Backup and Restore

Protect your knot configuration and data with backups.

What Gets Backed Up

Included: Users, roles, groups, templates, spaces metadata, variables, API tokens, audit logs (optional), configuration values (optional)

Not included: Space volumes, container images, server configuration file

Creating a Backup

Basic Backup

Create an unencrypted backup:

knot backup --output backup.json

Encrypted Backup

Create an encrypted backup (recommended):

knot backup --encrypt --output backup.enc

You will be prompted for an encryption password. Store this password securely as it is required for restoration.

Include Audit Logs

Include audit logs in the backup:

knot backup --encrypt --include-audit --output backup.enc

Include Configuration Values

Include server configuration values:

knot backup --encrypt --include-config --output backup.enc

Full Backup

Create a complete backup with all optional data:

knot backup --encrypt --include-audit --include-config --output backup-full.enc

Restoring from Backup

Basic Restore

Restore from an unencrypted backup:

knot restore --input backup.json

Restore Encrypted Backup

Restore from an encrypted backup:

knot restore --input backup.enc

You will be prompted for the encryption password used during backup creation.

Selective Restore

Restore only specific data types:

    
# Restore only users and groups
knot restore --input backup.enc --users --groups

# Restore only templates
knot restore --input backup.enc --templates

Available options:

--users: Restore users
--groups: Restore groups
--roles: Restore roles
--templates: Restore templates
--spaces: Restore space metadata
--variables: Restore variables
--tokens: Restore API tokens
--audit: Restore audit logs

Backup Strategies

Retention: Daily (7 days), Weekly (4 weeks), Monthly (12 months)

Storage: Local (quick recovery), Remote (disaster recovery), Cloud (redundancy)

Testing: Regularly verify backup integrity and test restore procedures

Migration

Create full backup on old server
Install knot on new server
Restore backup
Update configuration
Verify data

Automation

Automated Backups

Create backup script:

    
    
  
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="$BACKUP_DIR/knot-$DATE.enc"

# Create encrypted backup
knot backup --encrypt --include-audit --output "$BACKUP_FILE"

# Remove backups older than 7 days
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "knot-*.enc" -mtime +7 -delete

# Upload to remote storage
rsync -az "$BACKUP_FILE" backup-server:/backups/knot/

Monitoring

Monitor backup success:

Check backup completion
Verify backup file size
Alert on backup failures
Track backup duration

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