Backup and Restore

Install Rclone on Personal Computer

Important Note

This step is only necessary if you want to backup to Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox. You need to perform this on your personal computer with graphical interface (GUI) - not on the server - to obtain the authorization token through a web browser.

Before configuring backups to Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox, you need to install Rclone on your personal computer to obtain the authorization token.

On Windows

Method 1: Using Executable File (Easiest)

1. Download Rclone 64bit or 32bit software to your device at https://rclone.org/downloads/

2. Extract the downloaded zip file, you will have the rclone.exe file

3. Move the rclone.exe file to a folder of your choice, for example: C:\rclone\rclone.exe

4. Open Command Prompt (CMD):

   • Press Windows + R keys
   • Type cmd and press Enter

5. Now you can use Rclone by running the command with the full path, for example:

   C:\rclone\rclone.exe --version

Method 2: Install via Chocolatey (For Advanced Users)

If you have Chocolatey installed, open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

choco install rclone

After installation, you can use the rclone command directly in the terminal.

Method 3: Install via Scoop (For Advanced Users)

If you have Scoop installed, open PowerShell and run:

scoop install rclone

After installation, you can use the rclone command directly in the terminal.

On macOS

Method 1: Using Homebrew (Recommended)

Open Terminal and run:

brew install rclone

Method 2: Using Official Script

Open Terminal and run:

curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

On Linux

Method 1: Using Official Script (Recommended)

Open terminal and run:

curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

Method 2: Install via Package Manager

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install rclone

Fedora/CentOS/RHEL

sudo dnf install rclone

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S rclone

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Backup Management Interface

The Backup management page is divided into 2 main sections:

Backup List

The left section displays a list of configured backups with the following information:

• ID: Backup identifier
• Memo: Description note for the backup
• Drive: Storage service type (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, SFTP, FTP, S3...)
• Success: Whether the configuration is valid
• Active: Whether the backup is active
• Action: Available operations:
  • Clone configuration to another server
  • View backup script
  • Run backup manually
  • Edit configuration
  • Delete backup

Features:

• "Add New" button: Create a new backup configuration
• Checkboxes: Select multiple backups for bulk deletion
• "Delete Selected" button: Delete selected backups

Backup Histories

The right section displays backup execution history with information:

• ID: Execution identifier
• Name: Backup file name
• Size: Backup file size
• Time: Execution duration
• Status: Success/failure status (green/red dot)
• Log: "View Log" button to see detailed logs
• Date: Creation time

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Backup to Google Drive

For the configuration process to go smoothly, you need to prepare the following:

1. A Google Drive account dedicated to backing up data

2. Install Rclone on your personal computer (if not already installed)

3. Get Google Drive Token by running the following command:

   Windows (PATH)

   # If rclone is installed to PATH (via Chocolatey/Scoop)
   rclone authorize "drive"

   Windows (.exe)

   # If using the .exe file directly
   C:\rclone\rclone.exe authorize "drive"

   macOS/Linux

   rclone authorize "drive"

   A browser will automatically open, proceed to step 4

4. Select the Google account to back up to

5. Authorize connection to your account

6. Go back to terminal/cmd in step 3, you will see a token code, please copy the entire code

7. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab

8. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup

9. In the configuration form:

   • Choose Drive: Select "Google Drive"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup (e.g., "Daily backup")
   • Backup Google Drive Code: Paste the token code copied in step 6

10. Click the "Save" button to complete

Backup to OneDrive

For the configuration process to go smoothly, you need to prepare the following:

1. A dedicated Microsoft OneDrive account for data backup

2. Install Rclone on your personal computer (if not already installed)

3. Get OneDrive Token by running the following command:

   Windows (PATH)

   # If rclone is installed to PATH (via Chocolatey/Scoop)
   rclone authorize "onedrive"

   Windows (.exe)

   # If using the .exe file directly
   C:\rclone\rclone.exe authorize "onedrive"

   macOS/Linux

   rclone authorize "onedrive"

   A browser will automatically open, proceed to step 4

4. Sign in to your Microsoft account (skip if you're already signed in)

5. Allow connection to your account by pressing Yes

6. Go back to terminal/cmd in step 3, you will see a token code between Paste the following into your remote machine ---> and <---End paste, please copy this code

7. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab

8. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup

9. In the configuration form:

   • Choose Drive: Select "OneDrive"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup
   • Backup OneDrive Code: Paste the token code copied in step 6

10. Click the "Save" button to complete

Backup to DropBox

For the configuration process to go smoothly, you need to prepare the following:

1. A dedicated Dropbox account for data backup

2. Install Rclone on your personal computer (if not already installed)

3. Get Dropbox Token by running the following command:

   Windows (PATH)

   # If rclone is installed to PATH (via Chocolatey/Scoop)
   rclone authorize "dropbox"

   Windows (.exe)

   # If using the .exe file directly
   C:\rclone\rclone.exe authorize "dropbox"

   macOS/Linux

   rclone authorize "dropbox"

   A browser will automatically open, proceed to step 4

4. Sign in to your Dropbox account (skip if you're already signed in)

5. Allow connection to your account by pressing "Agree" or "Allow"

6. Go back to terminal/cmd in step 3, you will see a token code between Paste the following into your remote machine ---> and <---End paste, please copy this code

7. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab

8. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup

9. In the configuration form:

   • Choose Drive: Select "Dropbox"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup
   • Backup Dropbox Code: Paste the token code copied in step 6

10. Click the "Save" button to complete

Backup to SFTP

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) allows you to backup data to a remote server via SSH.

1. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab
2. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup
3. In the configuration form:
   • Choose Drive: Select "SFTP"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup
   • Host: IP address or domain name of the destination server
   • User: SSH username (default: root)
   • Port: SSH port (default: 22)
   • Authentication Method: Choose authentication method:
     • Password: Use password
     • Private Key: Use SSH key (upload private key file and passphrase if applicable)
4. Click the "Save" button to complete

Backup to FTP

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to backup data to an FTP server.

1. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab
2. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup
3. In the configuration form:
   • Choose Drive: Select "FTP"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup
   • Host: IP address or domain name of the FTP server
   • User: FTP username
   • Password: FTP password
   • Port: FTP port (default: 21)
4. Click the "Save" button to complete

Backup to Amazon S3

Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services (such as DigitalOcean Spaces, Wasabi, MinIO...) are also supported.

1. Go to server management page and select the server to backup, then click on the "Backups" tab
2. Click the "Add New" button to create a new backup
3. In the configuration form:
   • Choose Drive: Select "S3"
   • Memo: Enter a description note for the backup
   • S3 Provider: Choose service type:
     • S3: Use Amazon S3
     • Other: Use other S3-compatible service
   • S3 Bucket Name: S3 bucket name
   • Access Key ID: AWS Access Key ID
   • Secret Access Key: AWS Secret Access Key
   • Region: S3 bucket region (e.g., us-east-1, ap-southeast-1...)
   • Endpoint (only shown when "Other" is selected): Endpoint address of the S3-compatible service
4. Click the "Save" button to complete

Note about S3

• For Amazon S3: Only fill in Bucket Name, Access Key, Secret Key and Region
• For other services (DigitalOcean Spaces, MinIO...): Select "Other" and fill in the service's Endpoint

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Advanced Backup Configuration

After successfully creating a backup, you can edit the configuration by clicking the Edit button in the Action column. The edit form includes the following options:

General Settings

• Memo: Description note for the backup
• Active: Enable/disable backup
• Backup Schedule Expression: Cron expression for automatic scheduling, refer to here
• Retention Days: Number of days to keep backups. For example: setting 18 days means backups older than 18 days will be automatically deleted

Advanced Settings

• Exclude Paths: List of directories to exclude from backup (one path per line)
• Include Paths: List of directories to include in backup (one path per line)
• Custom SQL Backup: Custom database backup options
• Transfer Size Limit: Transfer size limitation

Tip

If you want to run a backup immediately, click the Run button in the Action column of the backup list.

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Restore Data from Backup

The restore feature allows you to recover data from previously stored backup files. The restoration process is divided into 3 clear steps.

Step 1: Select Backup File

1. Go to server management page and select the server to restore
2. Click on the "Backups" tab
3. In the Backup List table, click the "Restore" button in the Action column (right side of the row) for the backup configuration you want to restore from
4. The restore window will open with a list of available backup files

Filter and Search Files:

The system displays the last updated time of the file list. You can:

• Refresh List: Click the "Refresh" button to update the latest file list
• Filter by File Type: Select one of the tabs:
  • All: Display all backup files
  • Sites: Display only website backups (number of files shown in parentheses)
  • Databases: Display only database backups (number of files shown in parentheses)
• Filter by Date: Use the "Filter by Date" field to select a specific date
  • Click on the calendar icon or input field to open the date picker
  • Select a date from the picker
  • To clear the filter, click the X button at the end of the input field

Select Backup File:

• Open the "Backup File" menu to view the file list
• Each file displays:
  • File name
  • Full path
  • File size
• After selecting a file, the file size will be displayed below the menu

Notice

• If no files match the selected date, the system displays: "No backup files match the selected date"
• If there are no backups yet, the system displays: "No backup files available"

After selecting a file, click the "Continue" button to proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Select Restoration Destination

The system automatically detects the backup file type (Website or Database) and displays the appropriate form.

If Restoring Website:

1. The system displays the message: "Restore type: Website"
2. The "Select Website" menu displays the list of websites on the server
3. Each website displays:
   • Website name
   • Website directory
4. Select the target website to restore data into

If Restoring Database:

1. The system displays the message: "Restore type: Database"
2. The "Select Database" menu displays the database list
3. The system automatically filters to show only databases of the same type as the backup file:
   • Backup file mysql_* → Only displays MySQL databases
   • Backup file postgresql_* → Only displays PostgreSQL databases
4. Select the target database to restore data into

After selecting a website or database, click the "Continue" button to proceed to step 3.

Go Back

You can click the "Back" button to return to step 1 and select a different backup file.

Step 3: Confirm and Execute Restoration

Before executing the restoration, the system displays a summary table for you to review:

• Backup File: Selected backup file name
• File Path: Full path of the file
• Restore Type: Restoration type (Website or Database)
• Target Website (if restoring website): Target website name
• Target Database (if restoring database): Database name and type (MySQL/PostgreSQL)

Important Warning

• Website: The restoration process will overwrite all current data of the target website.
• Database: FlashPanel automatically checks the target database before restoration:
  • If the database is empty (no tables/collections): Restoration is allowed
  • If the database has data (tables/collections exist): The system will cancel the restoration process to prevent data loss

Please review the information carefully before proceeding.

Execute Restoration:

1. Carefully review the information in the summary table
2. Click the "Restore Backup" button (green) to begin
3. The system will display a loading status
4. After completion, the window will automatically close and you can check the results

Go Back

You can click the "Back" button to return to step 2 and change the restoration destination.

Monitor Restoration Progress

During the restoration process:

• The entire form will display a loading status
• Action buttons will be disabled
• You can monitor the detailed progress via the "Events" tab on the server management page

Note

• Restoration time depends on the backup file size
• The restoration process runs in the background (queue), you can close the browser or leave the page without affecting the process
• If errors occur, check the detailed log in the "Events" tab