Laravel Backup Skill

Setup, configure, and manage automated backups for Laravel applications using the spatie/laravel-backup package. Handle file and database backups, storage destinations, cleanup policies, notifications, monitoring, and advanced features.

Quick start

1. Install package

composer require spatie/laravel-backup
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Backup\BackupServiceProvider"

2. Publish and configure

# Publish configuration
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Backup\BackupServiceProvider"

# Publish translations
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Backup\BackupServiceProvider" --tag=translations

3. Run backup

php artisan backup:run

4. Clean old backups

php artisan backup:clean

5. Monitor backup health

php artisan backup:monitor

Instructions

1. Installation & Setup

1. Install via Composer:

composer require spatie/laravel-backup

2. Publish configuration file to config/backup.php:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Backup\BackupServiceProvider"

3. The config file contains all backup settings for files, databases, storage, notifications, and cleanup.

2. Configuring File Backups

In config/backup.php, configure the include and exclude arrays:

'include' => [
    base_path('app'),
    base_path('config'),
    base_path('database'),
],

'exclude' => [
    base_path('vendor'),
    base_path('node_modules'),
    storage_path('logs'),
],

Options:

• follow_links - Follow symbolic links (true/false)
• relative_path - Include relative path in archive

3. Database Configuration

Configure database dumping in config/backup.php:

'dump' => [
    'mysql' => [
        'dump_command_path' => '/usr/bin',
        'timeout' => 60,
        'dump_binary_path' => null,
    ],
    'pgsql' => [
        'dump_command_path' => '/usr/bin',
        'timeout' => 60,
    ],
],

For MySQL:

• Exclude specific tables with exclude_tables
• Add extra options with extra_options
• Bypass SSL errors with use_ssl

4. Storage Configuration

Specify destination filesystems in config/backup.php:

'disks' => ['local', 's3', 'dropbox'],

Configure filesystem drivers in config/filesystems.php. Pass extra options via:

'disks' => [
    's3' => [
        'key' => env('AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID'),
        'secret' => env('AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'),
        'region' => env('AWS_DEFAULT_REGION'),
        'bucket' => env('AWS_BUCKET'),
    ],
],

5. Backup Archiving & Encryption

Configure temporary directory, password, and encryption:

'temp_directory' => storage_path('temp'),
'password' => env('BACKUP_PASSWORD'),
'encryption' => env('BACKUP_ENCRYPTION', 'default'),

• Set password to null to disable encryption
• Set encryption to false to skip encryption entirely

6. Scheduling Backups

In app/Console/Kernel.php:

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    $schedule->command('backup:run')->daily();
    $schedule->command('backup:clean')->daily()->at('01:00');
}

Or using console routes in Laravel 12:

use Illuminate\Foundation\Inspiring;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schedule;

Schedule::command('backup:run')->daily();
Schedule::command('backup:clean')->daily()->at('01:00');

7. Running Backups

Basic backup:

php artisan backup:run

Advanced options:

# Backup only to specific disk
php artisan backup:run --only-files

# Backup only database
php artisan backup:run --only-db

# Backup to specific disk
php artisan backup:run --disks=s3

# Isolated mode (single server execution)
php artisan backup:run --isolated

8. Cleanup Configuration

In config/backup.php, configure retention:

'cleanup' => [
    'strategy' => \Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Cleanup\Strategies\DefaultStrategy::class,
    'default_strategy' => [
        'keep_all_backups_for_days' => 7,
        'keep_daily_backups_for_days' => 16,
        'keep_weekly_backups_for_weeks' => 8,
        'keep_monthly_backups_for_months' => 4,
        'keep_yearly_backups_for_year' => 7,
        'delete_oldest_backups_when_using_more_megabytes_than' => 5000,
    ],
],

9. Running Cleanup

php artisan backup:clean

The latest backup is always preserved.

10. Setting Up Notifications

Configure notification channels in config/backup.php:

'notifications' => [
    'mail' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'to' => 'admin@example.com',
    ],
    'slack' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'webhook_url' => env('SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL'),
    ],
    'discord' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'webhook_url' => env('DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL'),
    ],
],

For Slack, install the notification channel:

composer require laravel/slack-notification-channel

11. Customizing Notifications

Create custom notifiable class:

use Spatie\Backup\Notifications\Notifiable as BaseNotifiable;

class CustomBackupNotifiable extends BaseNotifiable
{
    // Custom notification logic
}

Register in config/backup.php:

'notifiable' => \App\Notifications\CustomBackupNotifiable::class,

12. Monitoring Backup Health

Configure monitored backups in config/backup.php:

