Backing up and restoring databases in Plesk

This article describes how to back up and restore your databases using Plesk.

Backing up a database

You can quickly and easily create a database backup using Plesk. When you do this, Plesk exports the database as an SQL file.

To back up a database using Plesk, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Plesk.

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   Note

   If you do not know how to log in to your Plesk account, please see this article.

2. In the left sidebar, click Databases.

3. Click the database you want to back up, and then click Export Dump.

4. Select a destination directory for the backup file, specify a filename, and then click OK. Plesk creates the backup file.

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   Tip

   To download the backup file to your local computer automatically, select the Automatically download dump after creation check box.

Restoring a database

You can quickly and easily restore a database using Plesk.

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Warning

To avoid potential data loss, you should always back up the existing database to a different filename before you try to restore from a previous backup.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Plesk.

   📘

   Note

   If you do not know how to log in to your Plesk account, please see this article.

2. In the left sidebar, click Databases.

3. Click the database you want to restore, and then click Import Dump.

4. Browse to the backup file location, select the file, and then click OK.