# Runbook — Backup & Restore (Minecraft, racked.ru on nullstone) Strategy doc: [`../BACKUP-STRATEGY.md`](../BACKUP-STRATEGY.md). This runbook is the **operator-facing** procedure for the three scenarios that come up in practice. Keep it short, copy-paste-able, and reachable from the player support workflow. > **Status (2026-05-07):** This runbook is written **ahead** of the implementation it describes. The `mc-backup-frequent` timer and onyx mirror are NOT yet deployed. The "What if no snapshot exists yet?" section at the bottom covers today's reality. --- ## TL;DR — restore one player's `.dat` from N minutes ago ```bash # On nullstone, as `user`: PUUID= # e.g. from /opt/docker/minecraft/usercache.json WHEN=latest # or "5 min ago", or a snapshot id RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE=/etc/mc-backup.pw \ restic -r /home/user/restic/mc-frequent \ restore "$WHEN" \ --target /tmp/restore-$$ \ --include "world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat" # Verify the file is well-formed NBT before applying: file /tmp/restore-$$/opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat # Expected: "gzip compressed data" # Apply (server must be running so playerdata is writable; the player # MUST be offline or we're racing the writer): mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p *redacted* "kick ${PUUID_NICK} Restore in progress" mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p *redacted* "save-off" mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p *redacted* "save-all flush" cp /opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat \ /opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat.preFix-$(date +%s) cp /tmp/restore-$$/opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat \ /opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat chown 100000:100000 /opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/${PUUID}.dat # userns-remap mcrcon -H 127.0.0.1 -P 25575 -p *redacted* "save-on" # Tell the player to log back in. ``` **Why kick + `save-off`:** if the player is online, the server holds their NBT in memory and rewrites the `.dat` on next save tick — clobbering the restore. `save-off` halts auto-save; kicking guarantees the in-memory state for that player won't be flushed. **Userns-remap reminder:** the host sees container-uid `100000` for files written by the MC process. Restored files written by `user` (uid 1000) will appear empty/permission-denied to the container. Always `chown 100000:100000` (or `chmod 666`) after restore. Memory: `project_nullstone_docker_userns`. --- ## Scenario 1 — Player lost inventory (T1, the void-death case) This is what the strategy was written for. RTO target: **< 2 minutes**. 1. Find the UUID: ```bash grep -i 'NICK' /opt/docker/minecraft/usercache.json ``` 2. Pick a snapshot just **before** the loss. `restic snapshots --tag playerdata` shows timestamps. 3. Run the TL;DR block above with that snapshot id (or `latest` if loss happened in the last 5 min). 4. Inform the player: "Your inventory from HH:MM has been restored. Anything you picked up after that point is gone." 5. Log the incident: append to `docs/INCIDENTS.md` (create if absent) — date, player, snapshot id, cause. --- ## Scenario 2 — Whole world rolled back (T2/T3, griefing or corruption) RTO target: **15 minutes**. Server downtime expected. 