Set your game server to restart itself every few hours with a Scheduled Restart task in the GTX game panel. It takes about five minutes, keeps most games running smoothly and also triggers your automatic backups.
Why restart automatically?
Most game servers slowly use more memory the longer they run, which shows up as lag, rubber-banding or crashes after a day or two. A regular restart clears that out before your players notice. Automatic backups also run alongside restarts, so a daily restart keeps your backups fresh too.
How to set up automatic restarts
- Log in to the game panel and open your server.
- Press Scheduled Tasks and create a new task.
- Choose Scheduled Restart and give the task a name you'll recognise, for example 6 Hour Restart.
- Select the date/hour of the next restart (see server time below).
- Set Recur Every to 1 Days.
- Tick Repeat task, set Repeat Every to 6 Hours and For to 24 Hours.
- Save the task.
That's it: your server now restarts four times a day, every day.
Popular restart schedules
| Restart every | Restarts a day | Good for |
| 4 hours | 6 | Busy or heavily modded servers that build up lag quickly |
| 6 hours | 4 | Most servers: a good balance between uptime and performance |
| 12 hours | 2 | Small groups and lightly modded servers |
| 24 hours | 1 | The minimum we recommend. Pick a quiet time, such as early morning |
To use a different schedule, change the repeat every hours in step 6. For one restart a day, leave Repeat task unticked.
Server time vs your local time
Scheduled Tasks run on the server's clock, which may be in a different time zone from you. When you create a task, the time already filled in is the current server time plus about 10 minutes. Compare it with your own clock to work out the difference, then set the first restart for the time you want.
Example: the task opens with 14:10 filled in and it's 15:00 where you are. The server is 1 hour behind you, so for a restart at 06:00 your time, enter 05:00.
Restart questions
Can players get a warning before the restart?
Some games can show in-game countdown messages before a restart. On DayZ, follow automatic restarts with in-game messages and Discord notifications. For other games, check your game's section in the help guides.
Will players lose progress when the server restarts?
Most games save the world when they shut down cleanly, so progress is kept. Players who are online are disconnected and can rejoin as soon as the server is back up, usually within a minute or two.
My server didn't restart at the time I expected. Why?
Almost always a time zone difference. Open the task and compare its time with the server time, as explained in server time above. Also check the task is saved and that Repeat task is set the way you want.
Related guides
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