How Backups Work

The backup process

When a scheduled backup runs (or you trigger one manually), here is what happens:

1. Path resolution your backup profile determines which files and folders to include
2. Checkpoint™ coordination for Smart Profiles, Pink Narwhal coordinates with your game server to make sure all data is flushed to disk cleanly before anything gets touched
3. File discovery a complete manifest is built with every file path, size, and timestamp
4. Integrity verification Checkpoint™ verifies that files are in a consistent state throughout the process
5. On-server compression files are compressed into a .tar.gz archive directly on your server using the panel's compress API. This is faster than downloading raw files.
6. Upload with verification the archive is uploaded to Cloudflare R2 with a cryptographic hash computed during the upload
7. Resume Checkpoint™ tells the game server to resume normal operations

The whole thing typically takes a few minutes. Your server keeps running the entire time. No restarts, no downtime. Players will not notice.

Single vs chunked archives

For most servers, the backup is a single compressed archive. For larger servers, Pink Narwhal automatically splits the backup into smaller chunks. Each chunk is uploaded and verified independently. This keeps large server backups reliable without hitting memory or timeout limits.

Storage and retention

All backups are stored in Cloudflare R2 with zero egress fees. Downloading your backups costs nothing.

Your plan determines how long backups are retained:

Backups older than your retention period are automatically deleted. You can download or restore any backup within the retention window.

Backup types

• Automated runs every hour at the minute you configured
• Manual triggered by you from the server card (Pro and Network plans only)

Both types are stored and retained the same way.