What is happening?
On May 30th, 2024, Minehut will begin deleting abandoned servers permanently from our systems. This is to fulfill an often-made request by our community members to release unused server names and delete unwanted servers from their accounts, while also allowing us to make Minehut more lean and flexible for future updates.
Why does Minehut need to delete servers? They’ve never done this before.
As Minehut has grown over the years, there will naturally be an increase in old and inactive servers that are no longer used. This limits the number of server name options for new servers and requires us to maintain those server files. By deleting servers that are no longer in use this gives us the ability to release those names back to the community and have more resources to promote future updates.
How will I know when the server names that are reserved are available?
After June 26th, once the server is deleted it will then become "Available" at which point the user with the reservation can claim it by creating a new server with the name or renaming an existing server to it.
Once the user has claimed it, the status will change to claimed!
What servers are going to be deleted?
A server will be deleted if it is considered abandoned. On May 30th, servers will be deleted if they meet the following criteria:
- They have not been activated or joined in over 1 year (since April 30th, 2023)
- The server owner has not clicked the “Keep My Server” button in the web panel
- The server has not been archived by our Support team for various reasons
Each server is handled individually per user, so if you have multiple servers on your account, and only one of them is marked for deletion, only that server will be deleted. The others will not be impacted.
You can see which of your servers are marked for deletion by going into our server management web panel at https://app.minehut.com/dashboard
How will I know if my server is marked for deletion?
We will notify all users who have servers that are marked for deletion in the following ways:
- Email notification (several reminders will be sent)
- Discord announcements
- In-game alerts every hour and when the server owner logs in
- Alert in our Forums
- Social media posts
- On our web panel the servers will be clearly marked
If you know someone who has a server marked for deletion, be a good friend and let them know to log into our web panel to manage their server!
My server is offline right now but was online in the past year, will it be deleted?
If your server has been online at least once since April 30th, 2023, then your server will not be marked for deletion. Even if it is currently offline or hibernating.
Will deleted server names be released for others to use?
Yes, but the process will take some time to complete. There will be a page where you can reserve server names on a first-come, first-serve basis. We will announce when that page and those names become available.
My server says it is marked for deletion. How come?
Only servers not activated at least one time in the last year are flagged for deletion. We consider those servers to be abandoned and are removing them from our system.
You can keep your server on Minehut or download the server files in bulk (regardless of the server plan you have) by clicking the respective buttons in the web panel.
When are abandoned servers going to be deleted?
The process will begin on May 30th, 2024.
How can I prevent my server from being deleted?
In your servers panel at https://app.minehut.com/dashboard you will see a list of servers that you own which have been marked for deletion. Each of these servers will have two buttons available to select: “Download All Files” and “Keep This Server”.
Select “Keep This Server” if you would like to prevent your server from being deleted on May 30th. If you believe your server has been marked for deletion in error, or you are having trouble with these buttons, please contact our Support Team.
Can I download my server files before they get deleted?
Yes, all servers regardless of their server plan (free or paid) will be able to download server files. This download option will contain all the files for your server in one zip folder.
How do I download my server files before they get deleted?
You can click on the “Download All Files” button on your server dashboard.
This button will download your files regardless of your server plan.
Note: Clicking the “Download All Files” button does not prevent your server from being deleted. You must click “Keep This Server” instead if you want to keep it on Minehut.
I accidentally forgot to download my files and then they got deleted. Can you restore them?
Unfortunately, after May 30th, once the download period has expired the files will no longer be available. We understand this can be upsetting but we are not able to store files indefinitely. The Support Team will not have access to deleted files, so there is no need to create a support ticket in the event your abandoned server files are deleted.
Can I create a new server with my old server’s files that I downloaded?
Yes, absolutely! If you wish to return to Minehut and enjoy your server you can upload it to a new server at any time. If you need a refresher on how to upload worlds or files check out our FAQ pages.
Is Minehut shutting down?
No. Minehut’s goal is to remain operational for years to come, and to become leaner and more flexible to provide amazing future updates. This sometimes means making some difficult changes. The servers we are removing have been abandoned for at least a year, we want to give those server names back to the community while also reducing our storage load.
Will servers be deleted again in the future?
We are a data-driven and community-driven company, and we make decisions based on how we see our services impacting users. We do not have set plans to regularly purge abandoned servers at this time, but we are considering a yearly or quarterly option to keep our systems lean and flexible. We will announce any decisions relating to this ahead of time so that you are aware.
How will I know if my server was deleted?
On your server list any server that was originally listed as Abandoned will now have the Deleted status. You can click the Hide Server button to remove it from your server list.