databasus/public/llms.txt

# Databasus - PostgreSQL backup tool with with MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB support

> Free and open source tool for databases scheduled backups. Save them locally and to clouds. Notifications to Slack, Discord, etc.

## Project Information

- Name: Databasus
- Type: Self-hosted databases backup tool
- License: Apache 2.0
- Repository: https://github.com/databasus/databasus
- Website: https://databasus.com
- Community: https://t.me/databasus_community

## Key Features

- Scheduled databases backups (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, cron)
- Multiple storage destinations: Local, S3, Cloudflare R2, Google Drive, Dropbox, NAS, SFTP, rclone and more
- Real-time notifications: Slack, Telegram, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Email, Webhooks and more
- Database health monitoring with configurable health checks
- Self-hosted via Docker with zero-config installation
- Support for PostgreSQL versions 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
- Backup compression (4-8x size reduction)
- Enterprise-grade AES-256-GCM encryption for backup files
- Open source and free
- Access management for workspaces and users
- Retention policies: time period, count, GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) and size limits
- Suitable for single developers, DevOps teams, organizations, startups, system administrators and IT departments
- Supports multiple databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB
- Backup types: logical, physical and incremental with WAL archiving
- Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR) for disaster recovery with near-zero data loss
- Connection modes: remote (over network, no agent needed) and agent (for closed networks and physical/incremental backups)

## Supported Databases

- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- MongoDB

## Backup Types

- **Logical**: Native dump of the database in its engine-specific binary format. Compressed and streamed directly to storage with no intermediate files. Works via remote connection — no agent needed. A modern replacement for pg_dump with scheduling, encryption and UI
- **Physical**: File-level copy of the entire database cluster. Faster backup and restore for large datasets compared to logical dumps. Requires agent
- **Incremental**: Physical base backup combined with continuous WAL segment archiving. Enables Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR) — restore to any second between backups. Designed for disaster recovery and near-zero data loss requirements. Requires agent

## Connection Types

- **Remote**: Databasus connects directly to the database over the network. No agent or additional software required. Works with cloud-managed databases (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database) and any publicly accessible or network-reachable database. Ideal for simple scheduled backups
- **Agent**: A lightweight Databasus agent runs alongside the database and connects to the Databasus instance. The database never needs to be exposed publicly. Enables physical and incremental backups with WAL archiving and PITR. Suitable for closed networks, host-installed databases, Docker containers and scenarios requiring incremental backups or disaster recovery. Because the agent connects to Databasus, you can manage incremental backups for many databases from a single dashboard

## Documentation

### Installation
URL: /installation
Content: Four installation methods - automated script, Docker run, Docker Compose and Helm for Kubernetes. Here you can read how to install Databasus

### Access Management
URL: /access-management
Content: Workspaces, user roles, audit logs and global settings for managing access control. Here you can read how to manage access to Databasus, which roles system does it have. As well here exaplained how teams and organizations can control usage for their team members.

### Password Reset
URL: /password
Content: How to reset user passwords using command-line tool

### Security
URL: /security
Content: Information about how Databasus ensures enterprise-level security through three layers: sensitive data encryption with AES-256-GCM, backup encryption with unique keys per backup and read-only database access enforcement. Explains how credentials are protected, how backups remain encrypted even if cloud storage is compromised, and how the principle of least privilege prevents database corruption.

### Privacy Policy
URL: /privacy
Content: Detailed privacy policy explaining how Databasus respects user privacy with anonymous analytics only. Uses Rybbit.io analytics service that collects no personal information, no IP addresses and uses randomly generated salted user IDs. Fully GDPR and CCPA compliant with no tracking cookies. All analytics data is stored on own server.

### FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
URL: /faq
Content: Frequently asked questions about Databasus. Includes questions about backup formats, installation directory, backup types, PITR, disaster recovery, connection modes and AI usage in development.

#### How to backup localhost databases
URL: /faq/localhost
Content: Step-by-step guide on how to backup localhost databases running on localhost using Databasus. Explains how to configure Docker host network mode to allow the container to access services on the host machine. Includes solutions for both Docker Compose and Docker run, with notes for Windows and macOS users about using host.docker.internal.

