Backup and Restore¶

This article outlines backup and restore methods for EspoCRM in various environments:

Non-containerized installation
Docker installation

Non-containerized installation¶

Refers to a traditional installation that does not use containers.

Backup with a script¶

You can use a script to back up all needed data. Login via SSH and run the commands (tested on the Ubuntu server).

Step 1. Download a script¶

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espocrm/documentation/stable/docs/_static/scripts/backup.sh

Step 2. Run the script¶

bash ./backup.sh PATH_TO_ESPOCRM BACKUP_PATH

where

PATH_TO_ESPOCRM is a path to installed EspoCRM directory
BACKUP_PATH is a path to backup directory

For Ubuntu server it is:

bash ./backup.sh /var/www/html /opt/backups

Note: If your MariaDB / MySQL user doesn't have needed rights to dump your database, you will be prompted to enter credentials of another MariaDB / MySQL user.

After successful creation, you will get a path to the created backup.

Manual backup¶

To make a full backup of your EspoCRM instance you need to copy EspoCRM files and dump the database. Here are the instructions on how to do it on an Ubuntu server with MySQL or MariaDB.

Step 1. Back up files¶

Create an archive of the entire directory contents of the EspoCRM instance. You can use the following command:

tar -czf "files.tar.gz" -C /var/www/html .

The command above implies that the path to your instance is /var/www/html, which is usual default path on Linux servers. Modify it if needed.

Step 2. Back up database¶

To back up all your data, you have to know the database name and credentials for access. You can find the database name in the configuration file /ESPOCRM_DIRECTORY/data/config-internal.php under the section database. You can use this command to back up your database.

For MariaDB:

mariadb-dump --user=DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME > "db.sql"

For MySQL:

mysqldump --user=DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME > "db.sql"

Step 3. Copy the backup¶

That's all. Now, you have to copy the created backup to a safe place.

Manual restore¶

You can restore the EspoCRM instance from the backup created as described above.

Step 1. Unarchive backup files¶

To unarchive files, you can use Archive Manager or run the below command. Files need to be placed in the web-server directory.

tar -xzf "files.tar.gz" -C /var/www/html

where /var/www/html is the web-server directory.

Step 2. Set required permissions¶

The files should be owned by the web-server user and have correct permissions. Set required permissions by following this instruction.

Step 3. Import database dump¶

Database dump should be imported to the same database with the same user credentials, otherwise the correction should be made in the configuration file ESPOCRM_DIRECTORY/data/config-internal.php. To import your database from the dump, run the command below in a terminal:

For MariaDB:

mariadb --user=DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME < db.sql

For MySQL:

mysql --user=DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME < db.sql

Step 4. Check/configure crontab¶

Check if your crontab is configured properly. Run the command below and check if a path to EspoCRM is correct:

sudo crontab -l -u www-data

where www-data is your web-server user.

If you have to make any changes, use this command:

sudo crontab -l -u www-data

More details about configuring crontab see here.

Docker installation¶

Backup with a script¶

Important

Script must be run from the host.

Step 1. Download a script¶

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espocrm/documentation/stable/docs/_static/scripts/backup-docker-container.sh

Step 2. Run the script¶

Run one of the following commands at your choice:

sudo bash backup-docker-container.sh

or

sudo bash backup-docker-container.sh CONTAINER_NAME ./BACKUP_DIR

Automatic backups¶

Backups can be scheduled on the host by adding the following entry to the crontab:

0 1 * * * sudo bash /opt/scripts/backup-docker-container.sh CONTAINER_NAME /backup/espocrm >> /backup/espocrm/backup.log 2>&1

Manual backup¶

Run the following commands:

mkdir ./BACKUP_DIR

# Database
sudo docker exec CONTAINER_NAME mariadb-dump \
  -u DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME \
  > ./BACKUP_DIR/db.sql

# Files
sudo docker exec CONTAINER_NAME tar czf - /var/www/html > ./BACKUP_DIR/files.tar.gz

Manual restore¶

Run the following commands:

# Database
sudo docker exec -i CONTAINER_NAME mariadb \
  -u DATABASE_USER --password=DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_NAME \
  < ./BACKUP_DIR/db.sql

# Files
sudo docker exec CONTAINER_NAME sh -c "rm -rf /var/www/html/*"
cat ./BACKUP_DIR/files.tar.gz | sudo docker exec -i CONTAINER_NAME tar xzf - -C /

# Restart
sudo docker restart CONTAINER_NAME