Backups
The Backups page lists every backup of your server, with a counter like "2 of 15 maximum backups created." at the top. The limit is part of the server's feature limits; once you hit it, the create option is disabled with the tooltip "This server is limited to 15 backups."
Each row shows the backup's Name, Checksum (e.g. sha256:...), Size, Files (file count), Created, and Locked? (a green closed lock when locked, a red open one when not). A backup that is still running shows a progress bar instead; a failed one shows a Failed badge. Deletion is asynchronous: the row dims under a Deleting... badge, which turns into Deletion failed if it goes wrong.
Creating a Backup
Click Create in the top right. If backup groups are available, the button opens a menu instead, with Create Backup and Create Backup Group.
The form has three fields:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Pre-filled with a generated timestamp name; change it if you like. |
| Backup Group | Only shown when the server has groups. Defaults to No group. |
| Ignored Files | Patterns for files to exclude, one pattern per line. |
The Ignored Files field shows a live match count next to each pattern, supports ! exceptions, and has a Preview ignored files toggle that opens a file browser showing exactly what would be skipped.
Backup Groups
Groups organize backups and can rotate them automatically. Each group is a collapsible card with its own search box, and any backups outside a group collect under Ungrouped. An empty group reads "This group has no backups yet." with a Create backup in this group button.
The group header shows retention at a glance:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
1/5 | Usable backups versus the group's Keep count. Turns yellow when over the limit. Groups without a Keep count show a plain "N Backups" badge instead. |
| Keep 7 Days | The group's Keep days retention. |
| No auto-deletion | No retention set; the group is just a label. |
| All locked | Every backup in the group is locked, so nothing can be rotated out. |
Creating and Editing a Group
Pick Create Backup Group from the Create menu. Give it a name and optionally set:
- Keep count: maximum number of usable backups to keep in this group. Leave empty for no limit.
- Keep days: delete backups in this group older than this many days. Leave empty for no limit.
With neither set, the group never deletes backups automatically. Use the pencil icon in a group's header to edit it later. There is also a panel-wide limit on groups per server, set under Settings > Server; the Create Backup Group option disappears once you reach it.
Deleting a Group
Click the trash icon in the group header and type the group's name to confirm. The backups inside are not deleted, they become ungrouped and follow standard rotation. A Lock backups switch locks all backups in the group first, so they cannot be rotated out automatically afterwards.
System Backups
When the panel has taken automatic backups of this server through a system backup policy, a sub-navigation appears with a System Backups tab at /backups/system: "Backups taken automatically by the panel. They cannot be modified or deleted." The rows are read-only, with no lock column and no edit or delete actions.
Backup Actions
Right-click a backup (or use the menu at the end of the row) for its actions.
Edit
Rename the backup, move it to another group, or toggle Locked. A locked backup cannot be deleted and is never rotated out by group retention.
Browse
Opens the backup's contents directly in the file manager (under a read-only /.backups/ path), so you can inspect it and pull out individual files without downloading the whole archive. Browse only appears for backups whose storage driver and format support it; see Browsing Backups from the Client UI for which do.
Download
Downloads the backup as an archive. For backups stored in a driver that can re-stream them, the entry expands into Download as ... options (.tar, .tar.gz, .tar.xz, .tar.lz, .tar.bz2, .tar.lz4, .tar.zst, .zip); others download in their stored format.
Restore
Restores the backup onto the server. Two switches control how:
- Do you want to delete all files of this server before performing this action? This cannot be undone. wipes the server first for a clean restore.
- Restore the startup command, image, and variables from this backup. is only available when the backup captured that metadata.
The server switches into a restoring state and you're taken back to the console while it runs.
Export to Files
Writes the backup as an archive file into the server's own file area. Pick a destination directory, file name, and archive format (fixed for backups whose stored format can't be converted); the modal shows the resulting path under /home/container/ before you hit Export.
Backup Metadata
Shown only for backups that captured metadata (startup command, image, variables); opens a JSON view of it.
Delete
Asks for confirmation, then deletes the backup. Disabled while the backup is locked.
INFO
Where backups are physically stored (local disk, S3, restic, and so on) is a backup configuration admins assign at the server, node, or location level. See Setting up Backup Configurations.