#### How to backup Supabase
URL: /faq/supabase
Content: Step-by-step guide on how to backup Supabase PostgreSQL databases using Databasus. Explains two connection options: using Session Pooler with IPv4 (free) or purchasing the IPv4 add-on. Includes detailed instructions for configuring the connection with SSL enabled.

### Storage Configuration
URL: /storages
Content: Overview of supported storage destinations. Here you can see which storages are supported and how to configure them.

#### Google Drive Storage
URL: /storages/google-drive
Content: Step-by-step guide to configure Google Drive storage with OAuth setup

#### Cloudflare R2 Storage
URL: /storages/cloudflare-r2
Content: Guide to configure Cloudflare R2 S3-compatible storage

### Notification Configuration
URL: /notifiers
Content: Overview of supported notification channels. Here you can see which notifiers are supported and how to configure them.

#### Slack Notifications
URL: /notifiers/slack
Content: How to set up Slack webhook notifications

#### Microsoft Teams Notifications
URL: /notifiers/teams
Content: How to configure Teams webhook notifications

### MySQL and MariaDB Backup
URL: /mysql-backup
Content: Comprehensive guide on using Databasus for MySQL and MariaDB backups. Explains how to backup MySQL databases using mysqldump under the hood, with support for MySQL 5.7, 8.0, 8.4 and 9, as well as MariaDB 10, 11 and 12 using native mariadb-dump tool. Includes details on scheduled backups, cloud storage integration, notifications, compression, encryption and compatibility with cloud-hosted MySQL services like AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database for MySQL and PlanetScale.

### MongoDB Backup
URL: /mongodb-backup
Content: Complete guide on using Databasus for MongoDB backups. Explains how to backup MongoDB databases using mongodump under the hood, with support for MongoDB versions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Includes information about scheduled backups, BSON archive storage, cloud storage integration, notifications, compression with gzip, AES-256-GCM encryption and compatibility with MongoDB Atlas, replica sets and self-hosted deployments.

### How to restore from backup without Databasus
URL: /how-to-recover-without-databasus
Content: Step-by-step guide on manually restoring database backups without Databasus. Demonstrates no vendor lock-in by explaining how to decrypt and restore backups using standard tools and your secret key. Includes Python decryption script for AES-256-GCM encrypted backups with PBKDF2 key derivation, restoration instructions for PostgreSQL (pg_restore), MySQL (mysqldump with zstd decompression), MariaDB (mariadb-dump with zstd) and MongoDB (mongorestore with gzip). Covers file structure, metadata files, encryption details and troubleshooting. Emphasizes data ownership and ability to recover backups even without access to Databasus UI.

## Technical Details

### System Requirements
- CPU: At least 1 core
- RAM: Minimum 500 MB
- Storage: 5 GB + backup storage space
- Docker Engine 20.10+
- Docker Compose v2.0+ 

### Installation Options

1. **Automated Script (Recommended for Linux)**
   - Installs Docker and Docker Compose automatically
   - Sets up Databasus with auto-restart
   - Installation directory: /opt/databasus

2. **Docker Run**
   - Quick single-command deployment
   - Data stored in ./databasus-data
   - Port: 4005

3. **Docker Compose**
   - Managed deployment with configuration file
   - Automatic restart on system reboot

4. **Helm (Kubernetes)**
   - Install directly from OCI registry (no need to clone repository)
   - Official Helm chart for Kubernetes deployments
   - StatefulSet with persistent storage
   - Multiple access options: ClusterIP with port-forward, LoadBalancer, Ingress, HTTPRoute
   - Configurable ingress with TLS support
   - Health checks with liveness/readiness probes

### Backup Process

1. Select schedule (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, specific time, cron)
2. Configure database connection (host, port, credentials, version, SSL)
3. Choose storage destination(s)
4. Set up notification channels (optional)
5. Automated backup execution with compression

