Help CenterWant to automate some tasks with your server? The scheduler tool is an amazing way to do so! This guide will go over the basics of the Schedules tab so that you can add some automation to your server!
❓Not sure how Schedules work? Check out this guide for a quick introduction!
Step 1: Log In to Your Game Panel
To get started, head over to the SimpleGameHosting Panel and log in. Once you're in, select the server you want to set up scheduled backups for.
Step 2: Create a New Backup Schedule
Once you’re logged into the SimpleGameHosting Panel, click on your server, then go to the Settings tab in the left-hand menu. From there, select Schedules.
This is where you can create and manage automated tasks for your server. While there are many possible uses for schedules, this guide will focus on setting up one specifically for creating backups.
💡Note: If you're interested in setting up other types of scheduled tasks, feel free to check out our detailed guide here.
Creating the Schedule
⚠️Important: The time you set here is based off of Eastern Standard Time. Be sure to convert your times into this so that the schedule works at the right time!
1. On the Schedules tab, click the Create Schedule button. A pop-up will appear where you can configure the schedule. Here’s what each field does:
- Schedule Name - This can be anything you want. It’s just for your reference.
- Time Interval - This controls how often the task will run. The "Cheatsheet" toggle is helpful for getting started, but you can also refer to crontab.guru for more detailed customization.
- Only When Server is Online - Enable this if you want the schedule to run only when the server is turned on. For backups, you may want to turn this off to ensure the task runs no matter what.
- Schedule Enabled - This toggle simply activates or deactivates the schedule.
2. Once you’ve set everything the way you want it, click Create Schedule. You’ll now see your new schedule listed in the Schedules tab. The example shown below is set to run once every 1 hour.
3. To assign tasks to a schedule, click on the new schedule you created. This will take you to the schedule settings screen.
👋Note: You can edit any of the values you set earlier by clicking the Edit button.
5. To add a task, click the New Task button. This will take you to the Create Task screen
The "Action" dropdown has three options: Send Command, Send Power Action, and Create Backup.
Send Command
Send Command will send a command listed in the "Payload" section to the server console. A common use for this is the "say" command, which will send a text to everyone within the server. For example: "say Hello!" will send "Hello!" to everyone within the server. Generally, you can use this as a way to warn of an upcoming restart or backup.
Send Power Action
Send Power Action allows you to Start, Restart, or Stop the server, similarly to how you would manually do it within the console tab using the three buttons.
Create Backup
Create Backup, as the name implies, creates a backup within the backups tab when the task is executed. You can set files to be ignored by setting them in the "ignored files" section.
Schedule Settings
The Time Offset is the number of seconds the task will wait after the previous task is completed. The max value is 300 seconds, or 5 minutes. For example, lets say I have two tasks: One prints a message using the "say" command that says "Server restarting in 5 minutes!". The second, with a time offset of 300 seconds, sends a power action to restart the server. Once the first task completes, the server will wait five minutes, then execute the restart command.
The Continue on Failure option determines whether or not tasks after this one should be triggered should the task fail.
Once you've set your desired tasks, you're all set! The server will now run the desired tasks according to the time you set on the schedule!
If you need help, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team by submitting a Support Ticket or contacting us directly via LiveChat!