Import from another host

An import copies your server's files from your current host onto a Plex Host server. You give us the connection details for your current host, check that we can reach it, and then we copy the folder that holds your server.

Two Ways to Import

• During Deploy. Turn on Migrating from another host? when you deploy a server. We copy your files after payment, onto the game you pick for the new server.
• On an existing server. Open the server, go to Settings → Import from another host, and import onto that server.

What You Need From Your Current Host

• Address. The SFTP or FTP host name or IP address, without ftp:// or spaces.
• Port. SFTP usually uses 22 and FTP usually uses 21, but your host may use another port.
• Username.
• Password or private key. A password works with SFTP, FTP and FTPS. A private key works with SFTP only. Paste the whole key, including the BEGIN and END lines.
• Folder to copy. The folder on your current host that holds the server files, for example /minecraft.

Look for these in your current host's panel, usually under SFTP, FTP or File Access. Most game-server panels show an SFTP address, port and username on the server page and let you set an SFTP password. If you cannot find them, ask your current host's support.

Probe the Connection

Fill in the source details and select Probe connection. We connect to your current host and look at the folder. Nothing is copied yet. The result shows:

• how many files there are and how much space they take
• the game the files look like, or that we could not tell which game they are for
• the largest entries at the top level of the folder

If the files look like a different game from the one your server runs, you see "These files look like a … server, but this server runs …" and a switch to import onto the server's current game anyway. Leave it off to stop. Turn it on to continue. If we cannot tell the game, the import keeps the server's current game.

Two optional fields narrow what is copied. Only copy these paths and Skip these paths take one pattern per line, for example world/**, plugins/*.jar or logs/**. Leave them empty to copy everything.

Start the server when the import finishes starts the server after the copy and waits until it is online, so you can see that the import worked.

Start the Import

The Import button unlocks after a successful probe, and only when the server is offline.

1. Stop the server. An import needs it offline.
2. Check the probe result.
3. Select Import, then select Replace and import to confirm.

We take a restore point before anything is copied. Everything currently on the server is replaced by the files from your current host. Select Keep my files to back out.

Follow the Progress

After you confirm, the import opens in a drawer titled Import from another host. It shows the source, the current step, a progress bar and:

• Data copied
• Files, the number copied so far
• Elapsed, the time since the import started
• Current file, the file being copied now

To stop an import, select Cancel import and confirm. Files already copied stay on the server. You can close the drawer at any time. The import keeps running, and you get a notification when it ends.

After the Import

When the import completes, the drawer shows Your files are in place, with buttons to Go to Files and Open backups. Where we detect your game's settings, they are applied to the server. If you turned on Start the server when the import finishes, the server starts and waits until it is online.

If you cancelled, the drawer says that files copied so far stay on the server, and the restore point from before the import is kept.

When an Import Fails

A failed import shows one of these messages. Follow the action listed under it.

• "Your previous host rejected the username, password or key. Check them and try again." Check the username, password or private key, then probe again.
• "We could not reach your previous host. Check the host name, the port, and that its firewall allows connections." Check the address and port, and that your current host accepts connections from the internet.
• "That folder does not exist on your previous host. Check the folder path." Correct the folder to copy, then probe again.
• "The files do not fit on this server. Move to a plan with more disk, then import again." Move the server to a plan with more disk, then import again.
• "Your previous host stopped answering. Try again in a few minutes." Wait a few minutes and import again.
• "The import was cancelled." You cancelled the import. Files copied so far stay on the server.
• "These files are for a different game than this server runs. Pick the matching game, or confirm the import onto this one in the import settings." Pick the game that matches the files, or confirm the import onto the server's current game in the import settings.
• "We could not tell which game these files are for. Confirm the game in the import settings." Confirm the game in the import settings before importing.
• "That host cannot be reached from our network. Use a public host name or IP address." Use a public host name or IP address, not a private network address.
• "The connection details are not valid. Check them and try again." Check the address, port, username, password or key, and folder, then probe again.
• "The import failed. Try again, or contact support if it keeps happening." Try again. If it fails again, contact support.

Limits

• Hosts on private networks are refused. Use a public host name or IP address.
• An import times out after 12 hours.
• If the files are larger than the disk on your plan, the import stops and tells you how much space you need. Move to a plan with more disk, then import again.