# Automate Database Backups

> Learn how to configure automated database backups in Easy!Appointments to keep your appointment data safe and recoverable.

Source: https://easyappointments.org/blog/automate-database-backups/

Regular database backups are essential for protecting your Easy!Appointments installation from data loss due to server crashes, human error, or unexpected issues. Automating this process ensures that you always have a recent copy of your data available without manual effort.

Here’s how you can configure automated database backups for Easy!Appointments:

### 1\. Try the Backup Script

Easy!Appointments already has [support for CLI commands](/blog/introducing-cli-support/) that can be triggered from a terminal environment. You can find more info on the available commands by executing the help command.

```
php index.php console help
```

In there, you will find that one of the available commands is the backup command, that looks like this.

```
php index.php console backup
```

This command will gather and export all the database information inside the storage/backups/ folder on the server, in a gzipped SQL format that can be easily later imported back into a new database.

It is important to make sure that the storage/backups/ folder and contents is not accessible via the web for security reasons.

### 2\. Schedule Automatic Backups with Cron

Set up a [cron job](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron) to run your backup script at regular intervals (for example, every day at midnight).

Edit your crontab:

```
crontab -e
```

Add this line:

```
0 0 * * * php /path/to/index.php console backup
```

This will automatically create a backup each night at 12:00 AM.

### 3\. Manage Old Backups

To avoid disk space issues, you can extend your script to delete old backups automatically:

```
find /path/to/storage/backups -type f -mtime +7 -name "*.gz" -delete
```

This will remove backups older than 7 days, keeping your backup directory clean and manageable.

### 4\. Store Backups Remotely (Optional)

For extra safety, upload your backups to a remote location such as:

-   A cloud storage service (Google Drive, Dropbox, AWS S3, etc.)
-   A remote server via `rsync` or `scp`

This ensures your data remains recoverable even if the server hosting Easy!Appointments is compromised.

### 5\. Test Your Backups

Always test your backups by restoring them to a separate database. This helps verify that your backups are working properly and can be used for recovery when needed.

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