Introduction
If a backup is ever stopped prematurely or if you just need to run a backup, you’ll need to use the command-line.
Procedure
Run a system backup
To run a system-wide backup manually, log into the command line via SSH as the root user and run the following command:
# /usr/local/cpanel/bin/backup
Options
The /usr/local/cpanel/bin/backup script accepts the following options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--debug | Runs the backup in the foreground and prints its progress on the command line. |
--force | Performs an additional backup, even if the system already contains up-to-date backup files. |
--allow-override | When the system performs the backup, use the pkgacct script in the the /var/cpanel/lib/Whostmgr/Pkgacct/pkgacct directory. |
--help | Displays additional information. |
Run a single account backup
To back up a single cPanel account, you can use The pkgacct Script instead.
To use this script, log into your server via SSH as root. Then run the following command, optionally adding flags, followed by the username of the cPanel user you’d like to backup, and the directory you’d like used for the output.
# /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/pkgacct [options] USERNAME DIRECTORY
Options
The /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/pkgacct script accepts the following options:
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
USERNAME | Required The cPanel account username for which to create a cpmove archive. You must pass this option after any options, but before the DIRECTORY option. | example |
DIRECTORY | The directory path in which to store the archive. By default, the script uses the /home directory. You must pass this option after the USERNAME option. | /usr/local/cpanel/backups |
--allow-override | Use the /var/cpanel/lib/Whostmgr/Pkgacct/pkgacct file to package the account, if it exists. Note: You must pass this option before any other options. | --allow-override |
--mysql=VERSION | The archive’s required minimum version of MySQL®. | --mysql=5.1.1 |
--roundcube=VERSION | The archive’s required minimum version of Roundcube. | --roundcube=3.0 |
--dbbackup=TYPE | The type of database backup to perform: all — The script backs up all of the database information. This is the default option. schema — The script only backs up the database schemas. Only use this option to track a database’s users if you back up your databases through a different method. name — The script only backs up the database names. MySQL databases transfer as placeholders containing a CREATE TABLE statement. PostgreSQL® databases transfer as empty .tar placeholder files. | --dbbackup=all |
--dbbackup_mysql=TYPE | An override of the --dbbackup option for MySQL only. This option accepts the same values as the --dbbackup option. Note: If you pass both this option and the --dbbackup option, the system applies the --dbbackup_mysql option to MySQL and the --dbbackup option to PostgreSQL. This option has no effect on PostgreSQL backups. | --dbbackup_mysql=all |
--get_version | Display the version of the pkgacct script. | --get_version |
--use_backups | Use the account’s last known successful backup as a template when the script creates the archive. Use this option to speed up the backup process. | --use_backups |
--incremental | Update the destination file with any new content since the previous backup. This option also removes any content that no longer exists on the account. If the destination file does not exist, the script creates a new file in that location. Note: This option will pass the --nocompress option to create an uncompressed archive. | --incremental |
--split | Create the archive in smaller data files. This option reduces the overall load on the system and makes it easier to transfer the files. The system creates these files in the cpmove-USERNAME.tar.gz.part00001 format, where USERNAME is the user’s account and part00001 is the file’s incremental ID. | --split |
--nocompress | Do not compress the archive. | --nocompress |
--userbackup | Allow the user to use the archive as a backup file for the account (for example, backup-3.18.2020_09-16-55_USERNAME). The system creates the file in the /home/USERNAME directory, where USERNAME is the user’s account name. This file is compatible with WHM’s Restore a Full Backup/cpmove File interface (WHM >> Home >> Backup >> Restore a Full Backup/cpmove File). | --userbackup |
--backup=FILEPATH | Use the archive as a backup for the account at the given file path. This option creates the username.tar.gz file, where username represents the account’s username. | --backup=/usr/local/cpanel/backups |
--skipacctdb | Exclude the account’s MySQL and PostgreSQL databases from the archive. | --skipacctdb |
--skipapitokens | Exclude the account’s API tokens from the archive. | --skipapitokens |
--skipauthlinks | Exclude the account’s external authentication credentials from the archive. | --skipauthlinks |
--skipbwdata | Exclude the account’s bandwidth data from the archive. | --skipbwdata |
--skipdnszones | Exclude the account’s DNS zone file information from the archive. | --skipdnszones |
--skipdomains | Exclude the account’s subdomains, parked domains (aliases), and addon domains from the archive. | --skipdomains |
--skipftpusers | Exclude the account’s FTP user accounts from the archive. | --skipftpusers |
--skiphomedir | Exclude the account’s /home directory from the archive. Use this option if you will save or transfer the /home directory with another method, such as the rsync command. | --skiphomedir |
--skipintegrationlinks | Exclude the account’s integration links from the archive. | --skipintegrationlinks |
--skiplinkednodes | Exclude the account’s server node linkages from the archive. | --skiplinkednodes |
--skiplocale | Exclude the account’s locale information or customized locale from the archive. | --skiplocale |
--skiplogs | Exclude the account’s log files from the archive. | --skiplogs |
--skipmail | Exclude the account’s mail directory from the archive. | --skipmail |
--skipmailconfig | Exclude the account’s mail configuration information from the archive. | --skipmailconfig |
--skipmailman | Exclude the account’s Mailman mailing lists from the archive. | --skipmailman |
--skipmysql | Exclude the account’s MySQL databases, database users, and database grants from the archive. | --skipmysql |
--skippasswd | Exclude the account’s password from the archive. | --skippasswd |
--skippgsql | Exclude the account’s PostgreSQL databases, database users, and database grants from the archive. | --skippgsql |
--skippublichtml | Exclude the account’s /public_html directory. | --skippublichtml |
--skipquota | Exclude the account’s disk quota limits from the archive. | --skipquota |
--skipresellerconfig | Exclude the account’s reseller privileges from the archive. | --skipresellerconfig |
--skipshell | Exclude the account’s shell information and privileges from the archive. | --skipshell |
--skipssl | Exclude the server’s SSL certificates and files in the Apache® configuration. This option does not exclude the SSL files in the account’s /home directory. | --skipssl |
--skipuserdata | Exclude the account’s subaccount information. You create these accounts in cPanel’s User Manager interface (cPanel >> Home >> Preferences >> User Manager). | --skipuserdata |
--help | Display a brief help message. | --help |
--man | Display the script’s full documentation. | --man |
source: https://support.cpanel.net/hc/en-us/articles/360051760834-How-to-run-a-manual-backup