Backup & Restore
Protect your mail server data with manual and scheduled backups, selective content inclusion, and easy download for recovery.
Backups let you protect your mail server's configuration, database, DKIM keys, and mailbox data. You can create one-off backups manually or set up a recurring schedule so backups happen automatically.
Pro feature
Backup & Restore is available on the Pro plan and above.
Overview
The Backup page shows four stat cards at the top:
| Stat | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Backups | Number of backup archives on the server |
| Successful | Backups that completed without errors |
| Total Size | Combined size of all backup archives |
| Latest Backup | Date of the most recent backup |
Below the stats is a searchable, paginated list of all backups.
What's included
When creating a backup you choose which components to include:
| Component | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Config | Postfix, Dovecot, and OpenDKIM configuration files |
| Database | All user, domain, and alias data from MariaDB |
| DKIM Keys | Private and public key pairs used for email signing |
| Mailboxes | Complete user email data (can be very large depending on usage) |
You must select at least one component. The resulting archive is a .tar.gz file named with the date, time, and included contents.
Creating a manual backup
- Click Create Backup at the top of the Backup page
- Select the components you want to include
- Click Start Backup
The backup runs on the server and appears in the list once complete. Only one backup can run at a time -- if a backup is already in progress, the button is disabled.
Scheduled backups
Set up automatic backups so you never forget:
- Open the Scheduled Backups card on the Backup page
- Toggle the schedule on
- Choose a frequency:
- Daily -- runs every day at the time you set
- Weekly -- runs once per week on the day and time you set
- Set the hour and minute (UTC)
- Select which components to include
- Click Save Schedule
Times are in UTC
The schedule runs in UTC. Make sure to convert from your local timezone when setting the time.
Defaults for scheduled backups include config, database, and DKIM keys but exclude mailboxes to keep archive sizes manageable. Enable mailboxes if you want full email data in your automated backups.
Managing backups
Each backup in the list shows its ID, status, date, size, and included components. Three actions are available:
- Download -- download the
.tar.gzarchive to your computer - Restore -- shows instructions for restoring from the archive on your server
- Delete -- permanently removes the backup archive (requires admin role or backups permission)
Use the search bar to find backups by ID or date. The page size selector lets you show 10 to 100 backups per page.
Restoring from a backup
To restore from a backup:
- Download the backup archive from the dashboard
- Transfer the archive to your mail server (via SCP, SFTP, or similar)
- Extract the archive on the server:
tar -xzf ceymail-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-contents.tar.gz -C /
- Restart the affected services to pick up the restored configuration
Test restores periodically
Don't wait for an emergency to find out your backups work. Download and verify a backup periodically to make sure the archive is complete and extractable.
Storage
Backup archives are stored on the server at /var/backups/ceymail/. Monitor disk space on your server to ensure there is room for new backups, especially if you include mailboxes or run daily schedules.