> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.aptible.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Database Backups

> Learn how Aptible snapshot backups, retention policies, and restore workflows protect your managed databases.

# Overview

Aptible provides several backup and recovery features for managed databases:

* Automatic daily backups
* Manual backups
* Cross-region copy backups
* Final backups for deprovisioned databases
* [Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR) for PostgreSQL](/core-concepts/managed-databases/managing-databases/point-in-time-recovery)

All backups are compressed and encrypted. Snapshot-style backups are configured through the Environment's backup retention policy.

## How Backups Work

Aptible database backups are volume snapshots of the underlying database storage. Each snapshot is a read-only copy of the database volume captured when the backup is taken.

Once a snapshot is created, its contents do not change. You can restore, copy, or purge the snapshot according to the configured policy, but the backup itself remains immutable.

## Automatic Backups

By default, Aptible creates an automatic backup of each database every 24 hours. Retention is controlled by the Environment's backup retention policy.

The policy includes these settings:

* **Daily backups retained**: Number of daily backups retained. Default: `30`
* **Monthly backups retained**: Number of monthly backups retained, using the last backup of each month. Default: `12`
* **Yearly backups retained**: Number of yearly backups retained, using the last backup of each year. Default: `6`
* **Copy backups to another region**: Whether Aptible copies backups in the Environment to another region. Default: disabled
* **Keep final backup for deprovisioned databases**: Whether Aptible keeps a final backup when a database is deprovisioned. Default: enabled
* **Point-in-time Recovery for PostgreSQL**: Whether PITR retention is enabled for supported PostgreSQL databases. Default: Enabled
* **Days of PITR data retained**: How many days of PostgreSQL WAL data are retained for PITR. Default: `1`

<Tip>
  **Recommended backup retention policies**

  **Production environments:** Daily backups retained: 14-30, Monthly backups retained: 12, Yearly backups retained: 5, Copy backups to another region: enabled as needed for DR, Keep final backup for deprovisioned databases: enabled

  **Non-production environments:** Daily backups retained: 1-14, Monthly backups retained: 0, Yearly backups retained: 0, Copy backups to another region: disabled, Keep final backup for deprovisioned databases: disabled
</Tip>

## Backup Retention Policy for Automated Backups

Automatic backup retention and PostgreSQL PITR retention are configured at the Environment level through a shared backup retention policy.

You can modify the backup retention policy in these ways:

* In the Aptible Dashboard:
  * Select the Environment
  * Select the **Backups** tab
* Using the [`aptible backup_retention_policy:set`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-retention-policy-set) CLI command
* Using the Aptible [Terraform Provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/aptible/aptible/latest/docs)

<Note>
  PITR retention appears in the Dashboard as **Point-in-time Recovery for PostgreSQL** and **Days of PITR data retained**. These PITR controls are not self-service configurable today. The current visible values are **Enabled** and **1**. If you need longer retention, contact [Aptible Support](/how-to-guides/troubleshooting/aptible-support). For current PITR prerequisites, states, and restore guidance, see [Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR)](/core-concepts/managed-databases/managing-databases/point-in-time-recovery).
</Note>

<Warning>
  Reducing retained backups, PITR data retention, cross-region copies, or final backups automatically deletes backup data that no longer matches the policy. This can permanently remove recovery data and may violate your organization's internal compliance controls.
</Warning>

<Tip>
  **Cost optimization tip:** [See this related blog for more recommendations for balancing continuity and costs](https://www.aptible.com/blog/backup-strategies-on-aptible-balancing-continuity-and-costs)
</Tip>

## Retention and Disposal

### Cross-region Copy Backups

When `COPY BACKUPS TO ANOTHER REGION` is enabled, Aptible copies backups in that Environment to a secondary region.

