Backup and restore

The data of the application is contained in the directory /var/globaleaks.

The backup archive contains the full application data, including reports, attachments, encryption material and configuration secrets. For this reason it must be created and kept in a private directory and never in a shared directory like /tmp.

To perform a backup, run the following commands:

mkdir -p /root/backups
cd /root/backups
gl-admin backup

After running the command, you will find a tar.gz archive in the current directory. The file will be named in the format: globaleaks_backup_YY_MM_DD.tar.gz. Alternatively, the output path can be specified as an argument:

gl-admin backup /root/backups/backup-file.tar.gz

When handling backup archives, it is recommended to:

  • verify that the archive is readable only by its owner (chmod 600);

  • encrypt the archive before copying it to any other system or storage;

  • preserve the restrictive permissions on every copy;

  • delete copies that are no longer needed according to your retention policy.

To perform a restore from an existing backup, run the following command:

gl-admin restore backup-file.tar.gz