Backups on Aria: schedule, restore and your own key

Aria backs up your databases and your volumes every night, encrypts the backups and stores them off your server. You can back up a database on demand from the Database page, restore one by typing its name, and choose the schedule, how long backups are kept and who holds the encryption key with a backup block in aria.yaml.

What is backed up?

• Every Postgres database in your app.
• Every volume that your services declare.
• A Supabase database with its Storage files, as part of the app.

The nightly backups are encrypted and kept off the server. Without a backup block, Aria keeps them for 30 days. The Database page shows when the nightly backup runs and how long backups are kept. Redis is a cache, so it is not part of a restore.

How do I back up a database now?

Open your project, go to Database, and choose Back up now on the database. The list shows each backup with its size when it finishes.

How do I restore a database?

On the Database page, choose Restore next to the backup you want. Restoring replaces the database’s current contents, so it is a destructive action: you type the database’s name to confirm. For a Supabase, rebuild from Settings, then Recovery.

To start a whole new app from a backup, use the Start from a backup option, which restores the volumes and databases before any service starts and deploys the commit the backup was made from. This applies to backups made as sets, described next.

How do I choose my own schedule?

Add a backup block to aria.yaml. Each run makes a set: every Postgres database, the volumes you list and the app’s variables, encrypted and stored together.

version: 1
services:
  web:
    type: web
    port: 3000
    volumes:
      uploads: /data/uploads
databases:
  main:
    type: postgres
backup:
  schedule: "0 3 * * *"
  retention:
    daily: 14
    weekly: 8
    monthly: 6
  volumes: [uploads]
  exclude: ["**/cache/**"]

A backup block needs something to back up: a Postgres database or a volume. A backup block replaces the nightly schedule for that app, and its retention replaces the 30 days; older backups stay restorable. The other limits are on Limits.

What if my app writes files that a copy could catch half-written?

Use hooks. A pre command runs before anything is copied and a post command runs after, in the service’s running container.

version: 1
services:
  notes:
    type: web
    port: 3000
    volumes:
      data: /data
backup:
  hooks:
    - service: notes
      pre: [/app/bin/backup-prepare]
      post: [/app/bin/backup-finish]
      timeout: 120

timeout is in seconds, from 1 to 600, and defaults to 120. If a pre command fails or times out, the whole backup fails and nothing is stored. post commands always run.

Can I hold the encryption key myself?

Yes. Make an age key pair, keep the private key safe, and enter the public key (it starts with age1) in Aria as a secret. Name that secret in the file:

backup:
  encryption:
    recipient_secret: BACKUP_AGE_RECIPIENT

Backups are then encrypted to your key only. Aria never has the private key, so it cannot read them, and a restore asks you for your key file. Keep the key safe: without it, the backups cannot be opened.

Can I download a copy of a database?

Yes. On the Database page choose Copy database. Aria makes a fresh copy on the server and gives you a zip with the dump, plain SQL and a README, behind a link that lasts an hour. See Your data.

How do I get back something I just deleted?

Users, rows and files you delete on the Database page wait 30 days in the Archive, so you can restore them without touching a backup. See Your data.