Staged updates
A staged update is a change you prepare now and apply later. Staging leaves the running server untouched: no restart, no container call, and no write to the live configuration, mods, datapacks or world.
Use it when a change should land together with others, or when you do not want to interrupt players right away.
What can be staged
Section titled “What can be staged”- Server configuration fields.
- Mod installs, replacements and deletes.
- Datapack installs, replacements and deletes.
- File changes.
- A modpack switch.
- Module configuration and container-spec changes.
Staged file bytes are kept on the server’s node under
.carbon-panel/staged/<id>/ inside the data root. A staged delete records the
path and removes nothing until it is applied. Discard deletes the staged bytes.
One batch per server
Section titled “One batch per server”Each server has one open update batch. Staging another change adds it to that batch. The server configuration screen reads the open batch so you can review everything that will change.
Discard a single item or the whole batch. Discarding does not touch the live server.
Choosing when it applies
Section titled “Choosing when it applies”Publishing a batch is journaled. Pick one of:
| Window | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Next restart | Applies with the server’s next restart. |
| UTC timestamp | Applies when the clock reaches the time you set. |
| Idle minutes | Applies after the server has been idle for that long. A player join clears the idle stretch. |
| Apply now | Applies immediately; a running server restarts. |
A future timestamp, or an idle stretch that has not finished, stays staged if the panel restarts in between. The batch is not lost.
How the batch is applied
Section titled “How the batch is applied”The panel handles the server’s current state deliberately:
| Server state | What happens |
|---|---|
| Running | The world is saved, then the server restarts once. |
| Frozen | A real stop and start; the server is left running. |
| Deep sleep | The batch is committed onto the stopped server. The JVM is not started. |
| Stopped | The files and configuration are updated without starting the server. |
If applying fails, the previous files and configuration are restored and the batch stays open.
Conflicts
Section titled “Conflicts”A live configuration field that changed after it was staged stops the publish before anything is written. Re-stage that field against the current value, then apply again.
Modpacks and modules
Section titled “Modpacks and modules”A modpack task can join the same batch. Its fetched tree is copied into the staging directory and the live pack stays as it is until the window. The same window commits the pack together with any staged configuration, mods and datapacks.
A module configuration or container-spec change can join the batch too. The live module stays as it is until the window, which recreates the module container when its spec changed. A deep-sleeping server is still not started.