Backup

The backup module is used to backup and restore website files and databases, supporting local backup and remote storage.

Backup Page

Backup Types

The backup module supports the following types of backups:

Type	Description
Website	Backup website files
MySQL	Backup Percona/MySQL/MariaDB databases
PostgreSQL	Backup PostgreSQL databases

The MySQL and PostgreSQL tabs only appear when the corresponding database engine is installed.

Create Backup

1. Select the backup type tab (Website/MySQL/PostgreSQL)
2. Click Create Backup
3. Select the website (for the Website type) or enter the database name (for database types) to back up
4. Select the backup storage
5. Click Submit

The compression format of backup archives is controlled by Settings > Basic > Backup Compression Format, which supports tar.xz (default), tar.gz, tar.zst, zip and 7z.

Backup file formats (<format> is the configured compression format):

• Website: <name>.<format> archive of the website directory
• Database: <name>.sql.<format> compressed SQL dump

Backup List

The backup list displays the following information:

• Filename: Backup file name
• Size: Backup file size
• Update Date: Backup time
• Actions: Restore, delete

Restore Backup

1. Find the backup to restore in the backup list
2. Click the Restore button
3. In the dialog, select the target website (for the Website type) or enter the target database name (for database types), then click Submit

Warning

The restore operation will overwrite existing data. Please ensure you have backed up current data!

Upload Backup

Click the Upload Backup button to upload local backup files for data restoration. Supported file types are .sql, .zip, .tar, .gz, .tgz, .bz2, .xz, .zst and .7z.

Storage Management

Switch to the Storage tab to manage backup storage locations.

Local Storage

The default storage location, backup files are saved locally on the server.

Remote Storage

Click Add Storage to add remote storage, supporting:

• S3 Compatible Storage: AWS S3, Alibaba Cloud OSS, Tencent Cloud COS, etc.
• SFTP: SFTP servers (authenticate with either a password or a private key)
• WebDAV: WebDAV servers

Advantages of remote storage:

• Off-site backup to prevent data loss
• Does not occupy server disk space
• Convenient for sharing backups across multiple servers

S3 Compatible Storage Configuration

S3 compatible storage is the most commonly used remote storage method. Most cloud storage providers offer S3 compatible interfaces.

Configuration Parameters

Parameter	Description
Name	Name of the storage configuration for identification
Type	Select S3
Access Key	Access Key ID
Secret Key	Access Key Secret
Style	Virtual Hosted or Path Style
Region	Region code, e.g., us-east-1, cn-hangzhou
Endpoint	S3 service endpoint URL
Scheme	HTTPS (recommended) or HTTP
Bucket	Bucket name
Path	Sub-path for backup file storage (optional)

Access Style Explanation

S3 has two URL access styles:

• Virtual Hosted Style: https://bucket.endpoint/key

  • Bucket name as subdomain
  • AWS S3 uses this style by default

• Path Style: https://endpoint/bucket/key

  • Bucket name as part of the path
  • Self-hosted MinIO typically uses this style

Compatibility List

Provider	Documentation	Compatible Access Style	Compatibility
Alibaba Cloud OSS	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style	✅
Tencent Cloud COS	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
Qiniu Cloud	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
Baidu Cloud BOS	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
JD Cloud	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style	✅
Kingsoft Cloud	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style	✅
QingCloud QingStor	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
NetEase Shufan	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style	✅
Cloudflare R2	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
Oracle Cloud	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
Upyun	Docs	Virtual Hosted Style / Path Style	✅
Self-hosted MinIO	-	Path Style	✅
Huawei Cloud OBS	-	Virtual Hosted Style	❓

Note

Huawei Cloud official documentation does not specify S3 API compatibility, but it works in actual testing.

Configuration Examples

Alibaba Cloud OSS

Name: aliyun-oss
Type: S3
Access Key: Your AccessKey ID
Secret Key: Your AccessKey Secret
Style: Virtual Hosted
Region: cn-hangzhou
Endpoint: oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com
Scheme: HTTPS
Bucket: your-bucket-name
Path: backup (optional)

Tencent Cloud COS

Name: tencent-cos
Type: S3
Access Key: Your SecretId
Secret Key: Your SecretKey
Style: Virtual Hosted
Region: ap-guangzhou
Endpoint: cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com
Scheme: HTTPS
Bucket: your-bucket-name
Path: backup (optional)

Cloudflare R2

Name: cloudflare-r2
Type: S3
Access Key: Your Access Key ID
Secret Key: Your Secret Access Key
Style: Path Style
Region: auto
Endpoint: <account-id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
Scheme: HTTPS
Bucket: your-bucket-name
Path: backup (optional)

Self-hosted MinIO

Name: minio
Type: S3
Access Key: minioadmin
Secret Key: minioadmin
Style: Path Style
Region: us-east-1
Endpoint: minio.example.com:9000
Scheme: HTTP or HTTPS
Bucket: backup
Path: (optional)

Note

• Please ensure the bucket has been created and has correct access permissions
• It is recommended to create dedicated access keys for backups with limited permissions
• Some providers' Endpoints need to include region information

Scheduled Backup

Combined with the Scheduled Tasks feature, you can set up automatic scheduled backups:

1. Go to Tasks > Scheduled Tasks
2. Create a new task
3. Select backup type
4. Set execution schedule
5. Select storage location

Command Line Backup

In addition to the Web interface, backups can be triggered from the command line tool. This is useful for custom shell scripts and for the commands run by scheduled tasks. Most commands accept an optional -s, --storage flag specifying the storage ID (the panel command does not); when omitted, the backup is saved to local storage.

# Backup a website by name
acepanel backup website -n <website_name> [-s <storage_id>]

# Backup a database (type is mysql or postgresql)
acepanel backup database -t <type> -n <database_name> [-s <storage_id>]

# Backup an arbitrary directory
acepanel backup path -p <directory_path> [-s <storage_id>]

# Backup the panel itself
acepanel backup panel

# Clean up old backups, keeping the most recent <keep> copies
# <file> is the file name prefix used to match backups of the same target
acepanel backup clear -t <type> -f <file> -k <keep> [-s <storage_id>]

Note

The command line tool can back up directories (path) and the panel (panel), which are not available as tabs in the Web backup module. The clear command is the same retention cleanup used by scheduled backup tasks: for each target it keeps the newest keep archives and removes the rest.

Backup Strategy Recommendations

Backup Frequency

Data Type	Recommended Frequency
Database	Daily
Website Files	Weekly
Configuration Files	Immediately after modification

Retention Policy

• Keep daily backups for the last 7 days
• Keep weekly backups for the last 4 weeks
• Keep monthly backups for the last 3 months

Storage Location

• Keep at least one local backup
• Important data should also be backed up to remote storage
• Regularly verify the integrity of backup files