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Backups

Keeping Your YAMS Safe 💾

Your YAMS configuration is precious! Let’s make sure it’s properly backed up so you can recover from any mishaps.

Creating Backups 📦

YAMS includes a super handy backup command that takes care of everything:

yams backup [destination]

Quick Backup Example

Let’s say you want to back up to your home directory:

yams backup ~/backups/

You’ll see something like this:

Stopping YAMS services...

Backing up YAMS to /home/roger...
This may take a while depending on the size of your installation.
Please wait... ⌛

Backup completed! 🎉
Starting YAMS services...

Backup completed successfully! 🎉
Backup file: /home/roger/yams-backup-2024-12-23-1734966570.tar.gz

What Gets Backed Up? 🤔

The backup includes:

  • All your container configurations
  • Your YAMS settings
  • Your service preferences
  • Custom container configurations
  • Important environment variables

Pro Backup Tips 💡

  1. Regular Backups: Schedule them weekly or monthly
  2. Multiple Locations: Keep copies in different places
  3. Before Updates: Always backup before updating YAMS
  4. Version Control: Keep a few recent backups around
  5. Test Restores: Occasionally verify your backups work

Restoring from Backup 🔄

Need to restore your YAMS setup? Here’s the step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Extract the Backup

tar -xzvf your-backup.tar.gz -C /your/new/location
cd /your/new/location

Step 2: Update YAMS Configuration

Edit the YAMS binary with your favorite text editor (we’ll use nano here, but use whatever you prefer):

nano yams

Find and update these lines:

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# Constants
readonly DC="docker compose -f your/new/location/docker-compose.yaml -f your/new/location/docker-compose.custom.yaml"  # Update this!
readonly INSTALL_DIRECTORY="your/new/location"  # Update this!

Step 3: Install YAMS Binary

sudo cp yams /usr/local/bin/

Step 4: Start YAMS

yams start

Best Practices 📚

  1. Regular Schedule

    # Example: Weekly backups to different locations
yams backup ~/backups/weekly/
yams backup /mnt/external/yams-backup/

  2. Pre-Update Backups

    # Before running yams update
yams backup ~/backups/pre-update/

Troubleshooting 🔧

Backup Failed?

  1. Check disk space:
    df -h
  2. Verify write permissions:
    ls -la /backup/destination
  3. Try stopping services manually:
    yams stop

Restore Issues?

  1. Verify backup integrity:
    tar -tvf your-backup.tar.gz
  2. Check file permissions
  3. Ensure all paths are correct in the YAMS binary

Advanced Topics 🎓

Automated Backups

You can automate backups using cron. Here’s an example:

  1. Open your crontab:

    crontab -e

  2. Add a weekly backup job:

    # Run backup every Sunday at 2 AM
0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/yams backup /path/to/backups/

Backup Rotation

Keep your backups manageable with rotation:

#!/bin/bash
# backup-rotate.sh
MAX_BACKUPS=5
BACKUP_DIR="/path/to/backups"

# Create new backup
yams backup $BACKUP_DIR

# Remove old backups
ls -t $BACKUP_DIR/yams-backup-* | tail -n +$((MAX_BACKUPS + 1)) | xargs rm -f

Need Help? 🆘

If you run into backup or restore issues:

  1. Check our Common Issues page
  2. Visit the YAMS Forum
  3. Join our Discord or Matrix chat

Remember: The best time to make a backup is BEFORE you need it! 🎯