Backups

A server keeps its data in two places: the Postgres database, and the photos. Back up both, together, and keep .env, since AUTH_SECRET is what unlocks secrets saved in the web app.

Back up the server

Run these from the folder with compose.yaml.

The database:

docker compose exec -T db pg_dump -U lawfive lawfive | gzip > lawfive-db.sql.gz

The photos, unless they’re in an S3 bucket, in which case back up the bucket instead:

docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint "" -v "$PWD:/backup" server \
  tar czf /backup/lawfive-uploads.tar.gz -C /data uploads

This writes as the image’s node user (user ID 1000), so on Linux the folder has to be writable by it.

Copy the two files and .env off the machine, on a schedule that suits you.

Restore the server

Do this on a new install: follow Install a server up to editing .env, then restore instead of starting it, so the server never starts with an empty database. Use the backed-up .env, or at least its AUTH_SECRET.

Put lawfive-db.sql.gz and lawfive-uploads.tar.gz in the folder with compose.yaml, then run these from it. --wait holds until the database is ready to take the restore.

docker compose up -d --wait db
gunzip -c lawfive-db.sql.gz | docker compose exec -T db psql -U lawfive lawfive
docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint "" -v "$PWD:/backup" server \
  tar xzf /backup/lawfive-uploads.tar.gz -C /data
docker compose up -d

On its first start the server’s log may say relation "__drizzle_migrations" already exists, skipping. That’s expected.

Try a restore on a spare machine at least once, so you know your backups work before you need them.

One person’s account

Anyone can keep their own copy, whichever server they’re on. Settings → Account has:

• Download everything: a zip of the account’s records as JSON, with its tracks and photos, and a short README of the format.
• Restore from an export: merges a zip into the account. Records keep their ids, and where a record is in both, the one changed last is kept. Running it twice changes nothing more.

This also moves an account from one server to another.

A restore is written to the container’s temporary folder while it’s read, so it needs that much free space, up to the 2 GB limit. Behind a proxy, check that the proxy’s upload limit allows it too.