Backups That Actually Work

Self-hosting means you’re responsible for your data. No “Contact Support to restore from backup.” You are the support.

The good news: backing up Docker-based tools is simple once you set up a system.

What to Back Up

Component	Where It Lives	How to Back Up
Docker volumes	`/var/lib/docker/volumes/`	Volume export or rsync
Databases (Postgres)	Inside a Docker container	`pg_dump`
Config files	Your `docker-compose.yml` and `.env`	Git or file copy

⚠️ Heads Up: docker-compose.yml files are easy to recreate. Database data is not. Prioritize database backups above everything else.

Method 1: Database Dumps (Essential)

Most self-hosted tools use PostgreSQL. Here’s how to dump it:


# Dump a Postgres database running in a container
docker exec your-db-container \
  pg_dump -U postgres your_database > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

To restore:


cat backup_20260218.sql | docker exec -i your-db-container \
  psql -U postgres your_database

Method 2: Volume Backup

For tools that store data in Docker volumes:


# Find your volumes
docker volume ls
 
# Backup a volume to a tar file
docker run --rm \
  -v my_volume:/data \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/my_volume_backup.tar.gz /data

Method 3: Automated Script

Create a backup script that runs daily via cron:


#!/bin/bash
# /opt/backup.sh
 
BACKUP_DIR="/opt/backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M)
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
 
# Dump Postgres databases
docker exec supabase-db pg_dump -U postgres postgres > $BACKUP_DIR/supabase_$DATE.sql
docker exec plausible_db pg_dump -U postgres plausible_db > $BACKUP_DIR/plausible_$DATE.sql
 
# Clean backups older than 7 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql" -mtime +7 -delete
 
echo "Backup complete: $DATE"

Add to cron:


# Run at 3 AM every day
crontab -e
# Add this line:
0 3 * * * /opt/backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1

The 3-2-1 Rule

For serious setups, follow the 3-2-1 backup rule:

3 copies of your data
2 different storage types (local + remote)
1 offsite copy (rsync to another server, or upload to B2/S3)


# Sync backups to a remote server
rsync -avz /opt/backups/ user@backup-server:/backups/

Next Steps

You now have the four foundational concepts: Docker, reverse proxies, SSL, and backups. Time to build:

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