Backing up databases?

Where, and how, do I backup PostgreSQL databases via the Neon dashboard?

Hey @_manu.codes. Welcome! :smile:

You can create a branch from any point in time within the point-in-time restore window (currently, it’s seven days).

This newly created branch will include all past data up to the point in time you specified, so it acts as a backup. You can start using this feature now without needing to configure anything.

Does this flow meet your requirements? If not, do you mind sharing more details about your use case?

Can I export a branch to a downloadable file?

Not at the moment, unfortunately. Is this a blocker for you that prevents you from using Neon?

No, I am still going to continue to use Neon, but I would greatly appreciate something like that.

I also contacted sales recently and was wondering if Neon could sponsor my open-source project, and I would be willing to put a banner with a link to the homepage in my site’s footer.

Does Neon support automated backups?

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You believe the storage architecture is already enough as a backup ?
When data transfert is billed, it could be fine to have a way to can download a snapshot for example.

We plan on eventually adding support for automated backups and making them downloadable. Using branching as a backup mechanism is an alternative in the meantime.

When data transfert is billed

Not sure what you mean by this. Can you clarify?

The only backup i can see now is for example a daily pg_dump. Then it will make a lot of egress.

edit: something better than backups would be to can run our own pg_dump in cron and put it in our storage.

Any way this could get prioritized @Mahmoud ? We’re just migrating our production database over and I feel very uncomfortable not having a built-in way to backup. Having to build my own cron backup script and paying lots of egress is not a great option. Coming from crunchy, where backups are included.

Hi, is it possible to create a branch automatically on a weekly basis or a cron job?

Was so excited finding Neon. But without this, I don’t see the point in migrating away from my VPS? If I have to manually create backups and handle restores, then what’s the “managed” part?

Backups in Neon rely on our branching feature. You can create a branch from a previous point in time to restore your data back to a previous state.

This guide in our documentation covers the flow in detail

Let me know if you have any other questions :smile:

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