Back up and restore

A backup is one file holding the panel's database: every client, certificate, inbound, node, account and setting. The Backup tab under Settings downloads it and restores from it, and the ovira backup command makes one on the server. This page covers both, what a backup does not hold, and what happens on restore.

Download a backup

Only owners see the tab.

1. Open Settings → Backup.
2. Press Download backup.

The browser saves a file named like ovira-20261030-1415.db. It can be made while the panel is running. The file holds client secrets and certificates, so keep it private and store it away from the server.

Restore from a backup

1. Open Settings → Backup.
2. Under Restore from backup, press Choose file and select a .db file.
3. The panel checks that it is an Ovira backup, and answers Backup uploaded. Restart the panel to switch to it. Otherwise it refuses the file.
4. Open Settings → Panel access and press Restart panel.

On restart the uploaded file replaces the current database. The previous database stays on the server next to it, with .before-restore- and the time added to its name, so you can go back by hand.

WARNING

Restoring replaces everything that changed after the backup was made: clients created, traffic used, accounts and settings.

What a backup does not hold

The database does not hold the files that decide how the panel is served: the port, the secret path and the HTTPS certificate files. After a restore on the same server these stay as they were. The license is tied to the server and is not moved by a backup, see License.

From the command line

On the panel server, as root:

ovira backup                       # saves to /root/ovira-backup-DATE.tar.gz
ovira backup /root/panel.tar.gz    # saves to a path you choose

This file is a .tar.gz with ovira.db and config.json inside. It is the better copy for disaster recovery, because it includes the panel's configuration. To restore it through the panel, extract ovira.db and upload that file. Run the command from cron to schedule backups.

Related pages

• Move the panel: restoring a backup onto a new server.
• Update Ovira: take a backup first.
• Settings: the other tabs.