Data backup
Back up and restore the database from the web admin console to keep your data safe.
In the left menu of the admin console, click "Database maintenance". The page has three tabs at the top: "Backup", "Restore" and "Migrate".
Enter maintenance mode first
1. Database backup
Open the "Backup" tab and click "Back up now" in the upper right corner. A live progress bar shows the table being processed, the table progress and the row count.
What is backed up
A backup exports all table data in the database, including the organization structure, user accounts, groups and chat history indexes.
Info
imdata/data/ (files, images, voice messages, etc. sent and received in chats) and imdata/cloud/ (cloud drive files).Managing backup files
Backup files are saved in the backup/ directory on the server. In the "Backup history" list you can:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| View details | Shows the backup time, file size, server version, source database type, run mode, number of tables and total rows |
| Download | Saves the backup file to your computer |
| Delete | Deletes the backup file from the server (cannot be undone) |
2. Database restore
Danger
Option 1: Restore from an existing backup
Open the "Restore" tab. The system lists all backup files in the backup/ directory. Select the backup you want, click "Restore" and confirm. The restore starts and shows live progress.
Option 2: Upload a backup file and restore
If the backup file is on your computer or another server, go to the "Upload backup file and restore" section at the bottom of the restore page, choose a backup file in .zip or .db.gz format, and click "Upload and restore".
After restoring
1. When the restore is complete, restart the HelpChat Server service.
2. To restore chat files and cloud drive files, manually copy the previously backed up imdata/data/ and imdata/cloud/ directories over the matching locations on the server.
3. Backup recommendations
Back up regularly: back up the database at least once a week, and once before and once after any major change.
Keep copies off-site: use "Download" to save backup files to your computer or other storage, so the data is not all lost if the server fails.
Full backups: in addition to database backups, regularly copy the whole imdata/ directory (including data, cloud and the database files) so that chat files and cloud drive files are complete.
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