Backups

Save a copy of a box, download it, or restore it as a new box.

A backup is a saved copy of a box's disk. Use it to keep the contents of a box you are about to delete, to move a setup between boxes, or to keep a known-good state you can return to.

Creating a backup

Click Backup on a box in the dashboard. The button shows elapsed time while the backup runs. Larger disks take longer.

Finished backups appear in the Backups section below the box list. A backup is saved on boxctl's host first, so it shows up as soon as the box's disk is copied, then uploads to cloud storage in the background. While that runs the backup is marked Uploading to cloud…; if an upload fails it is marked Upload failed, retrying and boxctl tries again automatically every few minutes.

Downloading a backup

Click Get a download link next to a backup. boxctl produces a direct link to the backup in object storage. The link is valid for 30 minutes, after which you can request a new one. The link is available once the backup has finished uploading to cloud storage.

Restoring a backup

Click Restore next to a backup and give the new box a name. boxctl boots a fresh box from the backup's disk. The original box, if it still exists, is untouched. Restore works right away, even while the backup is still uploading.

The restored box comes back on the IP address the backup was taken at. If the original box still exists, or another box has been given that IP since, the two boxes share it and only one of them answers. The dashboard marks both rows same IP as … while that lasts. Pause or delete one of the two, or delete the original before restoring if you need the restored box reachable right away.

Each backup shows the size its box had when the backup was taken. The restore form starts on that size, marked same as backup, and the box comes back as it was. Pick another size to restore into a bigger or smaller box: it then starts fresh from the backup's disk, so files are kept but programs that were running are not, and the disk only grows.

How long a backup is kept

A backup is kept for 30 days and then deleted from storage. Each one in the Backups section shows how many days it has left. The same 30 days apply to the backup boxctl takes itself before it deletes a box that has sat paused and unused.

Deleting a backup

Click Delete backup to remove it from storage. This cannot be undone.