First Steps

This guide walks you through your first login and setting up your first automated backup job.

First Login

After installation, open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

On first launch, you'll see a login page with a "Sign Up" option. This self-registration is only available for the first user and creates the administrator account.

Once logged in, you can use the Quick Setup Wizard (available in the sidebar under Quick Setup) to configure your first backup in a guided, step-by-step flow — this is the recommended approach for new users. It walks you through creating a database source, storage destination, optional encryption and notifications, and a backup job all in one place.

If you prefer to configure everything manually, follow the steps below.

Manual Setup Overview

A backup job in DBackup connects three things:

1. Source - The database to backup
2. Destination - Where to store the backup
3. Schedule - When to run the backup (optional)

Let's set up all three.

Step 1: Add a Storage Destination

First, create a place to store your backups.

Using Local Filesystem

1. Go to Destinations in the sidebar
2. Click Add Destination
3. Select Local Filesystem
4. Configure:
   • Name: Local Backups
   • Base Path: /backups
5. Click Test Connection
6. Click Save

Docker Volume

When using Docker, /backups maps to your host's ./backups folder via volume mount.

Step 2: Add a Database Source

Now add the database you want to backup.

Example: MySQL Database

1. Go to Sources in the sidebar
2. Click Add Source
3. Select MySQL
4. Configure:
   • Name: Production MySQL
   • Host: mysql.example.com (or host.docker.internal for host machine)
   • Port: 3306
   • User: backup_user
   • Password: your-password
5. Click Test Connection
6. Click Save

Permissions

Ensure your database user has SELECT and LOCK TABLES permissions for backup, and CREATE permission for restore operations.

Step 3: Create a Backup Job

Now connect source and destination in a job.

1. Go to Jobs in the sidebar
2. Click Create Job
3. In the General tab, configure:
   • Name: Daily MySQL Backup
   • Source: Select "Production MySQL"
   • Databases: Click Load to fetch available databases, then select which ones to back up — leave empty to back up all databases
4. In the Destinations tab, click Add Destination and select "Local Backups"
   • Each destination can have its own independent retention policy
   • You can add multiple destinations (e.g., local + S3) for redundancy

Optional: Add Compression

In the Security tab: select a compression algorithm (Gzip or Brotli) from the Compression dropdown.

Optional: Add Encryption

In the Security tab: select an Encryption Profile from the Encryption dropdown. Profiles are managed in the Vault (sidebar).

Optional: Set Schedule

In the General tab, use the Schedule picker:

• Simple mode: Choose Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly and set the time
• Cron mode: Enter a raw cron expression (e.g., 0 2 * * * for daily at 2:00 AM)

Optional: Configure Retention

In the Destinations tab, expand a destination row and configure its retention policy:

• Simple: Keep last N backups
• Smart (GVS): Grandfather-Father-Son rotation

Step 4: Run Your First Backup

Time to test!

1. On the Jobs page, find your new job
2. Click the ▶ Run Now button
3. Watch the live progress

Monitor Progress

The execution view shows:

• Current step (Initialize → Dump → Upload → Complete)
• Progress bar with file size
• Live logs of the operation

View Results

After completion:

1. Check History for execution details
2. Browse Storage Explorer to see your backup file
3. Verify the .meta.json sidecar file was created

Step 5: Set Up Notifications (Optional)

Get alerted when backups complete or fail.

Discord Webhook

1. Go to Notifications in the sidebar
2. Click Add Notification
3. Select Discord Webhook
4. Paste your webhook URL
5. Click Test to verify
6. Save

Assign to Job

1. Edit your backup job
2. Go to the Notify tab
3. Select your notification channel from the dropdown
4. Set the Notification Trigger (Always, Success only, Failure only)
5. Save

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've created your first automated backup. Now explore:

• Encryption Vault - Secure your backups
• Retention Policies - Automatic cleanup
• Storage Explorer - Browse and manage backups
• Restore - Restore from backups