TechFreqs Backup Mod a 7 Days to Die Client Only World Save and Backup Tool

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The TechFreqs Backup Mod V1.6,
A single-player / Client Only mod that automates and manages backups of 7 Days to Die save file data, ensuring players can preserve their progress with configurable options and clear tooltip messages for backup creations & autosaving notifications.

StoryTime:
Great for modders or vanilla users who would like a backup of their save files, if in the event the worst case scenarios occurs or crashes.
As for my situation i hadnt found a backup mod of some sort other than resorting to manual backup methods.
And even after researching forums for a way to restore my playerxml as i tried to load into a save and found it had been corrupted, and their was hardly
anything reliable for previous version when i encountered this in A21 and A20 and early days of A19.
and i would receive a null reference error in red in logs…, as it turns out my players xml was corrupted due for that new save due to a nasty mod.

So, upon restoring a backup, from an old save even though it was only a few days old when i had made a manual backup anyways, i dont always remember to do that in mind with my ADHD brain, and life getting in the way of things.
and even after manual restoring, i was able to jump right back into my game with only a few adjustments and reusing my points for other skills in the skill tree which was no biggie but that sparked an idea..
so thus this mod was born and figured everyone should at least look into that kind of thing too. despite crashes, lag, and or some natural causes.

But despite that…

Latest Changelog:
V1.6
-Fixed issue: involving even more debug logs for automatic and manual backups when enbale or disable was triggered!
-Fixed issue: Auto-Backup Not Starting: Even with EnableAutoBackup=true in config.json, it wouldn’t kick off until you toggled it manually (/disableauto then /enableauto) or numpad 3 , because initialPromptTriggered stayed false in code.
-Fixed issue: Updated LoadWorldSettings and HandleInitialPrompt to auto-set initialPromptTriggered=true if backups already exist, skipping the Y/N prompt and starting the timer right away on load.
-Fixed issue: General Stability, Tightened up LoadWorldSettings to properly initialize per-save settings, reset timers on toggle, and ensured tooltips/sounds fire consistently. Also fixed currentState logic to prevent false skips

Overall Features:
Automatic Backups:
Runs every 30 minutes (configurable via config.json) in single-player mode, with a 1-minute warning: “Auto backup in 1 min…”.
Resets timer after each backup.

Manual Backups:
Triggered via /manualbackup or /mb in game chatbox . Shows “Making a manual backup will start momentarily…” once, waits 2 seconds, then backs up,
followed by “Backup completed with generated world: {world}/{save}”.

Backup Contents:
Saves the specific save folder (Saves/<world>/<save>), generated world (GeneratedWorlds/<world>), and root files from Saves (serveradmin.xml, sdcs_profiles.sdf, profiles.sdf).
Includes the Config folder for initial backups and a readme.txt with restore instructions per zip backup creation.

Stored ZIPs are in Mods/TechFreqsBackupMod/Backups/<world>/<save>
(e.g., Backup_<timestamp>_Navezgane_Way Too Much.zip).

Backup Management:
Limits to 8 backups per save (configurable), deleting the oldest if exceeded (configurable via deleteOldBackupsImmediately).
Checks for 1 GB free disk space, failing with “Backup failed: Insufficient disk space” if insufficient.

Technical Details:
Uses Harmony to patch EntityPlayerLocal.Update for backup logic and GameManager.ChatMessageServer for manual commands.
Relies on MonoBehaviourSingleton for coroutine-based delays and tooltip persistence (10 seconds).
Configurable via config.json (interval, max backups, notifications, deletion policy).
No progress bar; uses tooltips exclusively for feedback.

File Location Fix: Corrected to source serveradmin.xml, sdcs_profiles.sdf, and profiles.sdf from C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\Saves. If sdcs_profiles.sdf is still missing, it logs the path for debugging—likely a setup-specific issue (e.g., file not present or misnamed).
Removed .nomedia: Eliminated as unnecessary since 7 Days to Die doesn’t read subfolders like Backups for mods, and it’s irrelevant on PC, also since outdated pictures.

User Experience:
Simple, tooltip-driven interface for single-player backups with clear start and completion messages.
Robust error handling for disk space and missing files, ensuring backups proceed even if optional files (e.g., sdcs_profiles.sdf) are absent.

Disclaimer:
By using this mod, you acknowledge that TechFreq is not responsible for any issues, crashes, or conflicts caused by its use.
Use at your own risk. Please backup your game files before installing any type of mod.
Thanks for downloading and enjoy!

Installation:
Make sure harmony mod exist in the mod directory as it’s required.
Download the mod files, Extract Mod files.
Please backup your world, save, and or game files.
Place them in your Mods directory of your 7 Days to Die Game.
EAC must be disabled, although i hope in the future that can be changed, as for now DLLS are not EAC supported however XML has no issue, unfortunately this is a dll modification.
THIS IS CLIENT SIDE ONLY but maybe perhaps this is also, server side and client side compatibility?
No further setup needed. Enjoy!

CREDITS:
TechFreq & A.I
Made with love for the game and version v1.3
Don’t forget to support me by listening to a song or two or several!
I’d very much appreciate it and or any feedback for the mod(s) aswell
Thanks to ChatGPT or Microsoft CoPilot A.I or Grok AI from Twitter or X, for helping me create the modlet, aswell as with very little modding knowledge for the game and learning as i go i couldn’t do this without it and overall brainstorming and or the modding community.

