Database Operations (install.sh)

This page explains how to import/export on the AliasVault server database via the ./install.sh script.

Database Export

In order to backup the AliasVault server database (which includes all encrypted user vaults as well), you can use the install.sh script. This streams a compressed export of the database to the file you redirect to, while the services keep running. This script has to be run in a root terminal, not using sudo.

$ ./install.sh db-export > backup.sql.gz

Fallback: export directly with Docker

If ./install.sh db-export fails for any reason, you can also export the database directly with Docker, bypassing the install script entirely:

$ docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U aliasvault aliasvault > backup.sql

To produce a compressed backup, pipe it through gzip:

$ docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U aliasvault aliasvault | gzip > backup.sql.gz

Database Import

To restore a previously exported database, you can use the install.sh script. This script will stop the dependent services, drop the database, import the database from a file, and then restart the services. This script has to be run in a root terminal, not using sudo.

$ ./install.sh db-import < backup.sql.gz

Fallback: import directly with Docker

If ./install.sh db-import hangs or fails, you can restore the database directly with Docker. This drops the existing database, recreates it, and imports the backup.

warning

This will permanently delete the existing database before restoring. Make sure your backup file is valid first.

For a gzipped backup (backup.sql.gz):

$ docker compose stop api admin task-runner smtp && \
  docker compose exec postgres psql -U aliasvault postgres -c "DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS aliasvault;" && \
  docker compose exec postgres psql -U aliasvault postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE aliasvault OWNER aliasvault;" && \
  gunzip < backup.sql.gz | docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U aliasvault aliasvault && \
  docker compose restart api admin task-runner smtp reverse-proxy