Database backups

Harblet dumps a database and stores the file at a backup destination, on a schedule or when you click Back up now. Every backup can be downloaded and restored.

Set up backups

Click Back up now to start a backup at any time. Backups you start yourself stay until you delete them. Only scheduled backups count towards Scheduled backups to keep.

How scheduled backups run

• Schedules follow UTC: every 15 minutes runs at :00, :15, :30 and :45, every hour at the top of the hour, and every day at midnight. A backup starts within about a minute of its time.
• Harblet runs one backup at a time across all databases, and its own backup first.
• Scheduled backups pause while Harblet is down. When it's back, Harblet takes the backup it missed most recently, if the next one isn't due yet. Earlier missed backups are skipped.

The backup files

Files are stored at <folder>/<project>/<database>/<time>.<extension> in the bucket, where project and database are their internal names, such as shop-k3x9/postgresql-x7k2. The History list shows who or what started each backup, its status, size and duration.

Download a backup

Click the download button of a completed backup. Restore it with the usual tools:

pg_restore --no-owner -d "$DATABASE_URL" postgresql-x7k2-2026-11-14T08-15-00-123Z.dump

gunzip < mysql-a9c3-2026-11-14T08-15-00-123Z.sql.gz | mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -u root -p app

Restore a backup

Click the restore button of a completed backup and confirm. Everything written since the backup is lost.

An alert above the list shows how the latest restore went.

• The database has to be running.
• A backup restores into the database it was taken from.
• Backups and restores run one at a time. While one runs, the buttons are disabled.

Delete a backup

Click the trash button of a backup and confirm. Harblet deletes its file from the destination. This can't be undone. A failed backup has no file, so deleting it only removes it from the list.

Errors