Social Media:

If you appreciate ‘TechFreqs’ work and want to show support, use this donation link, although not necessary. Kofi Page: https://ko-fi.com/techfreq

I appreciate it in general for just checking out the mod posts, sharing and enjoying any of the mods in itself. Thank you again! and Happy gaming!

Love this mod? Got feedback or ideas or need to troubleshoot?

Chill with us on Discord for game chat, memes, and even more mod updates!

Join the TechFreq Pretty Rad Squad Server! https://discord.com/invite/SQCnGjNUhw

As for TechFreqs music, it’s royalty-free music to use in your projects or for casual listening!

Source music files are available feel free to ask away, available in the discord! or for more content! TechFreqs Socials: https://beacons.ai/techfreq

Checkout the behind-the-scenes vibes today! Thank you again for checking out the mod post.

Previous Changelogs:
V1.5
-Fixed issue where the logs would spam, when manualbackup or autobackup was triggered.
and let alone tooltip messages aswell, so now they’re displayed once and accurate details in log, without spam!
as well as added backup completed message for autobackups.

V1.4
Configurable Enable/Disable Sounds for the BackupMod Tooltips:
Setting: “EnableTooltipSounds”: true/false in config.json.
Sound: Use existing 7 Days to Die sounds from sounds.xml (e.g., coins_grab for success, ui_menu_click for alerts).

Configurable Auto-Backup/Manual Backup Pause on Low Disk Space:
Setting: “MinFreeSpaceMB”: 1024 (1 GB default) in config.json.
Behavior: Pause auto-backups and block manual backups if free space is below this threshold, with a warning tooltip.
The “MinFreeSpaceMB” setting in config.json allows users to customize the minimum free disk space required before pausing auto-backups or blocking manual backups. The default is 1024 MB (1 GB), but users can set it to any value they want. For example:
“MinFreeSpaceMB”: 512 for 512 MB if their backups are small.
“MinFreeSpaceMB”: 2048 for 2 GB if they have large save files and want a bigger buffer.

And of course, just for sanity sake, the mod has an included but blank world settings json but upon, installing the mod and only when loadinginto a world
it creates and updates the config json, or world settings json as needed for the mod to work. No tooltip message in game but just general information.
As for functionality in the mod, silent but helpful.

V1.3
Newly added world settings json file,
So that way it keeps track of the worlds and condition if its autobackup has been able or disabled , and ot check existing backups only and if if it exits
to prompt to make an intial one and etc with previous revision functionality

as for my example two worlds

{
“Navezgane/way too much”: {
“AutoBackupEnabled”: false,
“HasPromptedInitialBackup”: true,
“ExistingBackup”: true
},
“Pregen04k1/waytoosmall”: {
“AutoBackupEnabled”: false,
“HasPromptedInitialBackup”: true,
“ExistingBackup”: false
}
}

But should it generate a new one partaking to your system feel free to name your world uniquely as im unaware of characterization and numerical numbers being involved or special characters for your world save name or label.

V1.2
Configurable config json!
Yay! shoutout to the community for bug reports and comments.

Now including-
Save Source Path, so a customizebale save location for your world saves
and BackupLocation , a customizeable backup location for your world saves.

Defaulted in config json
“SaveSourcePath”: “%AppData%\\7DaysToDie\\Saves”,
“BackupLocation”: “Backups”,

But default directories it checks iof unchanged
Save Location:
C:\Users\ROGPC\AppData\Roaming\7DaystoDie\Saves
Storing backups:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\7 Days To Die\Mods\TechFreqsBackupMod\Backups

So if you plan on changing the folder to another location as for testing
(i.e “BackupLocation”: “C:\\Users\\ROGPC\\Downloads\\7D2DBACKUPS\\Backups”, )

make sure to include double slashs of the directory..

ALSO a new configurable option to enable auto backups or disable backups through config json!
and newly added commands like /enableauto or /disableauto if typed in game chat box for toggling
on or off the autobackup feature, as well as a customizable toggle keybind, default to numpad 3
for also turning on or off the auto backup feature without having to edit the config json
as necessary.

AND AS for manual backups, now it actually gets rid of the old save if found and make a new one of course… per 8 files. its make a 9th one for temp and then deletes the last old save!

So as this is again semi automatic its still worth noting for a working save if need be, for your world save to probably move the files elsewhere as necessary, as it could accumulate a ton of space and so on so forth.

Double check the directory you set , also has full control for your system, which should already by default but double make sure.
UNTESTED on external drives but i pray that it should work just fine, and as long as permission are set for the folder itself in the properties.

V1 and V1.1
Key Features:
Initial Backup Prompt:
After a 5-second delay on world load, checks for existing backups. If none exist, prompts: “First initial backup? Press Y for yes or N for no. Afterwards auto backup will be used from config json {interval} minutes.”
Y triggers an immediate backup with “Making a backup will take a few moments, freezes may apply…” followed by “Backup completed with generated world: {world}/{save}.”
N or timeout (60s) shows “No backup. Auto: {interval}m” once, then switches to auto-backups. Cheers!