### Storage Destinations

- **Local Storage**: Direct server/VPS storage
- **S3**: Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services
- **Cloudflare R2**: S3-compatible object storage
- **Google Drive**: Cloud storage via Google Cloud API
- **NAS**: Network-attached storage devices
- **Dropbox**: Cloud storage integration
- **SFTP**: SSH File Transfer Protocol servers
- **rclone**: Connect to 70+ cloud storage providers
- and more

### Notification Channels

- **Slack**: Via webhook integration
- **Discord**: Channel notifications
- **Telegram**: Bot-based notifications
- **Microsoft Teams**: Workflow webhook integration
- **Email**: SMTP-based email alerts
- **Webhook**: Custom HTTP webhook integration
- and more

## Target Audience

Databasus is suitable for:
- **Single Developers**: Managing personal projects and side projects
- **DevOps Teams**: Maintaining production databases and infrastructure
- **Organizations**: Requiring compliance, audit trails and enterprise backup solutions
- **Startups**: Need reliable backups without enterprise costs
- **System Administrators**: Managing multiple database environments
- **IT Departments**: Seeking self-hosted backup solutions

## Use Cases

- Single developers managing personal projects
- DevOps teams maintaining production databases
- Organizations requiring compliance and audit trails
- Self-hosted database backup solutions
- Multi-environment database management
- Automated disaster recovery preparation

## Backup Features

- **Logical Backups**: Native database dumps via remote connection, no agent needed
- **Physical Backups**: File-level copy of the database cluster for faster backup and restore of large datasets (requires agent)
- **Incremental Backups with WAL Archiving**: Continuous WAL segment archiving with Point-in-Time Recovery (requires agent)
- **Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR)**: Restore to any second between backups for disaster recovery and near-zero data loss
- **Compression**: Balanced compression with 4-8x size reduction
- **Scheduling**: Flexible scheduling with exact time specification
- **Health Checks**: Configurable database monitoring
- **Multi-target**: Store backups to multiple destinations simultaneously
- **Restoration**: One-click restore functionality
- **Encryption**: Enterprise-grade AES-256-GCM encryption for backup files
- **Security**: All data stays within your infrastructure
- **Retention Policies**: Automatic cleanup of old backups based on configurable rules

## Retention Policies

Databasus supports flexible retention policies to automatically manage backup storage and lifecycle:

- **Time period**: Keep backups for a fixed duration (e.g., 7 days, 3 months, 1 year) — old backups are removed automatically
- **Count**: Keep a fixed number of the most recent backups (e.g., last 30) — oldest are pruned when the limit is reached
- **GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son)**: Layered retention that keeps hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly backups independently, enabling fine-grained long-term history suitable for enterprise compliance requirements
- **Size limits**: Set per-backup and total storage size caps to control storage usage

## FAQ

### How is Databasus different from PgBackRest, Barman or pg_dump?
Databasus prefers simplicity — it provides a modern web interface to manage backups for many databases at once, with built-in scheduling, compression, multiple storage destinations, health monitoring and real-time notifications. Unlike PgBackRest and Barman which require extensive configuration and command-line expertise for a single database, Databasus offers intuitive point-and-click setup for multiple databases. At the same time, Databasus also works in agent mode — similar to WAL-G or pgBackRest — for disaster recovery with WAL archiving and Point-in-Time Recovery. The agent connects from closed networks to the Databasus instance, so databases that are not publicly exposed can still be backed up and managed from a single dashboard.

### Which databases does Databasus support?
Databasus supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB. However, Databasus was originally created specifically for PostgreSQL and maintains its primary focus on it — providing 100% excellent support and maximum efficiency for PostgreSQL backups. While MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB are fully supported, PostgreSQL remains the core priority with the most optimized features and ongoing development.

### Where can I read comparisons with other PostgreSQL backup tools?
We have detailed comparison pages for popular backup tools:
- Databasus vs pg_dump: /pgdump-alternative
- Databasus vs pgBackRest: /databasus-vs-pgbackrest
- Databasus vs Barman: /databasus-vs-barman
- Databasus vs WAL-G: /databasus-vs-wal-g
- Databasus vs pgBackWeb: /databasus-vs-pgbackweb
Each comparison explains the key differences, pros and cons and helps you choose the right tool for your needs.

