DB Backup

Database backup and restore module for ProcessWire 3.x.

Supports local storage and Backblaze B2, three independent backup schedules (regular / weekly / monthly), chunked upload for large files, streaming restore, and a dashboard widget on the admin home page.

Features

• One-click backup from the Admin UI with AJAX progress bar
• Three backup types — regular, weekly, monthly — each with independent LazyCron schedule and retention count
• Admin home widget — shows status, latest backup date and storage for each type, with "Create now" button per type
• Backblaze B2 optional cloud upload (API v3) for all backup types
• Configurable local copy — keep or delete local file after B2 upload
• Chunked upload — upload .sql.gz from your computer in 2MB chunks, bypasses upload_max_filesize
• Streaming restore — PDO restore reads line-by-line, memory usage stays flat regardless of dump size
• Lock file — prevents concurrent backup processes
• Verify integrity — gzip check + SQL structure validation before any restore
• Partial restore — select individual tables to restore from a backup
• Pre-restore auto-backup — creates a safety backup of the current DB before any restore
• Exclude tables — skip specific tables (e.g. cache, sessions) from all backups
• Inline labels — add notes to any backup entry directly in the table
• Sort and filter — sort by filename/date/size, filter by backup type
• Protected storage — site/assets/backups/db/ with .htaccess deny-all
• Meta-driven list — B2-only backups appear in the UI even without a local file
• Module log at Setup → Logs → db-backup

Requirements

• ProcessWire ≥ 3.0.0
• PHP ≥ 8.0
• PHP extensions: zlib, PDO, curl (curl required for B2 only)
• mysqldump / mysql CLI — optional but recommended for large databases
• LazyCron module — required for scheduled backups

Installation

1. Copy the ProcessDbBackup/ folder to site/modules/
2. In Admin → Modules, click Refresh and install ProcessDbBackup
3. The admin page is created automatically at Admin → DB Backup
4. Assign the db-backup permission to roles that need access

Configuration

Go to Admin → Modules → Configure → ProcessDbBackup.

General

Schedules

Three independent fieldsets: Regular, Weekly, Monthly.

Regular — for frequent backups (hourly, daily). Outdated status triggers after 2 days without a backup.

Weekly — for weekly snapshots. Outdated status triggers after 7 days.

Monthly — for long-term archival. Outdated status triggers after 28 days.

Available LazyCron intervals

every30Seconds · everyMinute · every2Minutes · every3Minutes · every4Minutes · every5Minutes · every10Minutes · every15Minutes · every30Minutes · every45Minutes · everyHour · every2Hours · every4Hours · every6Hours · every12Hours · everyDay · every2Days · every4Days · everyWeek · every2Weeks · every4Weeks

LazyCron fires on the next page load after the interval has elapsed.

Backblaze B2

The module uses B2 API v3. Required App Key capabilities: readFiles, writeFiles, listFiles, deleteFiles.

Admin home widget

The widget appears at the top of Admin → Dashboard and shows a table with one row per backup type:

Status thresholds: Regular → 2 days · Weekly → 7 days · Monthly → 28 days.

Only visible to users with the db-backup permission.

Backup types and file naming

Retention is enforced per type independently after each backup creation.

Storage modes

The backup list is driven by .meta.json. B2-only entries are visible in the UI with a B2 only badge.

File locations

site/assets/backups/db/              — backup directory (htaccess protected)
site/assets/backups/db/.meta.json    — metadata for all backups
site/assets/backups/db/.lock         — cron lock file (auto-removed)
site/assets/backups/db/.chunks/      — temporary chunk storage during upload

Backup methods

1. mysqldump (preferred) — --single-transaction --quick for InnoDB-safe hot backups, output piped through gzip
2. PHP PDO (fallback) — exports tables row-by-row in 100-row INSERT batches, written directly to .gz via gzopen

Restore

Restore overwrites the database. A confirmation dialog is shown before proceeding.

Full restore methods (tried in order):

1. mysql CLI — pipes decompressed dump into mysql
2. PHP PDO streaming — reads .gz line-by-line, executes statements one at a time

Partial restore — select individual tables from the backup. Shows each table with a status badge (exists / new) and a "select all" checkbox.

Restore is only available for backups with a local copy. B2-only backups must be downloaded manually first.

Chunked upload

The upload form on the DB Backup page sends the file in 2MB chunks via JavaScript Fetch API. Each chunk is saved to .chunks/ on the server and assembled into the final file once all chunks arrive. This bypasses PHP's upload_max_filesize and post_max_size limits entirely — any file size works.

After assembly, the file is validated (gzip magic bytes) and added to the backup list. The Restore immediately checkbox triggers a full restore right after upload.

Lock file

When a backup starts, a .lock file is written with the current timestamp. If a subsequent process finds the lock file and it is less than 1 hour old, the backup is skipped. Locks older than 1 hour are considered stale and removed automatically. The lock is always removed on success or cron error.

Changelog

2.0.0 — 2026-03-28

• Three independent backup types: regular, weekly, monthly
• Per-type LazyCron schedule and retention
• Admin home widget with per-type status and Create now buttons
• Chunked upload (2MB chunks, no upload_max_filesize limit)
• Streaming PDO restore (line-by-line, flat memory usage)
• AJAX progress bar for Create Backup
• Cron lock file to prevent concurrent backups
• Inline label editing in backup table
• Sort by filename / date / size
• Filter table by backup type (tabs)
• create_typed action for widget buttons
• Weekly outdated threshold: 7 days
• Monthly outdated threshold: 28 days

1.0.0 — 2026-03-28

• Initial release
• Manual and LazyCron scheduled backups
• Local storage with .htaccess protection
• Backblaze B2 upload via API v3
• Configurable keep local copy option
• B2-only storage mode tracked in meta
• Restore and delete from Admin UI
• Download as .sql.gz
• mysqldump with PHP PDO fallback
• mysql CLI restore with PHP PDO fallback
• Verify backup integrity
• Partial restore (select tables)
• Pre-restore auto-backup
• Exclude tables from backup
• Retention policy per type
• Native UIkit Admin UI
• Module log (db-backup)
• db-backup permission