How to set up website backup using Hestia

Backup is your safety net in case of unforeseen situations. Errors, viruses, website malfunctions — all this can happen at any time. But if you have a copy of the site, you can easily restore the information in a couple of clicks.

In the Hestia panel, everything is quite simple to work with: everything is done without a terminal and complex commands. Below we will figure out how to enable backup.

What is backup in Hestia and how does it work?

When the backup feature is enabled, Hestia automatically saves:

• site files,
• databases,
• mail settings,
• and even custom parameters.

All this data is collected in one archive, which can be downloaded or used for recovery at any time.

How to enable backup

Step 1. Enable backup for the user

First, you need to make sure that backups are enabled at the server level and for a specific user.

You must ensure that backups are enabled.

1. Go to admin panel «Users» — this is where all accounts are located.
2. Select the desired user and click «Edit» (Edit).
3. Check the box next to the item «Enable backups».
   Here you can specify:

• where to save backups (locally or remotely);
• how many copies to store
• whether sending to remote storage is enabled (for example, via FTP or SFTP).
•  Save your changes.

Now a backup copy will be created for this user — either scheduled or manually.

Step 2. Set up a schedule and storage location

By default, copies are stored directly on the server. This is convenient, but unsafe: if the server fails, both sites and backups will be lost. Therefore, it is better to connect an external server via FTP/SFTP or cloud storage.

This can be configured in the admin panel, in the section «Server settings» → «Backups»:

• specify the path to the remote storage;
• set login, password and port;
• choose how many copies to keep;
• set the frequency of the backup: every day, once a week or according to a schedule.

Save your changes. Now backups will be saved where you specified. 

Step 3. Create a backup manually

Sometimes you need to save a copy right away, for example, before updating a site or setting up a new module. You can do it like this:

1.   Go to the panel under the desired user.
2.   Open section «Backups».
3.   Click the button «Create Backup».
4.   Wait for it to complete; the process will take a few minutes.

The created archive will appear in the list below. It can be downloaded or restored at any time.

Step 4. Download a copy for yourself

Storing backups only on the server is not always reliable. It is better to save archives to your computer, external drive or cloud from time to time.

To download a backup:

1.   Go to «Backups».
2.   Find the archive you need and click «Download».

The file will be saved in .tar format.

Step 5. Restoring from a copy

If something goes wrong and the site stops opening or files are lost, then thanks to backups you can always roll back to the working version.

1.   Go to the section «Backups».
2.   Select the desired archive.
3.   Click «Restore» and confirm the action.

In a few minutes, everything will return to the state in which the site was at the time the copy was created.

 What else is worth considering

• Storage capacity: Make sure there is enough space on the server — especially if you are storing multiple copies at once.
• Regularity of creating copies: Automatic backups work best with a stable schedule. You shouldn’t turn them off even temporarily.
• Copying to external resources: by If possible, save at least one copy outside the server — this is additional protection against serious failures.

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