Knowledge Base
Guide General

Automating Your Server: Schedules, Backups & Restarts

Schedules let the panel run tasks automatically so you don't have to babysit your server. You can restart it nightly, send timed in-game commands, and keep things running smoothly, all without lifting a finger.

Where to find Schedules

Log in to panel.8bit-hosting.com, open your server and click Schedules in the left sidebar. You'll see a list of any existing schedules (empty to start).

Panel Schedules tab: click Create schedule to add your first automated task

Creating a schedule

  1. Click Create schedule
  2. Give it a name, e.g. "Nightly restart"
  3. Set the cron expression (see below)
  4. Add one or more tasks
  5. Click Create schedule to save

Understanding cron expressions

A cron expression has five parts: minute hour day month weekday. Use * for "every".

  • 0 4 * * *: every day at 4 AM
  • 0 */6 * * *: every 6 hours
  • 30 3 * * 0: every Sunday at 3:30 AM
  • 0 0 * * *: midnight every day

Useful tool: crontab.guru lets you type plain English and get the cron expression.

Useful task types

  • Power action → Restart: gracefully restarts the server (recommended over Kill)
  • Power action → Stop + Start: use two tasks with an offset if you need a full cold restart
  • Send command: sends a console command to the running server (e.g. save-all before a restart, or a broadcast message)

Example: nightly warning + restart

  1. Task 1 at offset 0 min: Send command → say Server restarting in 5 minutes, please save your progress!
  2. Task 2 at offset 5 min: Power action → Restart

This warns players before the restart so they don't lose progress.

Need help setting one up? Ask in Discord or email support@8bit-hosting.com.

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