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          <section id="how-to-back-up-instances">
<span id="instances-backup"></span><h1>How to back up instances<a class="headerlink" href="#how-to-back-up-instances" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h1>
<p>There are different ways of backing up your instances:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#instances-snapshots"><span class="std std-ref">Use snapshots for instance backup</span></a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#instances-backup-export"><span class="std std-ref">Use export files for instance backup</span></a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#instances-backup-copy"><span class="std std-ref">Copy an instance to a backup server</span></a></p></li>
</ul>
<p>Which method to choose depends both on your use case and on the storage driver you use.</p>
<p>In general, snapshots are quick and space efficient (depending on the storage driver), but they are stored in the same storage pool as the instance and therefore not too reliable.
Export files can be stored on different disks and are therefore more reliable.
They can also be used to restore the instance into a different storage pool.
If you have a separate, network-connected LXD server available, regularly copying instances to this other server gives high reliability as well, and this method can also be used to back up snapshots of the instance.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Custom storage volumes might be attached to an instance, but they are not part of the instance.
Therefore, the content of a custom storage volume is not stored when you back up your instance.
You must back up the data of your storage volume separately.
See <a class="reference internal" href="../storage_backup_volume/#howto-storage-backup-volume"><span class="std std-ref">How to back up custom storage volumes</span></a> for instructions.</p>
</div>
<section id="use-snapshots-for-instance-backup">
<span id="instances-snapshots"></span><h2>Use snapshots for instance backup<a class="headerlink" href="#use-snapshots-for-instance-backup" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>You can save your instance at a point in time by creating an instance snapshot, which makes it easy to restore the instance to a previous state.</p>
<p>Instance snapshots are stored in the same storage pool as the instance volume itself.</p>
<p>Most storage drivers support optimized snapshot creation (see <a class="reference internal" href="../../reference/storage_drivers/#storage-drivers-features"><span class="std std-ref">Feature comparison</span></a>).
For these drivers, creating snapshots is both quick and space-efficient.
For the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">dir</span></code> driver, snapshot functionality is available but not very efficient.
For the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">lvm</span></code> driver, snapshot creation is quick, but restoring snapshots is efficient only when using thin-pool mode.</p>
<section id="create-a-snapshot">
<h3>Create a snapshot<a class="headerlink" href="#create-a-snapshot" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-0-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-0-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-0-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-0-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-0-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-0-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-0-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-0-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to create a snapshot of an instance:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc snapshot &lt;instance_name&gt; [&lt;snapshot name&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The snapshot name is optional.
If you don’t specify one, the name follows the naming pattern defined in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code>.</p>
<p>Add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--reuse</span></code> flag in combination with a snapshot name to replace an existing snapshot.</p>
<p>By default, snapshots are kept forever, unless the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code> configuration option is set.
To retain a specific snapshot even if a general expiry time is set, use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--no-expiry</span></code> flag.</p>
<p>For virtual machines, you can add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--stateful</span></code> flag to capture not only the data included in the instance volume but also the running state of the instance.
Stateful snapshots are not supported for containers.</p>
<p>By default, instance snapshots include a snapshot of the instance’s root disk volume only. To include snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--disk-volumes</span></code> flag to “all-exclusive”.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-0-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-0-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To create a snapshot of an instance, send a POST request to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots</span></code> endpoint:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request POST /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/snapshots --data &#39;{&quot;name&quot;: &quot;&lt;snapshot_name&gt;&quot;}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The snapshot name is optional.
If you set it to an empty string, the name follows the naming pattern defined in <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.pattern"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code></a>.</p>
<p>By default, snapshots are kept forever, unless the <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.expiry"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code></a> configuration option is set.
To set an expiration date, add the<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">expires_at</span></code> field to the request data.
To retain a specific snapshot even if a general expiry time is set, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">expires_at</span></code> field to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;0001-01-01T00:00:00Z&quot;</span></code>.</p>
<p>If you want to replace an existing snapshot, <a class="reference internal" href="#instances-snapshots-delete"><span class="std std-ref">delete it</span></a> first and then create another snapshot with the same name.</p>
<p>For virtual machines, you can add <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;stateful&quot;:</span> <span class="pre">true</span></code> to the request data to capture not only the data included in the instance volume but also the running state of the instance.