1. Announce, kick, stop: ```bash mcrcon ... "say Server going down for restore — back in ~15 min" mcrcon ... "kick @a Restore in progress" cd /opt/docker/minecraft && docker compose down ``` 2. Move live data aside (do not delete): ```bash mv /opt/docker/minecraft /opt/docker/minecraft.broken-$(date +%F) mkdir -p /opt/docker/minecraft ``` 3. Restore from the world repo: ```bash RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE=/etc/mc-backup.pw \ restic -r /home/user/restic/mc-world \ restore --target /tmp/world-restore rsync -aHAX /tmp/world-restore/opt/docker/minecraft/ /opt/docker/minecraft/ ``` 4. **Re-apply userns-remap perms** (critical — see memory): ```bash chmod -R 777 /opt/docker/minecraft # quickfix; or chown -R 100000:100000 ``` 5. Boot: ```bash cd /opt/docker/minecraft && docker compose up -d docker logs -f minecraft-mc # watch for "Done" line ``` 6. Verify with a known-good UUID's `.dat` parse, then announce server up. 7. Keep `minecraft.broken-YYYY-MM-DD/` for at least 7 days for forensic comparison. --- ## Scenario 3 — Host disk dead (T5) RTO target: **few hours, depends on hardware swap**. 1. New host: install Debian 13 + Docker per `_github/infra/runbooks/MIGRATION-nullstone-to-cobblestone.md`. 2. `apt install restic`. Pull the password from operator's password manager into `/etc/mc-backup.pw`. 3. Initialise destination dir, then restore from **onyx mirror** (not local — local is gone): ```bash restic -r sftp:mc-backup@100.64.0.1:/backups/nullstone-mc-restic \ restore latest --target /tmp/world-restore ``` 4. Continue Scenario 2 from step 4. 5. Stand up the timers on the new host. **Do not** point them at the same off-host repo until the new host has been re-keyed (rotate restic passwords as part of disaster recovery). --- ## Drill log (monthly) | Date | Operator | Snapshot age | Class A restore time | Off-host restore time | Result | |------|----------|--------------|----------------------|------------------------|--------| | (first drill — 2026-06-06) | s8n | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | Procedure: see `BACKUP-STRATEGY.md` §7. --- ## What if no snapshot exists yet? (CURRENT REALITY 2026-05-07) Until phases 1–4 of `BACKUP-STRATEGY.md` are deployed, the only recovery resources are: | Source | What's there | Recoverable? | |---|---|---| | `/opt/backups/202604xx_020001/mc-world-backup-*.tar.gz` | World tar from Apr 29 + May 2 (others FAILED) | **GONE** — pruned by 7-day retention | | `/opt/backups/mc-plugins-prerebrand-2026-04-30.tar.gz` | Plugin jars only, no world | Not useful for player data | | Live `/opt/docker/minecraft/world/playerdata/.dat_old` | MC's own .dat_old shadow file from previous save | **YES** — last save tick before current. **First-line defence right now.** | | CoreProtect DB (`plugins/CoreProtect/database.db`) | Block + container actions, NOT inventory state | Partial — can roll back grief, can't restore lost items | **Today's playbook for inventory-loss reports:** 1. Server console → `co lookup u:NICK` to confirm the loss event in CoreProtect. 2. **Stop the server immediately** if the report comes in within the same play session — every save tick overwrites `.dat_old`. `docker compose down` buys time. 3. Inspect `world/playerdata/.dat_old` — if it predates the loss, copy it over `.dat`, fix perms (uid 100000), restart. 4. If `.dat_old` is too new (already overwritten): **the loss is unrecoverable until BACKUP-STRATEGY phases 1–4 are deployed.** Apologise to the player. Spawn-in compensation per operator discretion (ops creative-mode replacement is the customary remedy). 5. Log the incident — adds urgency to deploying the new strategy. --- ## TODO — open items (links into BACKUP-STRATEGY.md §11) - [ ] Phase 1: fix `/opt/docker/backup.sh` orphan-line bug (F-backup-1). - [ ] Phase 2: deploy `mc-backup-frequent.timer` (Class A, 5-min playerdata). - [ ] Phase 3: deploy `mc-backup-world.timer` (Class B/C/D, hourly). - [ ] Phase 4: provision `mc-backup` user on onyx + `restic copy` job. - [ ] Phase 5: schedule monthly drill calendar entry, run first drill. - [ ] Phase 6: ntfy / Matrix alert wiring (depends on ntfy deployment). - [ ] Phase 7: friend RTX 4080 PC as secondary off-host. - [ ] Verify `usercache.json` on this host: confirm UUID lookup workflow above resolves to the right `.dat`. - [ ] Decide: `mcrcon` package vs lightweight Python `mcrcon` lib. - [ ] Document compensation policy for unrecoverable losses (operator discretion right now).