Manage database backups with the CLI

This workflow creates a backup configuration for an existing database, runs it immediately, and verifies the execution.

Before you begin

You need:

a verified CLI context with permission to manage the database
the database UUID
an S3 storage UUID when the backup should also be uploaded to S3-compatible storage
a cron expression and retention policy

Find the database and available S3 destinations:

coolify context verify
coolify database list
coolify s3 list

Create a backup configuration

The following example runs every day at 02:00, keeps local backups for seven days, and uploads a copy to S3:

coolify database backup create <database-uuid> \
  --frequency "0 2 * * *" \
  --enabled \
  --save-s3 \
  --s3-storage-uuid <s3-storage-uuid> \
  --retention-days-locally 7

Use Backup create for amount, age, storage-size, timeout, database-selection, and S3 retention options.

The response contains the backup configuration UUID. Save it for updates, manual runs, and execution history.

Run the backup immediately

Trigger the new configuration instead of waiting for its next scheduled time:

coolify database backup trigger <database-uuid> <backup-uuid>

Triggering a backup does not change its schedule.

Verify the execution

List execution records for the configuration:

coolify database backup executions <database-uuid> <backup-uuid>

Confirm that the latest execution completed successfully. When S3 storage is enabled, also confirm that the expected backup appears in the configured bucket.

Change retention or scheduling

Update the existing configuration:

coolify database backup update <database-uuid> <backup-uuid> \
  --frequency "0 3 * * *" \
  --retention-days-locally 14

The command changes only the flags you supply. It returns an error when no update flags are present.

Remove a backup configuration

coolify database backup delete <database-uuid> <backup-uuid>

After deletion, list backup configurations and confirm that the removed UUID is absent:

coolify database backup list <database-uuid>