Heratio Help Center article. Category: Admin & Settings.
Backup & Restore
User Guide
Create backups of your archive database and restore from previous backups when needed.
Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BACKUP & RESTORE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ BACKUP RESTORE │
│ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ │
│ Save current ◄─────────────► Return to │
│ database state previous state │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
When to Use
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CREATE BACKUPS BEFORE: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📥 Large imports - Bulk data loading │
│ 🔄 System updates - Software upgrades │
│ 🗑️ Bulk deletions - Removing many records │
│ ⚙️ Configuration changes - System settings │
│ 📋 Major edits - Large-scale modifications │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
How to Access
Main Menu
│
▼
Admin
│
▼
AHG Settings
│
▼
Backup & Restore ────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
├──▶ Create Backup (save current state) │
│ │
├──▶ View Backups (list all backups) │
│ │
├──▶ Restore (return to backup) │
│ │
└──▶ Download (save to computer) │
Creating a Backup
Step 1: Open Backup Tool
Go to Admin → AHG Settings → Backup & Restore
Step 2: Click Create Backup
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CREATE NEW BACKUP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Description: [Pre-import backup January 2026 ] │
│ │
│ Include: [✓] Database │
│ [✓] Uploads folder │
│ [ ] Search index │
│ │
│ [Create Backup] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step 3: Wait for Completion
Creating backup...
│
├── Exporting database tables... ✓
├── Compressing uploads... ✓
└── Generating checksum... ✓
✅ Backup complete: backup_2026-01-10_143215.sql.gz
Viewing Existing Backups
Your backups are listed with details:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AVAILABLE BACKUPS │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Date │ Description │ Size │ Actions│
├──────────────────┼──────────────────────────┼────────┼────────┤
│ 10 Jan 2026 │ Pre-import backup │ 245 MB │ ⬇️ 🔄 🗑️│
│ 05 Jan 2026 │ Weekly backup │ 240 MB │ ⬇️ 🔄 🗑️│
│ 01 Jan 2026 │ Monthly backup │ 235 MB │ ⬇️ 🔄 🗑️│
│ 25 Dec 2025 │ Before update │ 230 MB │ ⬇️ 🔄 🗑️│
└──────────────────┴──────────────────────────┴────────┴────────┘
⬇️ Download 🔄 Restore 🗑️ Delete
Restoring from Backup
⚠️ Warning
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ⚠️ RESTORE WILL REPLACE ALL CURRENT DATA │
│ │
│ Any changes made after the backup date will be LOST. │
│ Consider creating a backup of current state first. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Steps to Restore
- Select the backup you want to restore
- Click the Restore button (🔄)
- Confirm you want to proceed
- Wait for restoration to complete
Restoring backup...
│
├── Stopping services... ✓
├── Importing database... ✓
├── Restoring uploads... ✓
├── Rebuilding search index... ✓
└── Restarting services... ✓
✅ Restore complete
Downloading Backups
To save a backup to your computer:
- Find the backup in the list
- Click the Download button (⬇️)
- Save the file to a secure location
Store downloaded backups in a separate location for disaster recovery
Best Practices
┌────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ DO │ ✗ DON'T │
├────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ Backup before major changes │ Skip backups │
│ Use descriptive names │ Use generic names │
│ Download copies offsite │ Keep all backups on server│
│ Test restores periodically │ Assume backups work │
│ Delete old backups │ Keep unlimited backups │
│ Schedule regular backups │ Only backup manually │
└────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘
Troubleshooting
Problem Solution
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Backup takes too long → Large databases are normal
Run during quiet periods
Backup fails → Check disk space
Contact administrator
Restore seems stuck → Large restores take time
Do not interrupt
Missing recent data → You restored an old backup
Data after backup is gone
Need Help?
Contact your system administrator if you experience issues.
Part of the Heratio AHG Framework
Scheduled Backups
Backups can be scheduled to run automatically at regular intervals.
Creating a Schedule
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore
- In the Schedules card (left sidebar), click the + button
- Configure:
- Name — descriptive label (e.g. "Daily DB Backup")
- Frequency — Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
- Time — when to run (24-hour format)
- Day of Week — for weekly schedules (Sunday–Saturday)
- Day of Month — for monthly schedules (1–28)
- Retention — how many days to keep old backups
- Components — which parts to include (Database, Uploads, Plugins, Framework)
- Click Create Schedule
Managing Schedules
- Toggle active/paused — click the green check / grey pause button
- Delete — click the red trash button (with confirmation)
- Schedules show last run time and next run time
Cron Setup (Required)
Scheduled backups require a cron job to check and execute due schedules:
This runs every hour and checks if any schedules are due.
CLI Options
Incremental Backups
An incremental backup saves only files that changed since the last full backup. The database dump is always complete.
How It Works
- System finds the most recent completed full backup
- Database is dumped fully (always)
- File components (uploads, plugins, framework) use tar --newer to capture only modified files
- If no full backup exists, falls back to a full backup automatically
Creating an Incremental Backup
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore
- Click Incremental Backup in the Quick Actions card
- Confirm the operation
Incremental backups are smaller and faster than full backups, making them ideal for daily runs between weekly full backups.
Email Notifications
Backup notifications can be sent on success and/or failure.
Configuration
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore > Settings
- Set Notification Email to the recipient address
- Enable Notify on Success and/or Notify on Failure
- Save settings
Notifications include: backup name, ID, size, server hostname, and timestamp. Failure notifications include the error message.
Backup Strategy Recommendations
| Strategy | Schedule | Type | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal | Daily at 02:00 | Database only | 30 days |
| Standard | Daily DB + Weekly full | Full weekly, DB daily | 90 days |
| Production | Daily incremental + Weekly full + Monthly archive | Mixed | 365 days |
Example Production Setup
Create 3 schedules:
- Daily DB — frequency: daily, time: 02:00, components: DB only, retention: 30 days
- Weekly Full — frequency: weekly, day: Sunday, time: 03:00, all components, retention: 90 days
- Monthly Archive — frequency: monthly, day: 1, time: 04:00, all components, retention: 365 days
Scheduled Backups
Backups can be scheduled to run automatically at regular intervals.
Creating a Schedule
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore
- In the Schedules card (left sidebar), click the + button
- Configure:
- Name — descriptive label (e.g. "Daily DB Backup")
- Frequency — Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
- Time — when to run (24-hour format)
- Day of Week — for weekly schedules (Sunday-Saturday)
- Day of Month — for monthly schedules (1-28)
- Retention — how many days to keep old backups
- Components — which parts to include (Database, Uploads, Plugins, Framework)
- Click Create Schedule
Managing Schedules
- Toggle active/paused — click the green check / grey pause button
- Delete — click the red trash button (with confirmation)
Cron Setup (Required)
Scheduled backups require a cron job:
CLI Options
- — Run all due schedules
- — Show what would run
- — Run all active schedules now
Incremental Backups
An incremental backup saves only files changed since the last full backup. The database dump is always complete.
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore
- Click Incremental Backup in Quick Actions
- Confirm the operation
If no full backup exists, it falls back to a full backup automatically.
Email Notifications
- Go to Admin > Backup & Restore > Settings
- Set Notification Email
- Enable Notify on Success and/or Notify on Failure
- Save
Backup Strategy Recommendations
| Strategy | Schedule | Type | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal | Daily 02:00 | DB only | 30 days |
| Standard | Daily DB + Weekly full | Mixed | 90 days |
| Production | Daily incremental + Weekly full + Monthly archive | Mixed | 365 days |