If your server was griefed or hacked, do not panic: stop the damage first, restore your world from a backup taken before it happened, then close the hole that let it in so it cannot happen again.
Step 1: stop the damage
Before you fix anything, stop it from getting worse.
- Open the Console tab and ban or kick whoever is responsible with ban PlayerName or kick PlayerName.
- Lock the server down by turning on the whitelist: type whitelist on so no new players can join.
- If damage is still spreading and you are not sure who is doing it, stop the server entirely from the Console tab and take a breath.
A stopped or whitelisted server cannot be griefed further, which buys you time to recover calmly.
Step 2: restore from Backups
This is what backups are for. On the Backups tab you can roll the whole server back to an earlier snapshot.
- Open the Backups tab and look at the timestamps.
- If you might want the griefed state as evidence, create a fresh snapshot of it first, because restoring overwrites the current files.
- Pick a backup from a time you know was clean, before the damage happened.
- Restore it and wait for the process to finish.
- Start the server and check the affected areas in-game.
If your most recent clean backup is older than you would like, this is the moment that teaches everyone why frequent snapshots matter.
Step 3: find how they got in
Recovering is only half the job. Work out the entry point so it does not happen again:
- Was there no whitelist, so anyone could join?
- Did a player have operator status or permissions they should not have had?
- Was your panel or game password weak, shared, or reused elsewhere?
- Did an outdated plugin or mod have a known exploit?
The Console log of joins and commands is your best clue for reconstructing what happened.
Step 4: close the hole
Fix whatever you found:
- Turn on and curate a whitelist so only trusted names can connect.
- Remove operator status from anyone who does not truly need it, and tighten permissions.
- Change your panel and billing passwords to something long and unique, especially if a login may have leaked.
- Update or remove any plugin or mod that was out of date.
If your panel account itself was hacked
If the break-in was through your account rather than in-game, change your password right away from a device you trust, then contact support through a ticket or Discord so the team can help you secure everything.
Set up backups going forward
Finally, use the Schedules tab to run automatic snapshots on a timer. With regular backups in place, the worst a future griefer can cost you is a few minutes of progress.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.