Backups

SynergyCP Backups Package #

About #

The Backups package makes on-demand and automated backups of the SynergyCP database and copies them off-site — to any Linux server over SSH (secure copy, authenticated by private key), a Backblaze B2 bucket, or a Cloudflare R2 bucket. It is the recommended way to protect your SynergyCP installation against data loss.

Each backup is a compressed (gzip) dump of the main SynergyCP database, including stored routines, triggers, and scheduled events. The dump is taken as a consistent snapshot without locking out writes, and its integrity is verified before it is uploaded, so a backup only ever reports Finished when a valid file has arrived at its destination.

Since package version 2.4.0, every backup is encrypted (AES-256) with your panel’s secret key before it leaves the server. A backup file on its own — on the destination server, in a bucket, or intercepted in transit — cannot be read without the key stored in your configuration backup.

The bandwidth database is intentionally not included in backups to save space. Bandwidth graphs will restart from empty after a restore.

Features #

  • On-demand backups — create a backup of the database at any moment.
  • Recurring backups — automatic backups on a schedule you choose.
  • Off-site storage — backups are copied to any Linux server reachable over SSH, or to Backblaze B2 or Cloudflare R2 cloud storage.
  • Encrypted at rest — backups are encrypted with your panel’s secret key before upload; only the key in your configuration backup can decrypt them.
  • Retention limits — automatically delete old backups, per schedule and/or per destination.
  • Health monitoring — backup failures are surfaced in the SynergyCP system health indicators.

How a backup runs #

Every backup (manual or recurring) goes through the same stages, visible in its status:

Status Meaning
Queued The backup is waiting for a worker to pick it up.
Compressing The database is being dumped and compressed.
Copying The compressed file is being uploaded to the destination over SSH.
Finished The file was verified, uploaded, and the temporary local copy was removed.
Failed Something went wrong — see Troubleshooting.

A backup that stays in Queued, Compressing, or Copying for more than 24 hours (for example because the panel was restarted mid-backup) is automatically marked Failed so it cannot linger unnoticed.

Files on the destination are named <source>.<id>.<extension>, for example main-database.1077.gz.enc (encrypted backups; plain .gz on package versions before 2.4.0).

Documentation #

  1. Setup — prepare a destination server and run your first backup.
  2. Recurring backups and retention — schedules and automatic cleanup of old backups.
  3. Managing backups — statuses, deleting backups, and health monitoring.
  4. Troubleshooting — common errors and how to resolve them.

Database backups alone are not enough to restore an installation — and since package 2.4.0 they are fully encrypted with the secret key unique to your install. That key is saved by making a one-time configuration backup. Without the configuration backup, your database backups cannot be decrypted at all. Store it in a safe place, separate from the database backups.

To restore from a backup, see Restoring from a Backup.