Backup & Restore
Your data is valuable. Opensolr gives you full control over backups so you can protect your index, recover from mistakes, and sleep well at night. This guide walks you through every backup feature step by step. For a comprehensive tutorial with screenshots, see the full backup guide in the knowledge base.
How Backups Work
Backups capture everything in your index at a specific moment. You can restore any backup to bring your index back to that exact state.
Create a Backup (On-Demand Snapshot)
Think of a backup as a photograph of your entire index at this exact moment. Every document, every setting, every configuration file is captured and saved. You can take a backup whenever you want.
- Open your Index Dashboard — go to the Dashboard and click on the index you want to back up.
- Click the "Backup & Restore" tab — you will find it in the tools section of your index.
- Click "Create Backup Now" — Opensolr will immediately take a snapshot of your index. This usually takes a few seconds, even for large indexes.
- Wait for confirmation — a success message will appear when the backup is complete, and you will see the new backup file listed below.
For most indexes, backups complete in under 30 seconds. Very large indexes (millions of documents) may take a few minutes. You can keep using your index normally while the backup runs.
Want to trigger backups from your own scripts? Use the Create Backup API to automate snapshot creation programmatically.
Schedule Daily Backups (Automatic)
If you want peace of mind without lifting a finger, turn on scheduled backups. Opensolr will automatically create a backup of your index every single day at midnight UTC.
- Go to the Backup & Restore tab for your index.
- Toggle "Enable Daily Backups" — switch it to ON.
- That is it! A fresh backup will be created every night at midnight UTC. You do not need to do anything else.
If your index powers a live application or website, always enable daily backups. If something goes wrong, you will have a recent copy to restore from.
Restore Types: Full vs. Config-Only
When you restore from a backup, you have two choices. Understanding the difference is important so you pick the right one for your situation.
Available Backup Files
Every backup you create (manually or via schedule) appears in a file list on the Backup & Restore tab. Each entry shows:
| Column | What It Means |
|---|---|
| File Name | The backup filename, which includes the date and time it was created. |
| Size | How large the backup file is. Larger indexes produce larger backups. |
| Created | The exact date and time the snapshot was taken. |
| Actions | Buttons to download, restore (full or config-only), or delete the backup. |
You can download any backup file to your own computer for safekeeping. When your browser prompts you for credentials, use the same HTTP Authentication username and password that you use to access your Opensolr index directly. You can find these credentials in the Security section of your index settings.
You can also manage backups programmatically: list all backup files or download a backup file via the API.
Backup files older than 7 days are automatically deleted to manage storage. If you need to keep a backup longer, download it to your own computer before it expires. Daily scheduled backups always create a fresh file, so you will always have the last 7 days covered.
Restore from Backup
Restoring a backup brings your index back to the exact state it was in when the backup was created. Here is how:
- Go to the Backup & Restore tab for the index you want to restore.
- Find the backup file you want to restore from in the list. Check the date and time to make sure it is the right one.
- Choose your restore type:
- Full Restore — replaces ALL data and ALL configuration. Your index will be exactly as it was when the backup was taken.
- Config-Only Restore — replaces only the configuration files (schema, settings). Your current documents remain untouched.
- Click the restore button and confirm. Opensolr will begin restoring immediately.
- Wait for completion — the restore usually takes a few seconds to a couple of minutes depending on index size. You will see a confirmation message when it is done.
A full restore will replace everything in your index with the backup contents. Any documents added after the backup was created will be lost. If you are unsure, create a fresh backup first before restoring an older one.
Restore Actions Log
Every time you restore from a backup, Opensolr records the action in a log so you always have a clear history. The log shows:
- When — the exact date and time the restore was performed.
- Which backup — the filename of the backup that was restored.
- Restore type — whether it was a Full Restore or Config-Only Restore.
- Status — whether the restore succeeded or failed.
This log is especially useful if multiple team members have access to the index. You can always see who restored what and when.
Tips: When to Use Each Restore Type
You accidentally deleted documents, pushed bad data, or need to roll back your entire index to a known good state. This replaces everything — data and config — with the backup contents.
You changed your schema or settings and something broke (search stopped working, fields disappeared, etc.), but your actual documents are fine. This fixes your configuration without touching your data.
About to modify your schema, re-index everything, or push a large batch of new documents? Create a manual backup first. If anything goes wrong, you can restore in seconds.
Since backups older than 7 days are automatically deleted, download any critical backups to your own storage if you need to keep them longer.
Related Documentation
Security
Set up HTTP authentication credentials used for downloading backup files.
Configuration
Learn about the schema and settings files that config-only restore replaces.
Index Tools
Other tools available for managing your index, including reloading and optimization.
Index Replication
Replicate your index to another server as a secondary data protection strategy alongside backups.