init
Initialize DBdocks in your project.
This interactive wizard creates secure configuration:
- Database connection details
- Storage provider configuration
- Encryption and compression preferences
- Email and Slack alerts (optional)
Security-first approach:
- Saves non-sensitive config to
dbdock.config.json (safe for git)
- Saves secrets to
.env (automatically gitignored)
- Auto-updates
.gitignore to exclude sensitive files
migrate-config
Migrate existing configurations with embedded secrets.
npx dbdock migrate-config
dbdock.config.json, creates .env, and updates your config to use environment variables. Perfect for upgrading from older versions that stored secrets in the config file.
backup
Create a new database backup.
npx dbdock backup [options]
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
--encrypt / --no-encrypt | Toggle encryption (overrides config) |
--compress / --no-compress | Toggle compression (overrides config) |
--encryption-key <key> | Specify a 64-char hex encryption key |
--compression-level <1-11> | Set compression level (default: 6) |
Example
npx dbdock backup --encrypt --compress --compression-level 9
custom (default) - PostgreSQL custom binary format (.sql)plain - Plain SQL text format (.sql)directory - Directory format (.dir)tar - Tar archive format (.tar)
Generate Encryption Key
Generate a secure 64-character hexadecimal encryption key:
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"
restore
Restore a database from a backup.
This command launches an interactive interface to select a backup. It supports smart filtering for large numbers of backups.
Smart filtering (auto-enabled for 20+ backups):
- Show recent (last 10)
- Date range (24h, 7d, 30d, 90d, custom)
- Search by keyword/ID
Migration Support:
You can choose to restore to a New Database Instance during the restore process. This is perfect for migrating data between servers (e.g., from staging to production or local to cloud).
- Run
npx dbdock restore
- Select a backup
- Choose “New Database Instance (Migrate)”
- Enter connection details for the target database
Shows database stats and requires confirmation before restore.
list
List available backups.
npx dbdock list [options]
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
--recent <number> | Show the last N backups |
--search <keyword> | Search backups by keyword or ID |
--days <number> | Show backups from the last N days |
Examples
npx dbdock list --recent 10
npx dbdock list --search "pre-deploy"
delete
Delete backups.
npx dbdock delete [options]
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
--key <id> | Delete a specific backup by ID |
--all | Delete all backups (requires confirmation) |
cleanup
Manually trigger the retention policy cleanup.
npx dbdock cleanup [options]
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|
--dry-run | Preview what would be deleted without taking action |
--force | Skip confirmation prompt |
schedule
Manage automated backup schedules.
This interactive command allows you to:
- View current schedules with status
- Add new schedules (using cron expressions or presets)
- Remove or toggle (enable/disable) schedules
- Saves to
dbdock.config.json
Schedule Presets
- Every hour:
0 * * * *
- Every day at midnight:
0 0 * * *
- Every day at 2 AM:
0 2 * * *
- Every week (Sunday):
0 0 * * 0
- Every month (1st):
0 0 1 * *
- Custom cron expression
Important: Schedules only execute when DBDock is integrated into your Node.js application (see Programmatic Usage). The CLI is for configuration only.
status
View all schedules and service status at a glance.
Example Output
📅 Scheduled Backups:
┌─────┬──────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┐
│ # │ Name │ Cron Expression │ Status │
├─────┼──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────┤
│ 1 │ daily │ 0 * * * * │ ✓ Active │
│ 2 │ weekly │ 0 0 * * 0 │ ✗ Paused │
└─────┴──────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────┘
Total: 2 schedule(s) - 1 active, 1 paused
🚀 Service Status:
🟢 Running (PM2)
PID: 12345
Uptime: 2d 5h
Memory: 45.23 MB
test
Validate your configuration.
Checks database connection, storage access, and email configuration.