'monitor_backups' => [
    [
        'name' => 'production',
        'disks' => ['s3'],
        'health_checks' => [
            \Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Monitor\HealthChecks\MaximumAgeInDays::class => 1,
            \Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Monitor\HealthChecks\MaximumStorageInMegabytes::class => 5000,
        ],
    ],
],

Schedule monitoring:

php artisan backup:monitor

13. Custom Health Checks

Extend the health check API:

use Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Monitor\HealthCheck;

class CustomHealthCheck extends HealthCheck
{
    public function checkHealth(): void
    {
        // Your health check logic
    }
}

14. Backup Events

Listen to backup events:

use Spatie\Backup\Events\BackupHasFailed;
use Spatie\Backup\Events\BackupWasSuccessful;
use Spatie\Backup\Events\BackupManifestWasCreated;

Event::listen(BackupWasSuccessful::class, function (BackupWasSuccessful $event) {
    // Handle successful backup
    // Access: $event->backupDestination
});

15. Isolated Mode

For distributed servers, ensure single execution:

# All three commands support --isolated flag
php artisan backup:run --isolated
php artisan backup:clean --isolated
php artisan backup:monitor --isolated

Uses atomic cache lock to prevent concurrent execution.

Examples

Complete Configuration Example

// config/backup.php
return [
    'backup' => [
        'name' => env('APP_NAME', 'laravel-app'),
        'source' => [
            'files' => [
                'include' => [
                    base_path('app'),
                    base_path('config'),
                    base_path('database'),
                    base_path('resources'),
                ],
                'exclude' => [
                    base_path('vendor'),
                    base_path('node_modules'),
                ],
                'follow_links' => false,
            ],
            'databases' => [
                'mysql',
            ],
        ],
        'destination' => [
            'disks' => ['s3', 'local'],
        ],
        'temp_directory' => storage_path('temp'),
        'password' => env('BACKUP_PASSWORD'),
        'encryption' => 'default',
    ],
    'cleanup' => [
        'strategy' => \Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Cleanup\Strategies\DefaultStrategy::class,
        'default_strategy' => [
            'keep_all_backups_for_days' => 7,
            'keep_daily_backups_for_days' => 16,
            'keep_weekly_backups_for_weeks' => 8,
            'keep_monthly_backups_for_months' => 4,
            'delete_oldest_backups_when_using_more_megabytes_than' => 5000,
        ],
    ],
    'notifications' => [
        'mail' => [
            'enabled' => true,
            'to' => env('BACKUP_NOTIFICATION_EMAIL'),
        ],
    ],
    'monitor_backups' => [
        [
            'name' => 'production',
            'disks' => ['s3'],
            'health_checks' => [
                \Spatie\Backup\Tasks\Monitor\HealthChecks\MaximumAgeInDays::class => 1,
            ],
        ],
    ],
];

Scheduling with Different Times

// app/Console/Kernel.php
protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    // Run backup at 2 AM daily
    $schedule->command('backup:run')->dailyAt('02:00');
    
    // Clean at 3 AM daily
    $schedule->command('backup:clean')->dailyAt('03:00');
    
    // Monitor at 4 AM daily
    $schedule->command('backup:monitor')->dailyAt('04:00');
    
    // Multiple backups per week
    $schedule->command('backup:run --disks=s3')->mondays()->at('02:00');
    $schedule->command('backup:run --disks=local')->saturdays()->at('02:00');
}

Listening to Backup Events

// app/Providers/EventServiceProvider.php
use Spatie\Backup\Events\BackupWasSuccessful;
use Spatie\Backup\Events\BackupHasFailed;
use Spatie\Backup\Events\UnHealthyBackupWasFound;

protected $listen = [
    BackupWasSuccessful::class => [
        'App\Listeners\NotifyBackupSuccess',
    ],
    BackupHasFailed::class => [
        'App\Listeners\NotifyBackupFailure',
    ],
    UnHealthyBackupWasFound::class => [
        'App\Listeners\NotifyUnhealthyBackup',
    ],
];

Best practices

1. Test restores regularly - Verify backups can be restored
2. Use multiple disks - Never rely on single storage
3. Encrypt sensitive data - Always set backup password in production
4. Monitor actively - Set up health checks and notifications
5. Schedule appropriately - Consider database size and available resources
6. Exclude large files - Don't back up vendor or node_modules
7. Use isolated mode - Essential for distributed systems
8. Handle failures gracefully - Listen to failure events and notify
9. Verify disk space - Monitor storage to prevent failed backups
10. Document retention policy - Align with compliance requirements

Requirements

• Laravel 8.0+
• PHP 8.0+
• Database: MySQL 5.7+, PostgreSQL 9.6+, or similar
• For Slack notifications: laravel/slack-notification-channel

Advanced usage

For complex scenarios and detailed API reference, see:

• reference.md - Complete API and advanced configuration
• examples.md - Real-world implementation examples