Items, creatures or a survivor uploaded to ARK Data are gone: the upload timer and the slot limits

ARK Data — the upload list at an Obelisk, a terminal or a Tek Transmitter — is a transfer service, not a storage box. Items and creatures normally have expiry timers; survivor expiry follows separate server settings and is disabled by default, as explained below.

ARK Data is empty after some time, or an uploaded creature is no longer listed; an ASA player reported a whole cloud inventory gone (ASAIR-309).
Each upload showed a countdown next to it, and the loss shows up after a day away or after a server outage.
The upload list says it is full.

ARK Data is empty after some time, or an uploaded creature is no longer listed; an ASA player reported a whole cloud inventory gone (ASAIR-309).
Each upload showed a countdown next to it, and the loss shows up after a day away or after a server outage.
The upload list says it is full.

Uploads expire. "By default, creatures and items uploaded to ARK-Data have a 24-hour time limit in multiplayer", and server admins can change those times (ARK Wiki). The defaults are 86,400 seconds for items and for creatures — a creature in a Cryopod counts as an item — while an uploaded survivor does not expire by default (ARK Wiki, Server configuration).
Each map applies its own value when the data is read: opening ARK Data on a map with a lower value deletes what has expired there. That is why the wiki recommends the same value on every map of a cluster.
Slots. ARK Data holds 50 item stacks and 20 creatures by default (ARK Wiki, Obelisks).
Loss without notice. The wiki also warns: "There is a chance that objects will be eliminated without any notice whatsoever during the process." ASA once deleted tames on a restart if they had been uploaded and then downloaded (fixed in 41.23).
Outages. On official servers, transfers have been paused while the upload timers kept running (Steam, 2020); once Studio Wildcard added 24 hours to upload decay after an outage (Steam, 2025).

On our servers everything an account has uploaded sits in one transfer file in the cluster folder. This cluster's own expiry values are not published — ask an admin.

Before you log off, read the timer next to every upload, and download inside that time. Upload right before you travel and download as soon as you arrive (Guild Order: "an upload left too long is an upload at risk").
Ask an admin what the upload expiry is on this cluster.
Check the upload list from the map you uploaded on as well (Community Crunch #502).
Free slots before you upload more: 50 item stacks and 20 creatures by default.
If transfers or downloads are paused, do not upload anything: on another server uploads were deleted when their countdown ran out while downloads were disabled (Steam, 2020).
If something vanished well before its timer ran out, or during an outage, report it with the maps, the items and the upload time.

When an upload disappeared before its timer ran out, or during an outage. An admin can check the expiry and slot settings on every map and keep them the same (ARK Wiki), and read an older save with Restore from backup if a fault — not the timer — removed the items. Uploads that simply expired are game behaviour; whether anything is replaced is the owner's decision.

Tell an admin the map, the time (the clock in your profile menu shows the server's time), your character's name, what you carried or had uploaded, and the exact message on the screen. For a transfer: both maps and both times. Report the same day — the backups reach back only about two days. Contact admin is in your profile menu; the Guides page has a question box.

Upload and download in the same play session; never leave Cryopods or tames in ARK Data overnight (ARK Wiki; Guild Order).
Keep the same habit on every map: maps with different settings can delete an upload early (ARK Wiki).

Items, creatures or a survivor uploaded to ARK Data are gone: the upload timer and the slot limits

What you see

Related guides

Items, creatures or a survivor uploaded to ARK Data are gone: the upload timer and the slot limits

What you see

Related guides

Why it happens

What you can do

When to ask an admin

Avoid it next time

Sources