yams.media/content/advanced/backups.md

title, date, draft, weight, summary

title	date	draft	weight	summary
Backups	2023-01-17T19:38:39-03:00	false	80	Everything you need to know about backing up and restoring your YAMS setup

Keeping Your YAMS Safe 💾

Your YAMS configuration is precious! Let's make sure it's properly backed up so you can recover from any mishaps.

Creating Backups 📦

YAMS includes a super handy backup command that takes care of everything:

yams backup [destination]

Quick Backup Example

Let's say you want to back up to your home directory:

yams backup ~/backups/

You'll see something like this:

Stopping YAMS services...

Backing up YAMS to /home/roger...
This may take a while depending on the size of your installation.
Please wait... ⌛

Backup completed! 🎉
Starting YAMS services...

Backup completed successfully! 🎉
Backup file: /home/roger/yams-backup-2024-12-23-1734966570.tar.gz

What Gets Backed Up? 🤔

The backup includes:

• All your container configurations
• Your YAMS settings
• Your service preferences
• Custom container configurations
• Important environment variables

Pro Backup Tips 💡

1. Regular Backups: Schedule them weekly or monthly
2. Multiple Locations: Keep copies in different places
3. Before Updates: Always backup before updating YAMS
4. Version Control: Keep a few recent backups around
5. Test Restores: Occasionally verify your backups work

Restoring from Backup 🔄

Need to restore your YAMS setup? Here's the step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Extract the Backup

tar -xzvf your-backup.tar.gz -C /your/new/location
cd /your/new/location

Step 2: Update YAMS Configuration

Edit the YAMS binary with your favorite text editor (we'll use nano here, but use whatever you prefer):

nano yams

Find and update these lines:

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# Constants
readonly DC="docker compose -f your/new/location/docker-compose.yaml -f your/new/location/docker-compose.custom.yaml"  # Update this!
readonly INSTALL_DIRECTORY="your/new/location"  # Update this!

Step 3: Install YAMS Binary

sudo cp yams /usr/local/bin/

Step 4: Start YAMS

yams start

Best Practices 📚

1. Regular Schedule

   # Example: Weekly backups to different locations
   yams backup ~/backups/weekly/
   yams backup /mnt/external/yams-backup/
   

2. Pre-Update Backups

   # Before running yams update
   yams backup ~/backups/pre-update/
   

Troubleshooting 🔧

Backup Failed?

1. Check disk space:

   df -h
   

2. Verify write permissions:

   ls -la /backup/destination
   

3. Try stopping services manually:

   yams stop
   

Restore Issues?

1. Verify backup integrity:

   tar -tvf your-backup.tar.gz
   

2. Check file permissions
3. Ensure all paths are correct in the YAMS binary

Advanced Topics 🎓

Automated Backups

You can automate backups using cron. Here's an example:

1. Open your crontab:

   crontab -e
   

2. Add a weekly backup job:

   # Run backup every Sunday at 2 AM
   0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/yams backup /path/to/backups/
   

Backup Rotation

Keep your backups manageable with rotation:

#!/bin/bash
# backup-rotate.sh
MAX_BACKUPS=5
BACKUP_DIR="/path/to/backups"

# Create new backup
yams backup $BACKUP_DIR

# Remove old backups
ls -t $BACKUP_DIR/yams-backup-* | tail -n +$((MAX_BACKUPS + 1)) | xargs rm -f

Need Help? 🆘

If you run into backup or restore issues:

1. Check our Common Issues page
2. Visit the YAMS Forum
3. Join our Discord or Matrix chat

Remember: The best time to make a backup is BEFORE you need it! 🎯