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Database (install.sh)

This page explains how to import/export on the AliasVault server database via the ./install.sh script, and how to point AliasVault at an external PostgreSQL server.

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

Using an external PostgreSQL server​

By default AliasVault runs a bundled PostgreSQL container and no database configuration is needed. If you prefer to use your own PostgreSQL server instead (e.g. a managed instance or a dedicated database host):

  1. Set the connection settings in the .env file. The host must be a network address that is reachable from within the Docker containers.
POSTGRES_HOST=db.example.com
POSTGRES_PORT=5432
POSTGRES_DATABASE=aliasvault
POSTGRES_USER=aliasvault
  1. Write the password of your external database user to the secrets/postgres_password file.
  2. Restart AliasVault: ./install.sh restart.

Database migrations are applied automatically on startup, so an empty external database is initialized on first start. The db-export and db-import commands described still work and will automatically use whichever database is configured in .env.

note

The bundled PostgreSQL container will still be started as part of the Docker Compose stack, but it won't serve any connections while an external database is configured. Tip: you can optionally disable the built-in postgres container entirely via a custom docker-compose.override.yml file.