How to Back Up and Restore a Discord Server

A wrong role deleted, channels scrambled during a rebuild, bot settings overwritten by accident: with Server Backup you create a restore point before a rebuild and return to it if needed.

Quick answer: In the dashboard open Server Backup, choose the type under New backup, optionally add a label and click Create backup. Restore from the list with Restore. An admin can do the same with /backup create, /backup list and /backup restore.

Which types are there?

• Config only: the settings of all Kage modules (on/off and every setting). Restoring is risk-free because only Kage settings are written back.
• Structure only: a snapshot of categories, channels (text and voice, with topic) and roles (name, colour, display, mentionability, permissions), plus the order and the role permissions of channels and categories.
• Config + structure: both in one point. The /backup create command uses this type by default.

Creating a backup

1. Open the Server Backup module.
2. Choose the Type under New backup and, if you like, add a Label, for example "Before October rebuild".
3. Click Create backup.

The Restore points list shows type, label, contents and time. Once your plan's limit is reached, the next backup automatically deletes the oldest one. Backups are only created when you trigger them; there is no silent automation.

Restoring: what happens?

After a confirmation prompt:

• Config: the settings of the modules contained in the backup are overwritten. Modules that are not in the backup stay untouched.
• Structure: the restore is purely additive. Missing roles, categories and channels are created again, existing ones are left alone. Matching works by name. Nothing is deleted or changed. Newly created items get their saved position back, and new channels and categories also get their role permissions. Roles are matched by name for that.

The result tells you how many modules were restored and how many roles, categories and channels were created, or that there was nothing to do.

What a backup deliberately does not contain

A backup is not a copy of the whole server. Not included and not restorable are messages, members, role assignments to people, emojis, threads and webhooks. Permissions of individual members on channels are not included either, because they are tied to account IDs; only the permissions of roles are saved. Items that already exist stay as they are: Kage changes neither their permissions nor their order, even though their position numbers may shift because of newly inserted items. Backups you created before this extension contain neither order nor channel permissions; there, new items arrive with default values. That is the honest limit: the backup saves structure and bot settings, not content.

Discord offers server templates as its own way to copy structure and roles into a new server. They contain no bot settings.

Tips

• A backup before every rebuild, especially before mass changes to roles and channels.
• Use meaningful labels so you find the right point later.
• Back up config and structure separately if you only want to roll back one of them.

If it does not work

• The structure cannot be read. The bot needs the required permissions on the server. Check them, for example with Monitoring.
• Some roles or channels are not created. The bot lacks permissions for them ("Manage Roles", "Manage Channels"). Such items are skipped, the rest is still restored.
• The order is not quite right after restoring. Kage puts new items at their saved position as far as Discord allows. The bot cannot place roles at or above its highest role, and older backups do not know the order. Sort such items by hand, see Managing roles.

Works well with

A backup saves the state, the audit log shows who changed it. To notice changes early, combine it with keyword alerts.

FAQ

Can I delete a backup?

Yes, with Delete and a confirmation. The backup is then gone for good. Your current configuration and your Discord server stay unchanged.

Who may create and restore backups?

In the dashboard, people with access to the module. The /backup … commands are reserved for administrators.

Does restoring overwrite my current channels?

No. Structure is only added, never overwritten or deleted.