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How to restore from backup

This guide shows you how to restore your Infrahub instance from a backup file. If you need to recover from data loss, roll back changes, or migrate to new infrastructure, follow these steps to safely restore your system.

Prerequisites​

Before restoring from backup:

  • Have a valid backup file created by infrahub-backup
  • Ensure sufficient disk space for extraction (3x backup size)
  • Stop all write operations to the current instance
  • Verify you have necessary permissions
  • Create a current backup before overwriting existing data
danger

Restoration replaces all existing data. Always verify you have a current backup before proceeding with a restore operation.

Step 1: Prepare for restoration​

Create safety backup​

Before overwriting current data, create a safety backup:

# Backup current state
infrahub-backup create --backup-dir=/tmp/safety-backup

# Note the filename for potential recovery
SAFETY_BACKUP=$(ls -t /tmp/safety-backup/*.tar.gz | head -1)
echo "Safety backup: $SAFETY_BACKUP"

Step 2: Execute the restore​

Basic restore​

Restore from a backup file:

infrahub-backup restore infrahub_backups/infrahub_backup_20250929_143022.tar.gz

The restore process will:

  1. Validate backup compatibility
  2. Stop all Infrahub containers
  3. Clear existing data
  4. Restore Neo4j database
  5. Restore PostgreSQL task manager
  6. Restart all services

Restore to specific project​

If you have multiple Infrahub projects:

# Restore to a specific Docker Compose project
infrahub-backup restore infrahub_backups/infrahub_backup_20250929_143022.tar.gz --project=infrahub-staging

Step 3: Monitor restoration progress​

Watch the detailed restoration output:

INFO[0000] Starting restore process...
INFO[0000] Reading backup metadata...
INFO[0001] Backup created: 2025-09-29T14:30:22Z
INFO[0001] Backup version: 1.0.0
INFO[0001] Validating backup compatibility...
INFO[0002] Validation successful
INFO[0002] Stopping all Infrahub containers...
INFO[0008] All containers stopped
INFO[0008] Extracting backup archive...
INFO[0012] Archive extracted successfully
INFO[0012] Restoring Neo4j database...
INFO[0025] Neo4j database restored
INFO[0025] Restoring PostgreSQL database...
INFO[0030] PostgreSQL database restored
INFO[0032] Starting Infrahub containers...
INFO[0040] All containers started
INFO[0040] Restore completed successfully

Step 4: Verify restoration​

Check service health​

Verify all services are running:

# Check container status
docker compose ps

# All containers should show "Up" status
# Example output:
# NAME                    IMAGE                      STATUS
# infrahub-server         opsmill/infrahub:stable    Up 2 minutes
# database                neo4j:5.13                 Up 2 minutes
# task-manager-db         postgres:15                Up 2 minutes

Test application access​

Confirm Infrahub is accessible:

# Test HTTP endpoint
curl -I http://localhost:8000

# Check GraphQL endpoint
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ InfrahubInfo { version } }"}'

Validate data integrity​

Verify your data was restored correctly:

  1. Log into the Infrahub web interface
  2. Check that your schemas are present
  3. Verify critical data objects exist
  4. Test a few key queries or operations
  5. Review recent task history

Step 5: Post-restoration tasks​

Verify integrations​

Check external integrations are working:

  • Git repositories sync correctly
  • External authentication (LDAP/SSO) functions
  • Webhook endpoints are accessible
  • API integrations reconnect properly

Validation​

Confirm restoration was successful:

  • ✓ All services are running
  • ✓ Web interface is accessible
  • ✓ Data appears complete and correct
  • ✓ Authentication works
  • ✓ Background tasks are processing
  • ✓ Integrations are functional