---
title: "Backup and recovery"
version: "v0.27.0"
canonical: "https://docs.obot.ai/v0.27.0/operations/backup"
unreleased: false
---

# Backup and recovery

Back up the stores that hold your installation's state, together with the configuration and key access needed to read them. Audit export alone is not a recoverable Obot backup.

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## Backup scope

| Store                    | Preserve                                                                                 |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| PostgreSQL               | Platform configuration, identities, metadata, and retained database-backed audit records |
| Deployment configuration | Image/chart versions, Helm values, runtime settings, and references to external secrets  |
| Encryption               | Custom key material or access to the original cloud KMS keys, protected separately       |

Use [persistent storage configuration](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.27.0/installation/kubernetes-persistent-storage.md) to identify the Obot data volume and its StorageClass.

Use your database and storage providers' backup mechanisms. Define an acceptable recovery point and recovery time for your installation, and keep a version record with each backup. Coordinate database and file/object backups so restored metadata does not refer to missing artifacts.

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## Recovery exercise

1. Restore into an isolated environment using the recorded Obot and chart versions.
2. Restore the database and relevant object/volume data using the providers' documented restore procedures.
3. Restore secret references and encryption-provider access before starting Obot.
4. Configure the restored environment's hostname, TLS, and authentication callbacks.
5. Confirm sign-in, resource visibility, decryption, a harmless MCP request, and access to any persistent files required by your MCP servers.
6. Keep integrations that perform external actions disabled until their behavior is reviewed.

Only treat a backup as usable after testing restoration. See [Data storage and lifecycle](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.27.0/architecture/data-lifecycle.md) and [Encryption Providers](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.27.0/security/credentials.md) for coverage boundaries. Infrastructure-specific restore commands depend on your chosen database and storage services.