Backing Up Reitti

Reitti stores all your location data, visits, and trips in a PostgreSQL database. The only component that needs to be backed up is this database, as all other data can be regenerated or reconfigured.

What Needs to Be Backed Up

Database Only - All your location tracking data, processed visits, trips, and user settings are stored in the PostgreSQL database. The application code and configuration can be easily restored from your deployment setup.

Creating Database Backups

Since Reitti typically runs with PostgreSQL in a Docker Compose stack, you can create backups using the following commands:

Full Database Backup

docker compose exec postgis pg_dump -U postgres -d reitti > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql

Compressed Backup (Recommended)

docker compose exec postgis pg_dump -U postgres -d reitti | gzip > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql.gz

Custom Format Backup (Fastest Restore)

docker compose exec postgis pg_dump -U postgres -d reitti -Fc > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).dump

Restoring from Backup

From SQL Backup

docker compose exec -T postgis psql -U postgres -d reitti < backup_20240101_120000.sql

From Compressed SQL Backup

gunzip -c backup_20240101_120000.sql.gz | docker compose exec -T postgis psql -U postgres -d reitti

From Custom Format Backup

docker compose exec -T postgis pg_restore -U postgres -d reitti -c backup_20240101_120000.dump

Automated Backup Strategy

Consider setting up automated backups using a cron job:

# Add to crontab for daily backups at 2 AM
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/reitti && docker compose exec postgis pg_dump -U postgres -d reitti | gzip > /backup/path/reitti_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql.gz

Best Practices

Regular Schedule: Set up automated daily or weekly backups
Multiple Locations: Store backups in different locations (local, cloud storage)
Test Restores: Periodically test your backup restoration process
Retention Policy: Keep multiple backup versions but clean up old ones to save space
Monitor Size: Track backup file sizes to detect potential issues

Storage Considerations

Location tracking data can grow significantly over time. Monitor your backup sizes and consider:

Compressing backups to save storage space
Implementing backup rotation to manage disk usage
Using incremental backups for very large datasets