Backups, restore, and upgrades

PostgreSQL holds the application data, uploaded files, and import archives. The Compose setup uses database opentoggl, user postgres, service postgres, and volume opentoggl-postgres-data. Redis has persistence disabled; there is no Redis backup to keep.

Make a backupCopy Anchor Link

Run this from the folder containing docker-compose.yml:

docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump -U postgres -d opentoggl -Fc > backup.dump

Keep a copy off the server. Also keep docker-compose.yml, your .env, and proxy configuration somewhere private; they are not in the database dump.

For a daily backup, create /srv/backups, adjust both paths and the Docker executable, and add this to the crontab of a user who can run Docker:

0 2 * * * cd /srv/opentickly && umask 077 && /usr/bin/docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump -U postgres -d opentoggl -Fc > /srv/backups/opentickly-$(date +\%F).dump

Check the job's exit status and test restores regularly. A file's existence alone does not prove it is usable.

RestoreCopy Anchor Link

Test on a separate instance first. Restoring replaces the backed-up database objects and discards changes made to them since the backup. Use the same application version as the backup, with PostgreSQL running:

docker compose stop opentoggl &&
  docker compose exec -T postgres pg_restore -U postgres -d opentoggl --clean --if-exists --exit-on-error < backup.dump &&
  docker compose up -d opentoggl

If pg_restore fails, keep the app stopped and fix the error before starting it. Sign in afterward and check entries and uploaded files. Do not delete the database volume.

Upgrade or roll backCopy Anchor Link

1. Make a backup and record the current image version or digest. A moving latest tag is not a rollback version.
2. Run:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

3. The server updates the database schema automatically at startup. Check docker compose logs opentoggl, sign in, and check your data.

To roll back, stop opentoggl, pin its previous image tag or digest in docker-compose.yml, pull that image, and restore the backup taken before the upgrade using the steps above. Starting an older image against an upgraded database is not a safe rollback. Changes made after the backup will be lost.