Stateful snapshots are not supported for containers.</p>
<p>By default, instance snapshots include a snapshot of the instance’s root disk volume only. To include snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">disk_volumes_mode</span></code> flag to “all-exclusive” in the request data.</p>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_snapshots_post"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">POST</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/snapshots</span></code></a> for more information.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-0-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-0-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To create a snapshot of an instance, go to the instance detail page and switch to the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab.
Click <span class="guilabel">Create snapshot</span> to open the dialog to create a snapshot.</p>
<p>The snapshot name is optional.
If you don’t specify one, the name follows the naming pattern defined in <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.pattern"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code></a>.
You can check and update this option by switching to the <span class="guilabel">Configuration</span> tab and selecting <span class="guilabel">Advanced</span> &gt; <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span>, or simply by clicking <span class="guilabel">See configuration</span>.</p>
<p>By default, snapshots are kept forever, unless you specify an expiry date and time, or the <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.expiry"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code></a> configuration option is set for the instance.</p>
<p>For virtual machines, you can choose to create a stateful snapshot to capture not only the data included in the instance volume but also the running state of the instance.
Note that this feature requires <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-migration:migration.stateful"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">migration.stateful</span></code></a> to be enabled.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="view-edit-or-delete-snapshots">
<span id="instances-snapshots-delete"></span><h3>View, edit or delete snapshots<a class="headerlink" href="#view-edit-or-delete-snapshots" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-1-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-1-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-1-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-1-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-1-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-1-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-1-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-1-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to display the snapshots for an instance:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc info &lt;instance_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>You can view or modify snapshots in a similar way to instances, by referring to the snapshot with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;</span></code>.</p>
<p>To show configuration information about a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc config show &lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To change the expiry date of a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc config edit &lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>In general, snapshots cannot be edited, because they preserve the state of the instance.
The only exception is the expiry date.
Other changes to the configuration are silently ignored.</p>
</div>
<p>To delete a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc delete &lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>By default, only the instance’s root disk volume snapshot is deleted. To also delete snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--disk-volumes</span></code> flag to “all-exclusive”.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-1-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-1-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To retrieve the snapshots for an instance, send a GET request to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots</span></code> endpoint:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request GET /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/snapshots
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To show configuration information about a snapshot, send the following request:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request GET /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/snapshots/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>To change the expiry date of a snapshot, send a PATCH request:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request PATCH /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/snapshots/&lt;snapshot_name&gt; --data &#39;{
  &quot;expires_at&quot;: &quot;2029-03-23T17:38:37.753398689-04:00&quot;
}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>In general, snapshots cannot be modified, because they preserve the state of the instance.
The only exception is the expiry date.
Other changes to the configuration are silently ignored.</p>
</div>
<p>To delete a snapshot, send a DELETE request:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request DELETE /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/snapshots/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>By default, only the instance’s root disk volume snapshot is deleted. To also delete snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">disk-volumes</span></code> query parameter to “all-exclusive” in the request.</p>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_snapshots_get"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">GET</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/snapshots</span></code></a>, <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_snapshot_get"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">GET</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/snapshots/{snapshot}</span></code></a>, <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_snapshot_patch"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">PATCH</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/snapshots/{snapshot}</span></code></a>, and <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_snapshot_delete"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DELETE</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/snapshots/{snapshot}</span></code></a> for more information.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-1-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-1-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To see all snapshots for an instance, go to the instance detail page and switch to the <span class="guilabel">Snapshots</span> tab.</p>
<p>From the snapshot list, you can choose to edit the name or expiry date of a specific snapshot, create an image based on the snapshot, restore it to the instance, or delete it.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="schedule-instance-snapshots">
<h3>Schedule instance snapshots<a class="headerlink" href="#schedule-instance-snapshots" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>You can configure an instance to automatically create snapshots at specific times (at most once every minute).
