Step 8: Backups

PicInch uses the following files and directories, under /srv/picinch:

• certs Let’s Encrypt certificates. Backup not required.
• geodb Geo database. Backup not required.
• misc Serves files placed there. Backup the originals.
• mysql The live database. Not suitable for backup.
• photos Users’s photos. Backup required.
• site Site configuration. Backup whenever changes are made.
• docker-compose.yml Backup whenever changes are made (or keep parameters in site/configuration.yml if preferred).

There is no inbuilt support for backups. Some VM hosts offer a periodic backup of the whole server.

For a manual backup:

1. Stop PicInch using Docker Compose.
2. Export the database: docker exec picinch_db /usr/bin/mysqldump -uroot -<root-password> picinch > backup.sql
3. Copy the resulting backup.sql file to a backup system.
4. Copy /srv/picinch/photos to the backup system.
5. Restart PicInch.

To restore from backup:

1. Install PicInch if necessary, or stop the service.
2. Import a database backup: docker exec -i picinch_db /usr/bin/mysql -u root -<root-password> picinch < backup.sql
3. Restore /srv/picinch/photos from backup.
4. Restart PicInch.