# Back up a site

Make a backup of a site’s database, files or both whenever you need one, stored in your own backup storage.

## Before you start

- Backup storage connected to Nuvlo. See [Connect backup storage](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/connect-backup-storage).
- A site that is running. A stopped site can’t be backed up; start it first.
- A role that can manage sites. By default that is **Owner**, **Admin** and **Developer**.

## What a backup contains

What you can back up depends on the kind of site.

| Site | Backup types | What the backup holds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WordPress | Full, Database only, Files only | The database, and the `wp-content` folder with your themes, plugins and uploads. WordPress core files are not included; they come from the WordPress release. |
| PHP site with a MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL database created by Nuvlo | Full, Database only, Files only | The database, the site’s source, and the data kept between deploys (persistent paths and environment file). |
| Static site, PHP site without a database, application | Files only | The site’s source and the data kept between deploys. `node_modules` and `.git` are left out. |
| 1-Click app | Full, Database only, Files only | The app’s databases and its data volumes. |

A **Full** backup holds the database and the files together, and can later be restored in full or in part.

## Step 1: Open Backups

In the sidebar, select **Operations** and then **Backups**, or go to [Backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/backups). The **Backups** card lists every backup across your sites.

Click **Create backup** at the top of the page. Before your first backup, the button is in the middle of the empty list instead.

![The Backups page with the Create backup button and the list of backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/back-up-a-site--backups-page.webp)

## Step 2: Choose the site and what to back up

In the **Create backup** dialog, pick the **Site**.

Under **Backup type**, choose **Full (database + files)**, **Database only** or **Files only**. For sites without a database, only **Files only** is offered.

![The Create backup dialog with Site, Backup type, Storage provider and Bucket fields](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/back-up-a-site--create-backup-dialog.webp)

## Step 3: Choose where the backup is stored

Pick the **Storage provider**. The **Bucket** list shows that account’s buckets, with the bucket you chose when connecting already selected.

If Nuvlo can’t list the buckets for these keys, type the name into **Bucket name** instead.

![The Storage provider list open in the Create backup dialog](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/back-up-a-site--choose-storage.webp)

## Step 4: Start the backup

Click **Create backup**. The backup appears in the list as **Running** and the list updates on its own. When it is done, the status changes to **Completed** and the **Size** column fills in.

You can leave the page while it runs. The backup is made on the site’s server and uploaded from there straight to your bucket, so large sites can take a while.

## Back up from a WordPress site’s page

WordPress sites also have their own **Backups** tab. Open the site from [Sites](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/sites), go to **Backups** and click **Back up now**.

![The Backups tab of a WordPress site with the Schedule and settings and Back up now buttons and a list of manual and automatic backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/back-up-a-site--site-backups-tab.webp)

Choose **What to back up**: **Files and database**, **Database only** or **Files only**. The dialog shows which storage and bucket the backup goes to; that comes from the site’s backup settings. To change it, click **Change schedule**.

Click the button, for example **Back up files and database**. Nuvlo shows **Backup started**, and **Backup finished** with the size once it is done. The list marks each backup as **Manual** or **Automatic**.

![The Back up now dialog on a WordPress site’s Backups tab with What to back up and the storage it is saved to](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/back-up-a-site--site-back-up-now.webp)

If you set folders to leave out in the site’s backup settings, manual file backups leave them out too. See [Schedule automatic backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/backup-schedules).

## Find and filter backups

On [Backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/backups), filter the list by site, or by type: **Full backups**, **Includes database** or **Files only**. Each row shows the storage account the backup is in.

A failed backup shows why it failed under its status, on [Backups](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/backups) and on a WordPress site’s **Backups** tab.

## Restore tests

Once a week Nuvlo test-restores each site’s newest backup on the site’s own server, in a temporary folder and a temporary database that are deleted afterwards. Your site is not touched. The test downloads the backup, checks it is exactly the file that was uploaded, unpacks it, imports the database and checks its tables (for WordPress, that the site address is there).

A backup that passed shows **Verified** and how long ago under its status. If a test fails, the backup shows **Restore test failed** with the reason, and the account owner gets a notification and an email. Make a new backup: Nuvlo tests it right away.

The test runs with low priority and is skipped when the server has too little free disk space or memory for it; it is tried again the next day.

## Delete a backup

Open the backup’s **…** menu and choose **Delete backup**, then confirm. Nuvlo deletes the backup files from your bucket, so the backup can’t be restored afterwards. A backup that is still running can’t be deleted.

## Good to know

- Backups and other jobs on the same server run one after another. A backup may wait briefly before it starts.
- You can start up to 5 backups of the same site within 15 minutes.
- Backups made by hand are never removed by a schedule’s **Backups to keep** setting. Delete them yourself when you no longer need them.
- Your storage provider bills you for the space backups use.

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Source: https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/back-up-a-site