To do so, set the <a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.schedule"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.schedule</span></code></a> instance option.</p>
<p>For example, to configure daily snapshots:</p>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-2-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-2-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-2-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-2-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-2-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-2-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-2-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-2-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc config set &lt;instance_name&gt; snapshots.schedule @daily
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-2-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-2-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request PATCH /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt; --data &#39;{
  &quot;config&quot;: {
    &quot;snapshots.schedule&quot;: &quot;@daily&quot;
  }
}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-2-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-2-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/snapshots_daily.png"><img alt="Configure daily snapshots" src="../../_images/snapshots_daily.png" style="width: 80%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div></div>
<p>To configure taking a snapshot every day at 6 am:</p>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-3-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-3-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-3-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-3-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-3-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-3-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-3-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-3-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc config set &lt;instance_name&gt; snapshots.schedule &quot;0 6 * * *&quot;
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-3-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-3-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request PATCH /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt; --data &#39;{
  &quot;config&quot;: {
    &quot;snapshots.schedule&quot;: &quot;0 6 * * *&quot;
  }
}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-3-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-3-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><figure class="align-default">
<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="../../_images/snapshots_cron.png"><img alt="Configure snapshots daily at 6am" src="../../_images/snapshots_cron.png" style="width: 80%;" />
</a>
</figure>
</div></div>
<p>When scheduling regular snapshots, consider setting an automatic expiry (<a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.expiry"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.expiry</span></code></a>) and a naming pattern for snapshots (<a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.pattern"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.pattern</span></code></a>).
You should also configure whether you want to take snapshots of instances that are not running (<a class="configref reference internal" href="../../reference/instance_options/#instance-snapshots:snapshots.schedule.stopped"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">snapshots.schedule.stopped</span></code></a>).</p>
</section>
<section id="restore-an-instance-snapshot">
<h3>Restore an instance snapshot<a class="headerlink" href="#restore-an-instance-snapshot" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>You can restore an instance to any of its snapshots.</p>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-4-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-4-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-4-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-4-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-4-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-4-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-4-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-4-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To restore an instance to a snapshot, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc restore &lt;instance_name&gt; &lt;snapshot_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If the snapshot is stateful (which means that it contains information about the running state of the instance), you can add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--stateful</span></code> flag to restore the state.</p>
<p>By default, instance snapshot restores include a snapshot of the instance’s root disk volume only. To also restore snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--disk-volumes</span></code> flag to “all-exclusive”.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-4-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-4-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To restore an instance to a snapshot, send a PUT request to the instance:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request PUT /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt; --data &#39;{
  &quot;restore&quot;: &quot;&lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;&quot;
}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If the snapshot is stateful (which means that it contains information about the running state of the instance), you can add <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;stateful&quot;:</span> <span class="pre">true</span></code> to the request data:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request PUT /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt; --data &#39;{
  &quot;restore&quot;: &quot;&lt;instance_name&gt;/&lt;snapshot_name&gt;&quot;,
  &quot;stateful&quot;: true
}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>By default, instance snapshot restores include a snapshot of the instance’s root disk volume only. To also restore snapshots of attached storage volumes, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">restore_disk_volumes_mode</span></code> flag to “all-exclusive” in the request data.</p>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_put"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">PUT</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}</span></code></a> for more information.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-4-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-4-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To restore an instance to a snapshot, click the <span class="guilabel">Restore snapshot</span> button (<svg width='16' height='16' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'><path d='M5.948 9.012v1.5l-2.458.001A5.163 5.163 0 0012.76 10h1.596a6.665 6.665 0 01-11.839 1.785v2.158h-1.5v-4.93h4.93zM8 1.338a6.655 6.655 0 015.516 2.925V2.11h1.5v4.93h-4.93v-1.5h2.453A5.163 5.163 0 003.24 6H1.643A6.665 6.665 0 018 1.338z' fill='%23000'  fill-rule='evenodd'/></svg>) next to the snapshot that you want to restore.</p>
<p>If the snapshot is stateful (which means that it contains information about the running state of the instance), select <span class="guilabel">Restore the instance state</span> if you want to restore the state.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
</section>
<section id="use-export-files-for-instance-backup">
<span id="instances-backup-export"></span><h2>Use export files for instance backup<a class="headerlink" href="#use-export-files-for-instance-backup" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>You can export the full content of your instance to a standalone file that can be stored at any location.
