Creating and monitoring backups

About backup types

GitHub Enterprise Server Backup Service supports two types of backups:

• Full backups: Capture a complete snapshot of all data. The first backup is always a full backup.
• Incremental backups: Include only changes since the last backup, significantly reducing backup time and storage usage.

The system automatically determines which type to create based on the schedule and backup history. For Git repositories and other file stores, hard links are used to ensure storage-efficient snapshots with full point-in-time recovery.

Creating backups

Once the backup service is configured, it will automatically create backups based on your defined schedule. You can also trigger backups manually as needed.

Running a manual backup

To create an on-demand backup—for example, before performing maintenance:

1. Connect to your instance via SSH as the admin user. See Accessing the administrative shell (SSH).

2. Run the backup command:

   ghe-backup
   

Command line backup utilities

You can also use these CLI tools for advanced backup management or troubleshooting:

• ghe-backup: Triggers a full or incremental backup, depending on the state.
• ghe-prune-snapshots: Deletes old snapshots based on your configured retention policy.

Monitoring backups

You can monitor backup activity through the Management Console or from the command line.

Viewing backup status in the Management Console

1. On the "Backup Service" page, navigate to the "Backup History" section.
2. Review the status of recent backups.

Monitoring via SSH

To check backup progress or troubleshoot issues from the command line:

1. SSH into your instance as the admin user.

2. View the most recent backup log:

   cat /var/log/github-backup/backup-verbose-$(date +%Y%m%d).log
   

3. To check if a backup is currently running, look for this file:

   ls /data/user/common/backup_utils_in_progress
   

   If the file exists, a backup is currently running.