Schedule automatic restarts to keep ARK stable

ARK slowly uses more memory the longer it runs, so setting up an automatic restart every 6 to 12 hours on the Scheduled tasks page keeps your server fast and stable, and saving the world first means nobody loses progress.

2 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Why restart on a schedule

ARK gradually uses more memory the longer it stays up, which shows as lag, rubber-banding and eventually crashes. A clean restart clears that memory and gets performance back to normal. It also lets mod and game updates apply cleanly.

Always save before you restart

Run saveworld before the server goes down so no recent progress is lost. ARK autosaves on a timer, but forcing a save right before a restart is the safest habit. It is also polite to warn players first with a broadcast message.

Set it up on the Scheduled tasks page

1. Open your server at customer.guavahost.com and choose Scheduled tasks in the server menu.
2. Click New schedule (or Build your own if you have no schedules yet) and give it a Name, for example "Nightly restart".
3. Under How often, pick Daily and set At what time, for example 5:00. For every 6 hours instead, pick Custom and enter 0 in Minute and */6 in Hour. A repeating pattern like that runs on the server's clock (UTC), and the page tells you so.
4. Leave Skip if the server is offline ticked, and under What should it do? choose Send a command to the console with the command broadcast Server restarting in 5 minutes. Click Create schedule.
5. Click Add a step, choose Command, enter saveworld and set Wait before this step to 5 minutes so players get their full warning. Click Add step.
6. Click Add a step again, choose Power and Restart the server, then Add step.

Steps run in order, top to bottom. If you want more than one warning, add another Command step with a shorter wait before the save.

How often should you restart

• Small or vanilla server: every 12 hours, or once a day.
• Busy or modded server: every 6 hours.
• ASA especially benefits from frequent restarts because it uses so much more memory than ASE.

Pick quieter hours where you can, so a restart interrupts as few players as possible.

What a restart will not fix

A restart clears memory, but it will not fix a server that is simply short on RAM to begin with. If your ARK server starts struggling within an hour or two of every restart, that is a sign it needs more memory rather than more restarts. You can upgrade any time from Manage plan in the server menu, and billing is prorated. Restarts and enough RAM together are what keep ARK stable.

Pair it with scheduled backups

While you are on the Scheduled tasks page, add a second schedule whose first step is Take a backup, and untick Skip if the server is offline so it runs either way. Backups can run while the server is live, so you always have a recent restore point if a wild creature reset or a bad mod update goes wrong.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

• ark
• restarts
• schedules
• stability
• performance

Host an ARK: Survival Ascended server From $17.99/mo, with instant setup and DDoS protection.

Still need help? Our team is online 24/7 to answer questions.

Contact support