For highest reliability, store the backup file on a different file system to ensure that it does not get lost or corrupted.</p>
<section id="export-an-instance">
<span id="instances-backup-export-instance"></span><h3>Export an instance<a class="headerlink" href="#export-an-instance" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-5-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-5-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-5-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-5-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-5-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-5-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-5-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-5-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>Use the following command to export an instance to a compressed file (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/path/to/my-instance.tgz</span></code>):</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc export &lt;instance_name&gt; [&lt;file_path&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you do not specify a file path, the export file is saved as <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;instance_name&gt;.&lt;extension&gt;</span></code> in the working directory (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">my-container.tar.gz</span></code>).</p>
<div class="admonition warning">
<p class="admonition-title">Warning</p>
<p>If the output file (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;instance_name&gt;.&lt;extension&gt;</span></code> or the specified file path) already exists, the command overwrites the existing file without warning.</p>
</div>
<p>You can add any of the following flags to the command:</p>
<dl class="simple myst">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--compression</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the output file uses <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">gzip</span></code> compression.
You can specify a different compression algorithm (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">bzip2</span></code>) or turn off compression with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--compression=none</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--optimized-storage</span></code></dt><dd><p>If your storage pool uses the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code> or the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> driver, add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--optimized-storage</span></code> flag to store the data as a driver-specific binary blob instead of an archive of individual files.
In this case, the export file can only be used with pools that use the same storage driver.</p>
<p>Exporting a volume in optimized mode is usually quicker than exporting the individual files.
Snapshots are exported as differences from the main volume, which decreases their size (quota) and makes them easily accessible.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--export-version</span></code></dt><dd><p>If you intend to import the backup to an older version of LXD, set the version to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">1</span></code> which will use the original (old) backup metadata format.
Backups using the old format can always be imported on newer versions of LXD.
If the flag is not specified and the server has support for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backup_metadata_version</span></code> API extension, version <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">2</span></code> is used by default.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl class="simple myst">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--instance-only</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the export file contains all snapshots of the instance.
Add this flag to export the instance without its snapshots.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-5-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-5-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To create a backup of an instance, send a POST request to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backups</span></code> endpoint:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request POST /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/backups --data &#39;{&quot;name&quot;: &quot;&quot;}&#39;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>You can specify a name for the backup, or use the default (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backup0</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">backup1</span></code> and so on).</p>
<p>You can add any of the following fields to the request data:</p>
<dl class="simple myst">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;compression_algorithm&quot;:</span> <span class="pre">&quot;bzip2&quot;</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the output file uses <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">gzip</span></code> compression.
You can specify a different compression algorithm (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">bzip2</span></code>) or turn off compression with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">none</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;optimized-storage&quot;:</span> <span class="pre">true</span></code></dt><dd><p>If your storage pool uses the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">btrfs</span></code> or the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zfs</span></code> driver, set the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;optimized-storage&quot;</span></code> field to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code> to store the data as a driver-specific binary blob instead of an archive of individual files.
In this case, the backup can only be used with pools that use the same storage driver.</p>
<p>Exporting a volume in optimized mode is usually quicker than exporting the individual files.
Snapshots are exported as differences from the main volume, which decreases their size (quota) and makes them easily accessible.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&quot;instance-only&quot;:</span> <span class="pre">true</span></code></dt><dd><p>By default, the backup contains all snapshots of the instance.