<Tip>
  Cross-region copy backups improve redundancy for disaster recovery. To improve recovery time objective (RTO), consider maintaining a secondary Stack in the destination region so you can restore more quickly during a regional outage.
</Tip>

The current cross-region mapping is:

<Note>
  Aptible guarantees that data processing and storage occur only within the US for US Stacks and within the EU for EU Stacks.
</Note>

| Originating region | Destination region(s)          |
| :----------------- | :----------------------------- |
| us-east-1          | us-west-1, us-west-2           |
| us-east-2          | us-west-1, us-west-2           |
| us-west-1          | us-east-1                      |
| us-west-2          | us-east-1                      |
| sa-east-1          | us-east-2                      |
| ca-central-1       | ca-west-1 (formerly us-east-2) |
| eu-west-1          | eu-central-1                   |
| eu-west-2          | eu-central-1                   |
| eu-west-3          | eu-central-1                   |
| eu-central-1       | eu-west-1                      |
| ap-northeast-1     | ap-northeast-2                 |
| ap-northeast-2     | ap-northeast-1                 |
| ap-southeast-1     | ap-northeast-2, ap-southeast-2 |
| ap-southeast-2     | ap-southeast-4                 |
| ap-south-1         | ap-southeast-2                 |

### Final Backups

When `KEEP FINAL BACKUP` is enabled, Aptible creates and retains one final backup when a database is deprovisioned. Final backups remain available as long as the Environment continues to retain them under policy.

<Tip>
  We strongly recommend enabling final backups for production Environments.
</Tip>

### Excluding a Database from New Automatic Backups

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aptible/MtH_goy23rOUOZd7/images/DisablingDatabaseBackups.gif?s=ab77a92c98cc0f60041e8a2eccdedb55" alt="Disabling Backups" width="904" height="720" data-path="images/DisablingDatabaseBackups.gif" />
</Frame>

You can exclude an individual database from new automatic backups in the Aptible Dashboard from the database's **Settings** tab, or through the Aptible Terraform Provider.

If you disable backups for a database:

* Aptible stops taking new automatic backups for that database
* Aptible does not create a final backup during deprovisioning, even if the Environment policy normally retains final backups
* Existing backups are not deleted automatically

To purge older backups yourself:

* Use [`aptible backup:list DB_HANDLE`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-list) to identify backups
* Use [`aptible backup:purge BACKUP_ID`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-purge) to delete them
* Or export output as JSON:

```bash theme={null}
APTIBLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT=json aptible backup:list DB_HANDLE
```

## Manual Backups

Manual backups can be created at any time and are retained until you explicitly delete them, even after the source database is deprovisioned.

## Purging Backups

Automatic backups are permanently deleted when the associated database is deprovisioned unless retained as final backups. Final backups and cross-region copies that no longer match policy are also purged automatically. This cleanup process can take up to 1 hour.

You can also manually delete individual backups.

## Restoring from a Backup

Restoring from a backup creates a new database from the backed-up data. It does not replace or modify the source database.

By default, restored databases are created as a 1 GB [General Purpose (M) Container Profile](/core-concepts/scaling/container-profiles#default-container-profile), though you can specify container size and profile with [`aptible backup:restore`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-restore).

<Info>
  Databases backups are stored as EBS snapshots. Databases restored from a backup can initially have degraded disk performance, as described in AWS's ["Restoring from an Amazon EBS snapshot" documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/backup-recovery/restore.html). If you are using a restored database for performance testing, run the test twice: once to warm the restored volume, and a second time to measure steady-state performance. Restoring in the same region as the original backup generally minimizes initialization time.
</Info>

<Tip>
  If you have special retention needs, such as a litigation hold, contact [Aptible Support](/how-to-guides/troubleshooting/aptible-support).
</Tip>

## Point-in-Time Recovery for PostgreSQL

Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR) is a feature available specifically for Aptible Managed **PostgreSQL** databases, allowing recovery to specific points in time, independent of automated, scheduled backups.

Visit the dedicated [Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR)](/core-concepts/managed-databases/managing-databases/point-in-time-recovery) page to learn how to make the most of this feature.

