Database Backups
Automatic daily backups, manual snapshots, and point-in-time recovery for your PostgreSQL databases.
SMLL automatically backs up your databases on a configurable schedule. You can also create manual snapshots and restore to any point in time.
Automatic backups
Every database is backed up on a schedule:
- Default frequency: Daily at 02:00 UTC
- Default retention: 30 days
- Method: Physical base backups via CloudNativePG + continuous WAL archiving
Automatic backups happen in the background with no impact on database performance.
Backup schedule
You can customise the backup schedule from the dashboard:
- Go to your database's Backups tab
- Click Schedule Settings
- Configure:
- Schedule — cron expression (e.g.
0 2 * * *for daily at 2 AM UTC) - Retention — how many days to keep backups (1–90)
- Enabled — toggle automatic backups on or off
- Schedule — cron expression (e.g.
- Click Save
Changes take effect on the next scheduled run.
Manual snapshots
You can create a point-in-time snapshot of any running database:
- Go to your database's Backups tab
- Click Create Backup
- The backup is created using Kubernetes VolumeSnapshots
Manual snapshots appear in the backup list alongside automatic backups.
Restoring
To restore a database from a backup:
- Go to your database's Backups tab
- Find the backup in the list
- Click the Restore button next to it
- Confirm the restore
Restoring creates a new database instance from the backup data. Your original database remains untouched.
Point-in-time recovery (PITR)
With continuous WAL archiving, you can restore to any point in time within the retention window — not just to when a backup was taken.
- Go to your database's Backups tab
- Click Point-in-Time Restore
- Use the date/time picker to select the exact moment to restore to
- Click Restore
PITR is useful for recovering from accidental data modifications like dropped tables or bad migrations. The picker shows the available recovery window based on your oldest backup and current WAL position.
Backup list
The Backups tab shows all backups with:
- Type — automatic or manual
- Created at — when the backup was taken
- Size — approximate backup size
- Status — completed, in progress, or failed
- Actions — restore or delete