> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.flxbl.io/flxbl/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.flxbl.io/flxbl/sfp-server/managing-your-sfp-server/backup-and-restore.md).

# Backup and restore

The server's state lives in two places: the tenant directory and the container volumes. Back up both. No other path on the host holds state.

## What to back up

**1. The tenant directory** — `<base-dir>/tenants/<tenant>/` (for example `/opt/sfp-server/tenants/my-app/`). This holds the tenant's configuration:

| Path                 | Contents                                                            |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `.env`               | tenant environment configuration                                    |
| `config/`            | service configuration (reverse proxy, collector config)             |
| `secrets/`           | locally stored secrets, when not using an external secrets provider |
| `docker-compose.yml` | the rendered stack definition                                       |

These are plain files; any file-level backup tool works. Treat `.env` and `secrets/` as sensitive — encrypt backups at rest.

**2. The container volumes** — every volume belonging to the tenant's compose project. List them on your host:

```bash
docker volume ls --format '{{.Name}}' | grep -E '^<tenant>[-_]|^(supabase|hatchet|verdaccio|victoria)'
```

Volume names are prefixed with the tenant name on current deployments (`my-app-supabase-db-data`; older deployments used `my-app_supabase-db-data` or the bare base names such as `supabase-db-data`), which is why the listing matches on both forms. On a host running more than one tenant, confirm that bare-name matches belong to this tenant before including them. The set includes the application database (`supabase-db-data`), the task-queue database (`hatchet-db-data`), file storage (`supabase-storage-data`), the package registry storage (`verdaccio-data` — packages and the registry database, not a disposable cache), and the configuration volumes (`hatchet-config`, `hatchet-certs`, `verdaccio-config`, `supabase-db-config`). Back up the full set the listing returns rather than a hand-picked subset. The metrics and log history volumes (`victoriametrics-data`, `victorialogs-data`) are rebuildable; include them only if you need the history.

Back up databases with a consistent method: either stop the tenant first and snapshot the volumes, or take an online dump (`pg_dump` against the database containers) on a schedule. A file copy of a running database volume is not a reliable backup.

`sfp server update` additionally snapshots `.env`, `config/Caddyfile`, and `secrets/` to `tenants/<tenant>/backups/update-<timestamp>/` before an update (unless `--skip-backup` is passed) — this covers the update path only; it does not back up the volumes.

## Verify

Periodically restore the database dump into a scratch container and confirm it loads, and confirm the tenant-directory archive contains `.env`, `config/`, and `secrets/`.

## Restore

1. Provision a host that meets the [prerequisites](/flxbl/sfp-server/setting-up/prerequisites.md) and install the sfp CLI.
2. Restore the tenant directory into `<base-dir>/tenants/<tenant>/`.
3. Restore the volumes (or load the database dumps) before first start.
4. `sfp server start --tenant <tenant> --base-dir <base-dir>`, then `sfp server health --detailed`.

All state is in the tenant directory and the volumes, so a restore onto a fresh machine recovers the deployment.

{% content-ref url="/pages/t3uaVfN2OqoJPNeks5Xi" %}
[Troubleshooting common failures](/flxbl/sfp-server/managing-your-sfp-server/troubleshooting-common-failures.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


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