Backup and Restore in Docker (BockeR)

Overview

Have you ever looked for a cheap solution to store a database backup somewhere safe and you didn't want to bother with an S3-compatible cloud storage?

Look no further, because there is BockeR.

BockeR is a command line tool which creates a backup from a PostgreSQL database, wraps it in a Docker image, and uploads it to Docker Hub. Of course, BockeR will also do the reverse and restore your database from a backup in Docker Hub.

Is it a good idea? Probably not, but it solved a problem I had!

Warning

Do not push the image to a public repository, or everybody in the world will have access to your database backup!

Installation

Homebrew

Linux and macOS binaries are available in Homebrew:

brew install bueti/tap/bocker

Or brew tap bueti/tap and then brew install bocker.

Manual

Download the appropriate file from the Releases page, unpack the file and put the binary in your PATH.

Usage

Configuration

To configure your username and password run:

bocker config set

If you want to run bocker on server where there's no keyring tool installed, set the following environment variables:

export DOCKER_USERNAME=<your docker username>
export DOCKER_PASSWORD=<your docker password>

bocker will prefer environment variables over the keyring.

List existing backups

To list existing backups you need to tell bocker for which namespace and repository you want to list tags:

bocker backup list -n <namespace> -r <repository>

Restore backup

To restore a database you'll need supply a few parameters:

$ bocker restore -h

Restores a Postgres database

Usage:
  bocker restore [flags]

Flags:
  -c, --container-id string   ID of container running PostgreSQL
      --db-host string        Hostname of the database host (default "localhost")
  -o, --db-owner string       Database user
  -s, --db-source string      Source database name
  -t, --db-target string      Target database name
  -h, --help                  help for restore
      --import-roles          Create roles from backup
  -n, --namespace string      Docker Namespace (default "bueti")
  -r, --repository string     Docker Repository
      --tag string            Tag of the image with the backup in it

bocker restore -r greenlight_backup -o postgres -s greenlight -t greenlight_test --tag 2023-02-14_21-11-43

More

There are some assumptions made:

• The host you are running bocker has Docker installed
• docker login was run successfully and you must have permission to push images
• You need a Docker Hub Personal Access Token which requires the following permissions: Read, Write, Delete

Use -h to get help for each subcommand:

$ bocker --help
Bocker is a command line tool which creates a backup from a PostgreSQL database, 
wraps it in a Docker image, and uploads it to Docker Hub.  Of course, Bocker will also do the 
reverse and restore your database from a backup in Docker Hub.

Usage:
  bocker [command]

Available Commands:
  backup      Backup a Postgresql Database
  completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
  help        Help about any command
  restore     Restores a Posgres database

Flags:
  -h, --help                help for bocker
  -n, --namespace string    Docker Namespace (default "bueti")
  -r, --repository string   Docker Repository

Use "bocker [command] --help" for more information about a command.