# Back up and restore (/operate/backup-and-restore) This page shows how to back up the store of a KubeMQ server running in Docker and restore it in place. The store holds your messages, accounts, license records and the installation's identity. When you finish, you have an archive, and a restored server shows the same license and messages. This page covers one Docker server. Kubernetes has no supported backup procedure yet. Scaling a cluster to zero to copy its volumes does not work: the operator never applies a changed server count. [Contact support](mailto:support@kubemq.io) before relying on a restore. These commands are for bash on macOS and Linux. On Windows, run them in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), or use the kmq tab of [Try KubeMQ](/deploy/quickstart), which runs natively on Windows. ## Before you start [#before-you-start] * A KubeMQ server running in Docker as container `kubemq` on volume `kubemq-data`, as [Try KubeMQ](/deploy/quickstart), [Install with kmq](/deploy/install/kmq) and [Install with Docker](/deploy/install/docker) start it. * kmq, installed as in [Try KubeMQ](/deploy/quickstart#install-kmq), for `kmq license` only. * A short outage: the server stops while its store is archived, because a running store cannot be copied consistently. * Free disk space at least the size of the store. With Podman: run every command with `podman` in place of `docker`. Create a private folder for the archive and work inside it: ```bash title="Terminal" mkdir -p -m 700 kubemq-private ``` ```bash title="Terminal" cd kubemq-private ``` ## Steps [#steps] Steps 1 to 4 back up the store. Steps 5 to 10 restore it and prove your messages came back. A public Debian container does the archiving, because the KubeMQ image has no archive tools. It keeps each file's owner, user 1001. ### Send a check message [#send-a-check-message] Put one message on a new `backup-check` queue. Step 10 receives it after the restore. ```bash title="Terminal" curl -s -X POST http://localhost:9090/queue/send \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"Channel":"backup-check","ClientID":"backup-check","BodyString":"backup-check"}' ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" {"is_error":false,"message":"OK","data":{"MessageID":"…","SentAt":…}} ``` ### Stop the server [#stop-the-server] ```bash title="Terminal" docker stop kubemq ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" kubemq ``` ### Archive the volume [#archive-the-volume] ```bash title="Terminal" docker run --rm -v kubemq-data:/data:ro -v "$(pwd)":/backup \ docker.io/library/debian:stable-slim \ sh -c 'tar --numeric-owner -cpf /backup/kubemq-store.tar -C /data . && tar -tf /backup/kubemq-store.tar | head -n 1' ``` The output is the first entry of the new `kubemq-store.tar`. You should see: ```text title="Output" ./ ``` On a Linux host with SELinux enforcing, add `:z` to the `$(pwd)` mount: `-v "$(pwd)":/backup:z`. Keep the archive private and encrypted, with a copy away from this machine. It holds the installation's identity and license records. ### Start the server again [#start-the-server-again] ```bash title="Terminal" docker start kubemq ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" kubemq ``` ### Stop the server before the restore [#stop-the-server-before-the-restore] The restore reuses the same container and volume. Nothing is recreated, so the installation keeps its identity. ```bash title="Terminal" docker stop kubemq ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" kubemq ``` ### Keep a safety archive [#keep-a-safety-archive] Archive the store you are about to replace. If the restore goes wrong, repeat the next step with `kubemq-store-before-restore.tar` to put it back. ```bash title="Terminal" docker run --rm -v kubemq-data:/data:ro -v "$(pwd)":/backup \ docker.io/library/debian:stable-slim \ sh -c 'tar --numeric-owner -cpf /backup/kubemq-store-before-restore.tar -C /data . && tar -tf /backup/kubemq-store-before-restore.tar | head -n 1' ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" ./ ``` ### Replace the store with the backup [#replace-the-store-with-the-backup] **Data loss:** this command deletes everything in `kubemq-data` before it unpacks the archive. Run it only after the safety archive succeeded. Never run two servers from copies of the same store: they share one installation identity. ```bash title="Terminal" docker run --rm -v kubemq-data:/data -v "$(pwd)":/backup:ro \ docker.io/library/debian:stable-slim \ sh -c 'find /data -mindepth 1 -delete && tar --numeric-owner -xpf /backup/kubemq-store.tar -C /data && echo restored' ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" restored ``` ### Start the server and wait until it is ready [#start-the-server-and-wait-until-it-is-ready] ```bash title="Terminal" docker start kubemq && for i in $(seq 60); do curl -fs -o /dev/null http://localhost:8080/ready && echo ready && break; sleep 2; done ``` You should see: ```text title="Output" kubemq ready ``` ### Check the license [#check-the-license] ```bash title="Terminal" kmq license ``` The license is the one the server had at backup time. You should see: ```text title="Output" SERVER STATE PLAN SERVERS LICENSED EXPIRES DAYS LEFT RUNS UNTIL VERSION CHECKED PROBLEM kubemq … ``` ### Receive the check message [#receive-the-check-message] ```bash title="Terminal" curl -s -X POST http://localhost:9090/queue/receive \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"Channel":"backup-check","ClientID":"backup-check","MaxNumberOfMessages":1,"WaitTimeSeconds":5}' ``` The message from step 1 comes back, with its body base64-encoded. You should see: ```text title="Output" {"is_error":false,"message":"OK","data":{…,"Messages":[{"MessageID":"…","ClientID":"backup-check","Channel":"backup-check","Body":"YmFja3VwLWNoZWNr",…}],"MessagesReceived":1}} ``` ## If something goes wrong [#if-something-goes-wrong] * The server does not start, or never becomes ready: check `docker logs kubemq`. * `kmq license` reports a problem: see [Troubleshooting](/licensing/troubleshooting). * You cannot sign in to the dashboard: the restore brought back the accounts the store held when you archived it. See [Dashboard Access and Recovery](/operate/dashboard-access#reset-a-forgotten-password). ## Next steps [#next-steps] * [Upgrade KubeMQ](/deploy/upgrade): back up first, then upgrade. * [Production checklist](/deploy/production-checklist): what else a server you rely on needs.