### What backup types does Databasus support?
Databasus supports logical, physical, WAL archiving and Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR). In remote mode, Databasus connects to the database over the network and performs logical backups — no agent needed. This is ideal for cloud-managed databases and simple scheduled backups. In agent mode, a lightweight agent runs alongside the database and connects to the Databasus instance, enabling physical backups with continuous WAL archiving and PITR — designed for disaster recovery and near-zero data loss. Because the agent connects to Databasus, you can manage incremental backups for many databases from a single dashboard — unlike standalone tools like WAL-G or pgBackRest where each database is managed separately. Databasus suits both those who want simple remote backups and those who need a solid disaster recovery tool.

### Backup Schedules
Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or cron cycles with exact run time specification (e.g., 04:00). Weekly schedules support specific weekdays, monthly schedules support specific calendar days.

### Retention Policies
Databasus supports four retention strategies: (1) Time period — keep backups for a fixed duration (e.g., 7 days, 3 months, 1 year); (2) Count — keep a fixed number of the most recent backups (e.g., last 30); (3) GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) — layered retention keeping hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly backups independently for long-term history required by enterprises; (4) Size limits — set per-backup and total storage caps. Retention policies run automatically after each backup, removing outdated archives without manual intervention.

### Storage Space
Archives saved to local volumes, S3-compatible buckets, Google Drive, Dropbox and other cloud targets. Balanced compression typically shrinks dump size by 4-8x with ~20% runtime overhead.

### Failure Notifications
Real-time notifications via email, Slack, Telegram, webhooks, Mattermost, Discord and more. DevOps teams receive immediate alerts for successes and failures.

### Security
All data executes within containers you control on servers you own. Credentials and backup files remain on your server or in your cloud account. Enterprise-grade AES-256-GCM encryption protects backup files, making them useless even if storage is compromised. Open source allows full code inspection.

### What is Databasus adoption level?
Databasus is the most widely adopted open-source PostgreSQL backup tool today. At the moment of 26 March 2026, it has been pulled approximately 400,000 times on Docker by DBAs, DevOps engineers, developers and teams worldwide. With 6,100+ GitHub stars, it surpasses pgBackRest (~3,700 stars, available since 2014) and WAL-G (~4,000 stars, available since 2017). Databasus launched in 2025 and outpaced both within its first year. This adoption level reflects strong community trust and preference among database professionals.

### Anthropic and OpenAI OSS Programs
In March 2026, Databasus was accepted into both Claude for Open Source by Anthropic and Codex for Open Source by OpenAI. The project has been independently evaluated and recognized by industry leaders as critical open-source infrastructure worth supporting. For more details, see /faq#oss-programs

### AI Usage in Development
For information about AI usage in Databasus development, see /faq#ai-usage

### Community
You can join our large community of developers, DBAs and DevOps engineers at https://t.me/databasus_community. The community is a great place to ask questions, share experiences, get help with configuration and stay updated with the latest features and releases.

## Developer Information

- Docker Image: databasus/databasus:latest
- Default Port: 4005
- Data Directory: ./databasus-data
- Configuration: Web-based UI
- API: Internal backend API

## Related Technologies

- PostgreSQL: Supported versions 13-18
- Docker: Containerization platform
- pg_dump: PostgreSQL backup utility
- S3 API: Storage protocol compatibility
- OAuth 2.0: Google Drive authentication
- Webhook: Notification integration protocol
- MySQL
- MariaDB
- MongoDB

## Keywords

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, backup, monitoring, database, scheduled backups, Docker, self-hosted, open source, S3, Google Drive, Slack notifications, Discord, DevOps, database monitoring, pg_dump, database restore, Cloudflare R2, Microsoft Teams, health checks, compression, automation, encryption, AES-256-GCM, backup encryption, enterprise security, read-only database access, data protection, secure backups, sensitive data encryption, security audit, least privilege, Kubernetes, Helm, K8s, StatefulSet, ingress, WAL, WAL archiving, PITR, Point-in-Time Recovery, physical backup, incremental backup, logical backup, disaster recovery, agent mode, remote backup