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Back up and restore Tarnished

Use this guide when Tarnished has become important enough that you need a real recovery path, not just an export file.

Before you begin​

You should know which deployment mode you are running:

  • Docker Compose with SQLite
  • Docker Compose with PostgreSQL
  • Helm / Kubernetes

If you are not sure where Tarnished stores data in your deployment mode, read Storage and backups first.

Exports are useful, but not your only backup​

Tarnished export files are useful for portability and migration workflows, but they are not the only backup strategy you should rely on.

A real backup plan should also include the underlying storage used by your deployment:

  • Tarnished uploads and local app data
  • PostgreSQL, when used

Back up a Docker Compose install (SQLite)​

If you used the default Docker Compose install, Tarnished stores its local state under ./data.

Safer backup flow​

  1. Stop the stack so Tarnished is not writing while you copy the files.
  2. Copy the ./data directory to your backup destination.
  3. Start Tarnished again.
docker compose down
cp -R ./data /path/to/your/backup/location/data-backup
docker compose up -d

Back up a Docker Compose install (PostgreSQL)​

If you used the PostgreSQL Docker Compose install, back up both:

  • ./data
  • ./postgres_data

Safer backup flow​

  1. Stop the stack.
  2. Copy both directories.
  3. Start Tarnished again.
docker compose down
cp -R ./data /path/to/your/backup/location/data-backup
cp -R ./postgres_data /path/to/your/backup/location/postgres-backup
docker compose up -d

Back up a Helm / Kubernetes install​

For Helm-based installs, Tarnished data is split across:

  • the PVC mounted at /app/data
  • PostgreSQL, when PostgreSQL mode is enabled

The exact backup method depends on your cluster and storage platform, but the important rule is the same: you need backups for both the uploads volume and the PostgreSQL database.

Restore a Docker Compose install (SQLite)​

To restore a SQLite-backed Compose install:

  1. Stop Tarnished.
  2. Replace the current ./data directory with the backed-up copy.
  3. Start Tarnished again.
docker compose down
rm -rf ./data
cp -R /path/to/your/backup/location/data-backup ./data
docker compose up -d

Restore a Docker Compose install (PostgreSQL)​

To restore a PostgreSQL-backed Compose install:

  1. Stop Tarnished.
  2. Replace both ./data and ./postgres_data with the backed-up copies.
  3. Start Tarnished again.
docker compose down
rm -rf ./data ./postgres_data
cp -R /path/to/your/backup/location/data-backup ./data
cp -R /path/to/your/backup/location/postgres-backup ./postgres_data
docker compose up -d

Restore a Helm / Kubernetes install​

For Helm-based installs, restoration happens through your platform backup tools:

  • restore the Tarnished PVC contents
  • restore the PostgreSQL database
  • then bring the Tarnished workload back up

Verify after restore​

After a restore, verify Tarnished responds:

curl http://localhost:5577/health

Then confirm you can:

  • sign in
  • see application data
  • access expected uploaded files