# Backups

TREK stores all data in a single SQLite database (`travel.db`) plus an `uploads/` directory of attachments, cover photos, and avatars — by default; storage backends and replication are configured in [[Admin: Storage|Admin-Storage]]. The Backup panel lets you create, download, restore, and schedule backups of both.

## Where to find it

**Admin Panel > Backup** tab, in the **Maintenance** group of the side navigation. The tab has two cards: **Data Backup** (the list of backups with **Refresh**, **Upload Backup** and **Create Backup**) and **Auto-Backup**.

![Backup tab](assets/Backup.png)

## What a backup contains

A backup is a ZIP archive with these entries:

| Entry | Contents |
|---|---|
| `travel.db` | The full SQLite database, as a consistent snapshot taken while TREK keeps running (writes during the backup cannot tear it) |
| `uploads/` | All uploaded attachments, covers, and avatars (default location — see [Admin: Storage](Admin-Storage)) |
| `plugins-data/` | Each installed plugin's own database + files (present only if plugins are installed) |
| `plugins-code/` | The installed plugin code, so a restore is self-contained (dev-linked plugins are skipped) |

**Also included:** the at-rest encryption key, unless you supply it through the `ENCRYPTION_KEY` environment variable — in that case the file is not the source of truth and is left out. Bundling it is what makes a backup restorable onto a different install, and it makes the ZIP as sensitive as the key itself: store and transfer it accordingly. See [Encryption-Key-Rotation](Encryption-Key-Rotation).

## Manual backup

Click **Create Backup** in the Backup tab. The server creates the ZIP and makes it available for download. Up to 3 manual backups can be created per hour per IP address (rate-limit window: 1 hour).

If the database snapshot cannot be taken (a full disk, for example), the backup fails: the server log says why, no new file appears in the list, and the existing backups stay as they were. TREK never falls back to zipping the live database file, which could hold a half-written state.

You can also **Download** or delete any existing backup from the list. Deleting asks first in TREK's own dialog (**Delete backup "name"?**).

## Restoring a backup

You can restore from:

- **A stored backup**: click **Restore** next to any backup in the list.
- **An uploaded ZIP**: click **Upload Backup** and select a backup file from your computer (maximum upload size: 500 MB by default, configurable with the `BACKUP_UPLOAD_LIMIT_MB` environment variable; see [Environment-Variables](Environment-Variables)).

A second limit caps the **decompressed** size of a restore archive at 5 GB by default (`BACKUP_MAX_DECOMPRESSED_MB`). It applies to both routes — a stored backup as well as an uploaded ZIP — and a restore that exceeds it is refused with `Backup exceeds the maximum decompressed size.` Raise it if your own backups legitimately grow past the default, otherwise they become unrestorable.

Before restoring, TREK runs integrity checks on the uploaded database:

1. **SQLite `PRAGMA integrity_check`** — verifies the database file is not corrupt.
2. **Required tables present** — confirms the file contains `users`, `trips`, `trip_members`, `places`, and `days`. Files missing any of these are rejected as not being a valid TREK backup.
3. **Not from a newer TREK**: a backup whose database a newer release migrated is refused with `This backup was made by a newer TREK version. Update TREK before restoring it.` Restoring it would leave this version unable to start.

The database being replaced is kept as `pre-restore-<time>.db` next to it (in `data/` on a standard install), so a restore of the wrong archive can be undone by hand. Delete these copies once you no longer need them.

The sessions signed in when the restore starts stay signed in, yours included: they are carried into the restored database for every account it holds under the same id and email. An account whose password differs in the backup still has to sign in again, and a session for an account the backup does not have ends with the restore.

Either way, TREK asks first in a **Restore Backup?** dialog that names the file, warns that all current data (trips, places, users, uploads) will be permanently replaced, and suggests creating a backup of the current state first. **Yes, restore** starts it; when it is done the page reloads.

> **Warning:** Restoring replaces all current data. Back up your current state first if you want to keep it.

> **Plugins & restart:** `travel.db` and `uploads/` are swapped in immediately. Plugin data and code are **staged** beside the live trees and applied right away: the running plugins hold their databases open, so the restore asks the plugin runtime to shut them down and swaps the trees in the moment the handles are closed. If the runtime isn't up (plugins switched off, or a restore that happens during startup), the staged trees are applied at the next boot instead. Restart the server after restoring an instance that uses plugins — the plugins are stopped for the swap and stay down until the process restarts, and the bundled encryption key is only read at startup.

### Restoring on a new install, before setup

To move TREK to a new server without setting it up first, put the backup ZIP where the container can read it and point `RESTORE_FROM_BACKUP` at it for the **first** start:

```yaml
services:
  trek:
    environment:
      - RESTORE_FROM_BACKUP=/app/data/backup-2026-09-30.zip
```

On that start TREK restores the archive before it opens the database: the database, the encryption key it carries, the uploads and the plugins come back, the database is brought up to date, and no admin account is created. Sign in with an account from the backup. The same checks as above apply, and a backup that fails them stops the start with the reason in the log instead of starting an empty instance.

The variable only acts while there is no database yet. Once the instance has one, a restart leaves it alone and logs a reminder, so it is safe to leave in the compose file, but you can remove it after the move.

## Auto-backup

Turn on **Enable auto-backup** in the **Auto-Backup** card of the Backup tab, pick the schedule and click **Save**. A new install starts with auto-backup off, set to daily at 02:00 and 7 days of retention.

**Interval** options:

- Hourly
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly

**Retention** (**Delete old backups after**): pick one of the preset windows: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, or **Keep forever**. Auto-backups older than the chosen window are pruned after each auto-backup run; **Keep forever** (stored as `keep_days = 0`) keeps all backups indefinitely.

**Schedule** options (depend on interval):

- **Run at hour**: time of day for daily, weekly, and monthly backups (0 to 23, server local time).
- **Day of week**: Sunday through Saturday (for weekly backups).
- **Day of month**: 1 to 28 (for monthly backups). Days 29 to 31 are excluded to avoid months with fewer days.

Auto-backup files are named `auto-backup-<timestamp>.zip` (manual backups use `backup-<timestamp>.zip`).

After each auto-backup run, **auto-backup files** older than `keep_days` are pruned. Manual backups are never pruned — delete those yourself when you no longer need them. Set `keep_days` to `0` to disable pruning entirely.

## Before updating TREK

Always create a manual backup before updating. See [Updating](Updating).

TREK also copies the database by itself right before a startup migrates it, to `data/pre-migrate-<schema>-<time>.db`, and keeps the newest three. That copy is what an older image can be started on again if you have to roll an update back. It holds the database only, never uploads, so it does not replace a backup. See [Updating](Updating#database-migrations).

## Audit log

The following actions are recorded in the [Audit-Log](Audit-Log):

| Action key | When |
|---|---|
| `backup.create` | Manual backup created |
| `backup.restore` | Restore from stored backup |
| `backup.upload_restore` | Restore from uploaded ZIP |
| `backup.delete` | Backup deleted |
| `backup.auto_settings` | Auto-backup settings saved |

## See also

- [Admin: Storage](Admin-Storage) — replicate backups to S3-compatible storage
- [Encryption-Key-Rotation](Encryption-Key-Rotation)
- [Admin-Panel-Overview](Admin-Panel-Overview)
- [Security-Hardening](Security-Hardening)
- [Updating](Updating)