Set this field to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code> to back up the instance without its snapshots.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>After creating the backup, you can download it with the following request:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request GET /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/backups/&lt;backup_name&gt;/export &gt; &lt;file_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Remember to delete the backup when you don’t need it anymore:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc query --request DELETE /1.0/instances/&lt;instance_name&gt;/backups/&lt;backup_name&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_backups_post"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">POST</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/backups</span></code></a>, <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_backup_export"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">GET</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/backups/{backup}/export</span></code></a>, and <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instance_backup_delete"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">DELETE</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances/{name}/backups/{backup}</span></code></a> for more information.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-5-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-5-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>From the instance detail page, click <span class="guilabel">Export</span>.</p>
<p>Modify the default settings if necessary, then export the instance.</p>
<p>Download will start automatically once the export is ready.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
<section id="restore-an-instance-from-an-export-file">
<span id="instances-backup-import-instance"></span><h3>Restore an instance from an export file<a class="headerlink" href="#restore-an-instance-from-an-export-file" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h3>
<p>You can import an export file (for example, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/path/to/my-backup.tgz</span></code>) as a new instance.</p>
<div class="sphinx-tabs docutils container">
<div aria-label="Tabbed content" class="closeable" role="tablist"><button aria-controls="panel-6-Q0xJ" aria-selected="true" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-6-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tab" tabindex="0">CLI</button><button aria-controls="panel-6-QVBJ" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-6-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tab" tabindex="-1">API</button><button aria-controls="panel-6-VUk=" aria-selected="false" class="sphinx-tabs-tab group-tab" id="tab-6-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tab" tabindex="-1">UI</button></div><div aria-labelledby="tab-6-Q0xJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" id="panel-6-Q0xJ" name="Q0xJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To import an export file, use the following command:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>lxc import &lt;file_path&gt; [&lt;instance_name&gt;]
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you do not specify an instance name, the original name of the exported instance is used for the new instance.
If an instance with that name already (or still) exists in the specified storage pool, the command returns an error.
In that case, either delete the existing instance before importing the backup or specify a different instance name for the import.</p>
<p>Add the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--storage</span></code> flag to specify which storage pool to use, or the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--device</span></code> flag to override the device configuration (syntax: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--device</span> <span class="pre">&lt;device_name&gt;,&lt;device_option&gt;=&lt;value&gt;</span></code>).</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-6-QVBJ" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-6-QVBJ" name="QVBJ" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To import an export file, post it to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">/1.0/instances</span></code> endpoint:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>curl -X POST -H &quot;Content-Type: application/octet-stream&quot; --data-binary @&lt;file_path&gt; \
--unix-socket /var/snap/lxd/common/lxd/unix.socket lxd/1.0/instances
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If an instance with that name already (or still) exists in the specified storage pool, the command returns an error.
In this case, delete the existing instance before importing the backup.</p>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="/api/#/instances/instances_post"><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">POST</span> <span class="pre">/1.0/instances</span></code></a> for more information.</p>
</div><div aria-labelledby="tab-6-VUk=" class="sphinx-tabs-panel group-tab" hidden="true" id="panel-6-VUk=" name="VUk=" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0"><p>To import an export file, go to the instance list and click <span class="guilabel">Create instance</span>.</p>
<p>From the resulting modal, upload the instance file.
The instance name and description fields are optional. If you don’t specify the instance name, the name of the export file is used, appended with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-tar-import</span></code>.</p>
<p>Click <span class="guilabel">Choose file</span>.
Select the export file, then click <span class="guilabel">Upload and create</span>.</p>
<p>The newly created instance will appear in the instance list.</p>
</div></div>
</section>
</section>
<section id="copy-an-instance-to-a-backup-server">
<span id="instances-backup-copy"></span><h2>Copy an instance to a backup server<a class="headerlink" href="#copy-an-instance-to-a-backup-server" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>You can copy an instance to a secondary backup server to back it up.</p>
<p>See <a class="reference internal" href="../../backup/#secondary-backup-server"><span class="std std-ref">Secondary backup LXD server</span></a> for more information, and <a class="reference internal" href="../instances_migrate/#howto-instances-migrate"><span class="std std-ref">How to migrate LXD instances between servers</span></a> for instructions.</p>
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        <ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">How to back up instances</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#use-snapshots-for-instance-backup">Use snapshots for instance backup</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#create-a-snapshot">Create a snapshot</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#view-edit-or-delete-snapshots">View, edit or delete snapshots</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#schedule-instance-snapshots">Schedule instance snapshots</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#restore-an-instance-snapshot">Restore an instance snapshot</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#use-export-files-for-instance-backup">Use export files for instance backup</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#export-an-instance">Export an instance</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#restore-an-instance-from-an-export-file">Restore an instance from an export file</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#copy-an-instance-to-a-backup-server">Copy an instance to a backup server</a></li>
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