Pause your server with holiday mode

Holiday mode is for a server nobody will play on for a while. The server is switched off with its worlds, settings and files kept where they are, and it stays that way until you resume it or its return date arrives.

When you can turn on holiday mode

Only the account that pays for the server can turn it on or off. You can start it when:

• the subscription is active, with no payment outstanding
• no cancellation is pending (Keep subscription in the Actions menu undoes one)
• the server has finished setting up and isn't suspended or in an error state
• it's been at least 7 days since the server last came off holiday (the button is greyed out until then)

Before you start

Holiday mode also tries to take its own backup, named like Pre-holiday backup 2026-09-16, and starts anyway if the panel refuses it.

1. Take a backup. In the Backups tab, select Create backup. How to create and restore backups covers restoring it.

   

2. Tell your players. Nobody can join until the server is back.

Turn on holiday mode

1. Open Billing (/dashboard/billing).
2. Under Subscriptions, select Actions on the server's row, then Holiday mode. The dialog that opens shows the monthly fee.
3. To have the server come back by itself, pick a day under Return date (optional, we'll resume it for you), up to a year away. Leave it blank to stay on holiday until you resume.
4. Select Start holiday mode. The row then reads On holiday - parked, billing at the holiday rate, and a confirmation email arrives.

What changes while it's on

• The server stays switched off, with an On holiday badge on its card and a banner on its page.
• Your files stay as you left them. The nightly automatic backup skips the server.
• Your bill moves to the flat holiday fee each month until the server resumes. The dialog shows the amount and says unused time on your current plan is credited back.
• Change plan leaves the Actions menu, and switching game is blocked, until you resume. See Upgrade or downgrade your plan.
• Cancel subscription still works. See Cancel your subscription or get a refund.

Resume your server

1. Select Resume from holiday on the server's card, in the banner on its page, or in the Actions menu under Billing. The On holiday badge clears, your plan price returns straight away, and a confirmation email arrives.
2. Open the server and select Start. Resuming doesn't start it for you.

How the return date works

Once the return date begins, a daily check resumes the server the same way the button does. It doesn't run at midnight, so the server can come back hours into that day or early the next morning. If players need it by a set time, resume it yourself that day.

An outstanding payment keeps the server on holiday until the subscription is active again.

If it doesn't work

• No Holiday mode button under Billing - a payment is outstanding or a cancellation is pending. Select Pay now or Keep subscription in the Actions menu.
• "Only running, healthy servers can enter holiday mode." - the server is still setting up, suspended or in an error state, as its card under Servers shows. Try again once setup finishes.
• "We couldn't take an automatic backup" - holiday mode still started and your files are kept.
• "Your server is being paused" - your bill has already moved to the holiday fee. If the server still shows running an hour later, contact support.
• "This server is suspended. Check your subscription, or contact support." when you select Start - if its card shows On holiday, select Resume from holiday first.
• "This subscription isn't active - contact support to resume." - usually a payment is outstanding. Select Pay now under Billing, then resume. If the card fails, see Update your card and download invoices.