Last Updated: 3/9/2026

Application Backups

LinkAce provides an easy way to back up the whole application including the database.

Backup Destinations

Local filesystem
Any S3-compatible service:
- Amazon AWS S3
- Minio
- Backblaze B2

How It Works

Under the hood, LinkAce uses the Spatie Backup package . Consult the package documentation for advanced configuration.

Automatic Cleanup

By default, the backup system will periodically purge old backups. For more details, read the default configuration .

Configure the Backups

Note: The system cron should be configured for automatic backups to work correctly. However, you may also create backups manually (see below).

Step 1: Edit Your .env File

Add the following line:


BACKUP_ENABLED=true

Step 2: Edit Your docker-compose.yml

Create a Backup Folder

First, create a backup folder to store the backups. The folder must be writable for other users:


mkdir ./backups
chmod 0766 ./backups

Update docker-compose.yml

Open the docker-compose.yml file and remove the # in front of the backup volume line:


services:
  app:
    image: docker.io/linkace/linkace:latest
    volumes:
      - ./.env:/app/.env
      - ./backups:/app/storage/app/backups

Custom Docker Setup

If you run a custom Docker-based setup (e.g., via Portainer), adjust your container to mount a writable directory into /app/storage/app/backups.

That’s it! LinkAce will now create backups every night at 2am.

Configuration for LinkAce Backups

The following settings allow you to configure backups. All settings go to your .env file:

.env setting	Possible values	Default value	Description
`BACKUP_ENABLED`	`true`, `false`	`false`	Set to `true` to enable application backups
`BACKUP_DISK`	`local_backups`, `s3`	`local_backups`	Storage for backups: `local_backups` saves to `/storage/app/backups`, `s3` saves to configured S3 storage
`BACKUP_CLEAN_HOUR`	24-hour time string	`01:00`	Hour for cleaning old backups. Format: ‘03:00’ for 3am or ‘14:00’ for 2pm
`BACKUP_RUN_HOUR`	24-hour time string	`02:00`	Hour for creating new backup
`BACKUP_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED`	`true`, `false`	`true`	Set to `false` to disable email notifications for cleanups or backups
`BACKUP_NOTIFICATION_EMAIL`	any email address	`[email protected]`	Valid email address to receive backup notifications
`BACKUP_MAX_SIZE`	any number	`265`	Maximum size of all backups in Megabytes. Oldest backups deleted when reached
`BACKUP_ARCHIVE_PASSWORD`	any string	none	Protect your backups with a password

Example Configuration


BACKUP_ENABLED=true
BACKUP_DISK=s3
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=j85nRkzOgnlGc...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=DA5nHUT2B2B...
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=eu-central-1
AWS_BUCKET=linkace

Backing Up to S3-Compatible Storage

To back up LinkAce to S3, add the following settings to your .env file:

.env setting	Possible values	Default value	Description
`AWS_URL`	A valid URL	empty	URL to access the AWS service or storage bucket. Often used for serving content via CloudFront
`AWS_ENDPOINT`	A valid URL	empty	Custom endpoint URL for AWS services, used with non-standard AWS setups (e.g., local S3 emulators)
`AWS_BUCKET`	any string	empty	Name of the S3 bucket where files will be stored or retrieved
`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	any string	empty	AWS access key ID for authentication
`AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	any string	empty	AWS secret access key for secure authentication
`AWS_DEFAULT_REGION`	any string	empty	AWS region where your bucket or resources are located (e.g., `us-east-1`)
`AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT`	`true`, `false`	`false`	Use path-style (`true`) or virtual-hosted-style (`false`) URLs for S3 buckets

Example S3 Configuration


BACKUP_ENABLED=true
BACKUP_DISK=s3
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=j85nRkzOgnlGc...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=DA5nHUT2B2B...
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=eu-central-1
AWS_BUCKET=linkace

Using a Third-Party S3-Compatible Service

Instead of Amazon AWS S3, you can use any S3-compatible service.

To connect to the service instead of AWS, set the correct endpoint in your .env file:


AWS_ENDPOINT=https://minio.example.com

# Some non-AWS services use paths to reference buckets and endpoints.
# If this is the case, add the following line:
AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT=true

Manually Creating Backups

Instead of relying on the automated backup process, you may run backups manually.

Run a Backup via Docker


docker exec linkace-app-1 php artisan backup:run

Run a Backup via PHP


cd /path/to/your/linkace
php artisan backup:run