Guide

Backups

Layerbase Cloud backs up your databases automatically on paid plans, and you can take your own backup at any time. This page covers the automatic schedule, how branches differ, taking and naming a manual backup, downloading a backup, and restoring one. Restore overwrites your current data, so read the restore section before you use it.

Automatic backups

Automatic backups run on paid plans (Solo and above). On those plans, Layerbase takes a per-database dump every 12 hours while the database is running, plus one final dump whenever a database goes to sleep. If nothing has changed since the last backup, that run is skipped, so you do not accumulate identical copies. New databases show no backups until the first automatic run or your first manual backup. Branches are the one exception and are covered below.

The Free tier is manual-only: it includes 1 manual backup slot that you fill with Backup Now, but no scheduled dumps. Solo keeps 3 manual backups with 7-day retention on scheduled backups, and Pro keeps 10 manual backups with 30-day retention. Upgrade any time to turn on the automatic 12-hour schedule.

Branches

Branches are not backed up automatically by default. A branch starts as a copy of a database that already has its own backups, so backing up both would store the same data twice, and preview branches are usually short-lived. You can still take a manual backup of any branch at any time with Backup Now.

If a branch holds work you want protected on its own, open its Backups tab and turn on Automatic backups. From then on that branch is treated like any other database on your plan: the same 12-hour schedule and the same retention.

Sleeping databases

A database that goes to sleep is backed up on its way down, so the work you did before it went idle is captured rather than waiting for a schedule it can no longer be part of. Per-database dumps need the database to be awake, so they pause for as long as it sleeps and resume once something wakes it.

Full volume snapshots also run every 6 hours across all databases as a safety net, so a sleeping or stopped database stays protected either way. You can see both the per-database and volume-snapshot status on the Backup Status panel in your account.

Taking a backup on demand

Open a database and find the Backups panel. Click Backup Now to capture the current state. You can give the backup an optional name (up to 64 characters) to make it easy to find later, for example before a risky migration. If you leave the name blank, the backup is labeled by its timestamp.

The database must be running to take a manual backup. If it is hibernated or stopped, the button is disabled; connect to it or start it first. Each backup in the list shows whether it was created automatically or manually, along with its size.

Renaming a backup

Click a backup's name to rename it in place (up to 64 characters). This is a label only. It does not change the backup's contents or timestamp, and it helps you keep track of which snapshot is which.

Downloading a backup

Use the download icon on any backup in the list to save that dump to your machine. This gives you an offline copy you can keep, inspect, or import elsewhere.

There is also a whole-database Export on the database page, which produces a fresh dump of the current state rather than a stored backup. Export keeps working even on a locked database, so it is the way to get your data out after a plan downgrade. For large Performance-engine databases, an export can take a few minutes, so leave the tab open while it runs.

Restoring from a backup

Restore replays a chosen backup back into the live database. Pick a backup, click Restore, and confirm. The database must be running to restore, the same as taking a backup.

Restore overwrites your current data. Whatever is in the database now is replaced by the contents of the backup, and this cannot be undone. If you are not certain, take a fresh Backup Now first so you can return to the current state, then restore the older one.

Retention

Backups follow your database through its lifecycle. Archiving a Free database keeps its data and backups; only the live address is removed until you restore it. When a database is deleted, Layerbase secures a final backup first and refuses the delete if that backup cannot be captured, so your last copy is never dropped silently. The database lifecycle page has the full retention rules, including the 90-day free-tier offload, which always keeps your most-recent backup for download.