## Encryption

Aptible's built-in [Database Encryption](/core-concepts/managed-databases/managing-databases/database-encryption/overview) applies automatically to backups of a given database.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I modify an Environment's backup retention policy?">
    Backup retention policies can be modified in one of these ways:

    * Within the Aptible Dashboard:
      * Select the Environment
      * Select the **Backups** tab
    * Using the [`aptible backup_retention_policy:set`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-retention-policy-set) CLI command
    * Using the Aptible [Terraform Provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/aptible/aptible/latest/docs)

          <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aptible/gJr2xlqbHzeeHUse/images/backups.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=gJr2xlqbHzeeHUse&q=85&s=99804bb00264e6da0a9a3c20015cbdff" alt="Reviewing Backup Retention Policy in Aptible Dashboard" width="2800" height="2000" data-path="images/backups.png" />
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I view or manage automatic backups?">
    You can view automatic backups in two ways:

    * Using the [`aptible backup:list`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-list) command
    * Within the Aptible Dashboard by navigating to the database's **Backups** tab
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I view or manage final backups?">
    Final backups can be viewed in two ways:

    * Using the [`aptible backup:orphaned`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-orphaned) command
    * Within the Aptible Dashboard by navigating to the Environment's **Backup Management** tab and selecting **Retained Backups of Deleted Databases**
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I create manual backups?">
    Manual backups can be created in two ways:

    * Using the [`aptible db:backup`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-db-backup) command
    * Within the Aptible Dashboard by navigating to the database's **Backup Management** tab and selecting **Create Backup**
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I delete a backup?">
    Backups can be deleted in these ways:

    * Using the [`aptible backup:purge`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-purge) command
    * For active databases, in the Aptible Dashboard:
      * Navigate to the Environment
      * Select the database
      * Select the **Backups** tab
      * Select **Permanently remove this backup** for the backup you want to delete
    * For deprovisioned databases, in the Aptible Dashboard:
      * Navigate to the Environment
      * Select the **Backup Management** tab
      * Select **Delete** for the backup you want to remove

            <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aptible/MtH_goy23rOUOZd7/images/App_UI_Purging_Backups.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MtH_goy23rOUOZd7&q=85&s=addb53fb4b2e5f84ade35320791a650e" alt="" width="1919" height="915" data-path="images/App_UI_Purging_Backups.png" />
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How can I exclude a database from automatic backups?">
    * Navigate to the database
    * Select the **Settings** tab
    * Choose **Disabled: No new backups allowed** within **Database Backups**
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How should I set my backup retention policy for production environments?">
    A typical production policy might look like this:

    * Yearly backups retained: 0-6
    * Monthly backups retained: 3-12
    * Daily backups retained: 15-60
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How should I set my backup retention policy for non-production environments?">
    A typical non-production policy might look like this:

    * Yearly backups retained: 0
    * Monthly backups retained: 0-1
    * Daily backups retained: 1-7

    To optimize costs, it is usually best to disable cross-region copy backups and final backups in non-production environments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I restore a backup?">
    You can restore a backup in these ways:

    * Using the [`aptible backup:restore`](/reference/aptible-cli/cli-commands/cli-backup-restore) command
    * For active databases, within the Aptible Dashboard:
      * Navigate to the Environment
      * Select the database
      * Select the **Backups** tab
      * Select **Restore to a New Database** from the backup you want to restore
    * For deprovisioned databases, within the Aptible Dashboard:
      * Navigate to the Environment
      * Select the **Backup Management** tab
      * Select **Restore to a New Database** for the backup you want to restore

            <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aptible/MtH_goy23rOUOZd7/images/App_UI_Restoring_Backups.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MtH_goy23rOUOZd7&q=85&s=e74166f0fed1a1f6b7d70e9404019364" alt="" width="2800" height="2142" data-path="images/App_UI_Restoring_Backups.png" />
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>