Account and running it · Chapter 28
Backups and restoring
Versions and the bin help against a wrong click. Against a broken disk, only a backup helps. nexcanvas makes them itself, every night by default.
Where you find them
Under Settings, Server, Backups. Only the operator sees this.
| Setting | Means |
|---|---|
| Automatically | off, every night or every week; every night by default |
| Keep | how many automatic backups stay; seven by default |
| Back up now | makes a backup by hand straight away |
Only the automatic ones are cleared away. What you backed up by hand stays until you delete it.
What is inside
A backup is a ZIP with the database, all photos and files, and the key secret.key. nexcanvas copies the database while it is running, in a way that keeps it consistent. The backups lie in the data folder under backups/.
Cora saysA backup is not encrypted, and it contains the key with which nexcanvas protects the secrets for mail and the sign-in provider. Keep it as carefully as the server itself.
Checking, downloading, restoring
Every backup in the list shows how it came about (by hand, scheduled or before a change) and what it contains.
- Check tells you whether it is complete, with how many boards and files, and what a restore would add and remove.
- Download fetches the ZIP to your computer. Put it somewhere that outlives the server.
- Restore from file first does a trial run, then backs up the current state and only then plays the backup back. nexcanvas restarts while it does.
Download, Restore and Delete ask for your password once more.
Moving house
The simplest way to move to another computer is with the whole data folder: stop nexcanvas, copy /data, and start it on the new computer with the same compose file. Single boards travel as a JSON Canvas instead.