Backup and Restore
“The condition of any backup is unknown until a restore is attempted.” Schrödinger's Backup
To snapshot an instance of |RCE|, and save its settings, you need to backup the following parts of the system at the same time.
- The |repos| managed by the instance together with the stored Gists.
- The |RCE| database.
- Any configuration files or extensions that you've configured. In most cases it's only the :file:`rhodecode.ini` file.
- Installer files such as those in /opt/rhodecode can be backed-up, however it's not required since in case of a recovery installer simply re-creates those.
Important
Ideally you should script all of these functions so that it creates a backup snapshot of your system at a particular timestamp and then run that script regularly.
Backup Details
To backup the relevant parts of |RCE| required to restore your system, use the information in this section to identify what is important to you.
Repository Backup
To back up your |repos|, use the API to get a list of all |repos| managed, and then clone them to your backup location. This is the most safe backup option. Backing up the storage directory could potentially result in a backup of partially committed files or commits. (Backup taking place during a big push) As an alternative you could use a rsync or simple cp commands if you can ensure your instance is only in read-only mode or stopped at the moment.
Use the get_repos method to list all your managed |repos|, and use the clone_uri information that is returned. See the :ref:`api` for more information. Be sure to keep the structure or repositories with their repository groups.
Important
This will not work for |svn| |repos|. Currently the only way to back up your |svn| |repos| is to make a copy of them.
It is also important to note, that you can only restore the |svn| |repos| using the same version as they were saved with.
Database Backup
The instance database contains all the |RCE| permissions settings, and user management information. To backup your database, export it using the following appropriate example, and then move it to your backup location:
# For MySQL DBs $ mysqldump -u <uname> -p <pass> rhodecode_db_name > mysql-db-backup # MySQL restore command $ mysql -u <uname> -p <pass> rhodecode_db_name < mysql-db-backup # For PostgreSQL DBs $ PGPASSWORD=<pass> pg_dump --inserts -U <uname> -h localhost rhodecode_db_name > postgresql-db-backup # PosgreSQL restore $ PGPASSWORD=<pass> psql -U <uname> -h localhost -d rhodecode_db_name -1 -f postgresql-db-backup # For SQLite $ sqlite3 rhodecode.db ‘.dump’ > sqlite-db-backup # SQLite restore $ copy sqlite-db-backup rhodecode.db
The default |RCE| SQLite database location is :file:`/home/{user}/.rccontrol/{instance-id}/rhodecode.db`
If running MySQL or PostgreSQL databases, you will have configured these separately, for more information see :ref:`rhodecode-database-ref`
Configuration File Backup
Depending on your setup, you could have a number of configuration files that should be backed up. You may have some, or all of the configuration files listed in the :ref:`config-rce-files` section. Ideally you should back these up at the same time as the database and |repos|. It really depends on if you need the configuration file like logs, custom modules. We always recommend backing those up.
Gist Backup
To backup the gists on your |RCE| instance you usually have to backup the gist storage path. If this haven't been changed it's located inside :file:`.rc_gist_store` and the metadata in :file:`.rc_gist_metadata`. You can use the get_users and get_gists API methods to fetch the gists for each user on the instance.
Extension Backups
You should also backup any extensions added in the :file:`home/{user}/.rccontrol/{instance-id}/rcextensions` directory.
Full-text Search Backup
You may also have full text search set up, but the index can be rebuild from re-imported |repos| if necessary. You will most likely want to backup your :file:`mapping.ini` file if you've configured that. For more information, see the :ref:`indexing-ref` section.
Restoration Steps
To restore an instance of |RCE| from its backed up components, to a fresh system use the following steps.
- Install a new instance of |RCE| using sqlite option as database.
- Restore your database.
- Once installed, replace you backed up the :file:`rhodecode.ini` with your backup version. Ensure this file points to the restored database, see the :ref:`config-database` section.
- Restart |RCE| and remap and rescan your |repos| to verify filesystem access, see the :ref:`remap-rescan` section.
Post Restoration Steps
Once you have restored your |RCE| instance to basic functionality, you can then work on restoring any specific setup changes you had made.
- To recreate the |RCE| index, use the backed up :file:`mapping.ini` file if you had made changes and rerun the indexer. See the :ref:`indexing-ref` section for details.
- To reconfigure any extensions, copy the backed up extensions into the :file:`/home/{user}/.rccontrol/{instance-id}/rcextensions` and also specify any custom hooks if necessary. See the :ref:`extensions-hooks-ref` section for details.