ContextDX Backup & Restore Guide

This guide covers how to backup and restore your ContextDX data, including database and application data.

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Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Data Locations
3. Backup Database
4. Backup Application Data
5. Restore Database
6. Restore Application Data
7. Automated Backups
8. Best Practices

Related Guides:

• Installation Guide
• Troubleshooting Guide
• SSL & Reverse Proxy Guide

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Overview

ContextDX stores data in two main locations:

• PostgreSQL database - User data, configurations, sessions
• Data volume - Cache, entitlements, uploaded files

Regular backups are essential for disaster recovery and data protection.

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Data Locations

To see your volumes:

BASHCopy
docker volume ls | grep contextdx

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Backup Database

Quick Backup

BASHCopy
# Create backup directory
mkdir -p backups

# Backup database to SQL file
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec postgres \
  pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx > backups/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Compressed Backup

For larger databases, compress the backup:

BASHCopy
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec postgres \
  pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx | gzip > backups/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz

Backup with Timestamp

BASHCopy
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec postgres \
  pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx > backups/backup-${TIMESTAMP}.sql
echo "Backup created: backups/backup-${TIMESTAMP}.sql"

Verify Backup

Check that the backup file is valid:

BASHCopy
# Check file size (should not be empty)
ls -lh backups/backup-*.sql

# Check file content (should start with PostgreSQL dump header)
head -20 backups/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

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Backup Application Data

Backup Data Volume

BASHCopy
# Backup the data volume to a tar archive
docker run --rm \
  -v contextdx-data:/data \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/data-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /data

Windows PowerShell

POWERSHELLCopy
# Backup data volume
docker run --rm `
  -v contextdx-data:/data `
  -v ${PWD}/backups:/backup `
  alpine tar czf /backup/data-$(Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd").tar.gz /data

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Restore Database

Standard Restore

BASHCopy
# Stop the server first (prevents data inconsistency)
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml stop server

# Restore from backup
cat backups/backup-20240115.sql | docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres \
  psql -U contextdx contextdx

# Start server
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml start server

Restore Compressed Backup

BASHCopy
# Stop the server
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml stop server

# Restore from compressed backup
gunzip -c backups/backup-20240115.sql.gz | docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres \
  psql -U contextdx contextdx

# Start server
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml start server

Full Database Reset and Restore

If you need to completely reset the database:

BASHCopy
# Stop all services
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml down

# Remove the database volume
docker volume rm contextdx_postgres-data

# Start postgres only
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d postgres

# Wait for postgres to be ready
sleep 10

# Restore from backup
cat backups/backup-20240115.sql | docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres \
  psql -U contextdx contextdx

# Start all services
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

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Restore Application Data

Restore Data Volume

BASHCopy
# Stop services
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml down

# Remove existing volume (if needed)
docker volume rm contextdx-data

# Recreate volume and restore
docker run --rm \
  -v contextdx-data:/data \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup \
  alpine sh -c "cd /data && tar xzf /backup/data-20240115.tar.gz --strip 1"

# Start services
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

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Automated Backups

Linux/macOS (Cron)

Set up daily automated backups:

BASHCopy
# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add this line (runs at 2 AM daily)
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/contextdx && docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx > backups/backup-$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql

Backup Script

Create a comprehensive backup script:

BASHCopy
#!/bin/bash
# backup.sh - ContextDX backup script

BACKUP_DIR="/path/to/contextdx/backups"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
RETENTION_DAYS=30

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup database
echo "Backing up database..."
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres \
  pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/db-${TIMESTAMP}.sql.gz

# Backup data volume
echo "Backing up data volume..."
docker run --rm \
  -v contextdx-data:/data \
  -v $BACKUP_DIR:/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/data-${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz /data

# Remove old backups
echo "Cleaning up old backups..."
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +$RETENTION_DAYS -delete
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +$RETENTION_DAYS -delete

echo "Backup complete: ${TIMESTAMP}"

Make it executable and schedule:

BASHCopy
chmod +x backup.sh

# Add to crontab (runs at 2 AM daily)
crontab -e
0 2 * * * /path/to/contextdx/backup.sh >> /path/to/contextdx/backup.log 2>&1

Windows (Task Scheduler)

Create a PowerShell backup script:

POWERSHELLCopy
# backup.ps1 - ContextDX backup script

$BackupDir = "C:\contextdx\backups"
$Timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd_HHmmss"
$RetentionDays = 30

# Create backup directory
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $BackupDir

# Backup database
Write-Host "Backing up database..."
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml exec -T postgres `
  pg_dump -U contextdx contextdx | Out-File "$BackupDir\db-$Timestamp.sql"

# Compress
Compress-Archive -Path "$BackupDir\db-$Timestamp.sql" -DestinationPath "$BackupDir\db-$Timestamp.sql.zip"
Remove-Item "$BackupDir\db-$Timestamp.sql"

# Remove old backups
Get-ChildItem $BackupDir -Filter "*.zip" | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-$RetentionDays) } | Remove-Item

Write-Host "Backup complete: $Timestamp"

Schedule using Task Scheduler to run daily.

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Best Practices

Backup Frequency

Storage Recommendations

1. Offsite backups - Store backups in a different location

   • Cloud storage (S3, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage)
   • Different physical server
   • Network attached storage (NAS)

2. Encryption - Encrypt backups containing sensitive data

   BASHCopy
   # Encrypt backup with GPG
   gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 backups/backup-20240115.sql

3. Retention policy - Keep multiple backup generations

   • Daily backups: 7 days
   • Weekly backups: 4 weeks
   • Monthly backups: 12 months

Testing Restores

Regularly test your backup restoration process:

1. Monthly - Verify backup files are not corrupted
2. Quarterly - Perform full restore test in staging environment
3. Document - Keep restore procedures documented and up-to-date

Monitoring

Set up alerts for backup failures:

BASHCopy
# Example: Send email on backup failure
./backup.sh || echo "Backup failed on $(date)" | mail -s "ContextDX Backup Failed" admin@example.com

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Quick Reference