wipe, character-only wipe, or loot-only wipe.
Overview
Wipes are a regular part of running a DayZ community server — they reset the economy, fix persistence bugs, and give players a fresh start. Before any wipe, back up your data. After a major update, always back up first in case you need to roll back.
Where DayZ Stores Its Data
| Data Type | Location |
|---|---|
| World state (loot, vehicles, items) | mpmissions/[missionname]/storage_1/ |
| Player characters and inventories | profiles/players/ |
| Server logs | profiles/ (.ADM, .RPT, .log files) |
| Bans, admins, whitelist | profiles/ (ban.txt, admins.txt, whitelist.txt) |
Replace [missionname] with your actual mission folder name — for vanilla Chernarus it's dayzOffline.chernarusplus, for Livonia it's dayzOffline.enoch.
Always Stop the Server First
Never modify persistence files while the server is running. DayZ writes to these files continuously, and editing live files risks corruption. Stop the server, make your changes, then start it back up.
Backing Up Your Server
Before any wipe or major update, download these folders via the file manager:
mpmissions/[missionname]/storage_1/— world stateprofiles/players/— character dataprofiles/ban.txt,admins.txt,whitelist.txt— your moderation files
Zip them and store them somewhere safe. If DustBowl's automatic backup feature is configured, you may already have scheduled snapshots — but a manual pre-wipe backup is always a good idea.
Types of Wipes
Full Wipe (World + Characters)
Deletes everything: loot, vehicles, structures, and all player data.
- Stop the server.
- Delete all files inside
mpmissions/[missionname]/storage_1/. - Delete all files inside
profiles/players/. - Start the server. DayZ regenerates fresh persistence files on startup.
Character-Only Wipe
Resets all players to fresh spawns while keeping the world state (loot positions, vehicles, base structures).
- Stop the server.
- Delete all files inside
profiles/players/. - Start the server.
Loot/World-Only Wipe
Resets the world economy, despawns all placed items and vehicles, but keeps character data intact.
- Stop the server.
- Delete all files inside
mpmissions/[missionname]/storage_1/. - Start the server.
Communicating Wipes to Your Community
Wipes are a major event — give players advance notice (24–48 hours minimum). Many communities build hype around scheduled wipes: announce the date, what type of wipe it is, and any changes coming with the fresh server. Players take final screenshots, spend remaining gear, and get ready for the reset.