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Backup and restore

Built-in consistent data backup

The installed application provides a fail-closed backup command:

sudo BACKUP_ROOT=/var/backups/vibmail /opt/vibmail/app/scripts/backup.sh

It temporarily stops the public contact worker, Postfix, Dovecot LMTP, the ingestion worker, and Gunicorn; records which services were previously active; and restores that exact state through an exit trap. The backup contains:

  • the configured application and mail MariaDB schemas;
  • /var/vmail Maildir data;
  • /var/lib/vibmail/attachments;
  • public-contact SQLite state when present;
  • generated application, contact, Postfix, Dovecot, Nginx, systemd, and logrotate configuration;
  • metadata and SHA-256 checksums.

MariaDB root socket authentication is used by default. A root-only DB_BACKUP_DEFAULTS_FILE can be supplied for deployments that require an explicit backup account.

Restore

Install the same or a compatible MailStack release on the target Ubuntu 24.04 server first, then run:

sudo /opt/vibmail/app/scripts/restore.sh \
  --backup /var/backups/vibmail/20260101T000000Z \
  --confirm-restore

The restore script verifies checksums, rejects unsafe tar members, restores the schemas and state, repairs ownership, applies migrations, rebuilds counters and static assets, verifies Maildir/Postfix contracts, validates Nginx/Postfix/Dovecot configuration, and restores the prior service state.

Full disaster-recovery copy

The built-in application backup intentionally does not duplicate the release archive or Let's Encrypt private-key tree. For complete host disaster recovery, retain separately:

  • the exact signed/checksummed MailStack source release;
  • /etc/letsencrypt or a plan to reissue certificates;
  • DNS, PTR/rDNS, firewall, provider, monitoring, and off-host backup configuration;
  • an encrypted off-host copy of the built-in backup.

Backups contain credentials, user email, attachments, and message content. Restrict access, encrypt at rest and in transit, verify checksums after transfer, and test restoration on an isolated host.

Upgrade rollback snapshots

PHASE-004C upgrades create a source/runtime rollback snapshot under /var/backups/vibmail/upgrades/ and nest a normal consistent data backup beneath that snapshot before any source mutation. The snapshot contains the pre-upgrade application tree, previous public-site pointer, installation marker when present, metadata, and SHA-256 checksums. The nested data backup retains its own SHA256SUMS contract.

The upgrade rollback command intentionally does not restore MariaDB or Maildir automatically. When an upgrade introduces new migrations, schema/data rollback requires a reviewed reconciliation plan because restoring a pre-upgrade database/Maildir snapshot can discard or desynchronize mail accepted after the backup. Use restore.sh only when that coordinated recovery decision has been made and the post-backup mail window has been accounted for.