Database Backup Tool — Instructions (v2)

This Docker image provides an all-in-one backup utility for multiple database engines:

• MySQL / MariaDB
• PostgreSQL
• MongoDB
• Redis

It uses built-in clients (mysqldump, pg_dump, mongodump, redis-cli) and supports remote uploads via rclone (pCloud, S3, Dropbox, etc.) or s3cmd.

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🧱 Overview

This image is designed for automated backups — for example:

• Kubernetes CronJobs
• Docker scheduled jobs
• Manual ad-hoc dumps

You only need to provide root/superuser credentials, and it will:

1. Dump all databases from the selected DB type
2. Create a compressed .tar.gz archive (named like 11-12-1996-mysql.tar.gz)
3. Optionally upload it to your remote storage (S3, pCloud, GCS, Dropbox, etc.)
4. Automatically delete old backups (retention policy)

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⚙️ Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
DB_TYPE	✅	Database type — one of: mysql, postgres, mongodb, redis
DB_HOST	✅	Database hostname or IP
DB_PORT	❌	Port (defaults per DB: 3306, 5432, 27017, 6379)
DB_USER	✅	Root or superuser name
DB_PASSWORD	✅	Password for the above user
MONGO_URI	❌	Full MongoDB connection URI (overrides host/user/pass)
BACKUP_DIR	❌	Local backup directory (default: /backup/output)
BACKUP_PREFIX	❌	Internal folder prefix (default: backup)
BACKUP_NAME	❌	Name used in final filename (default: DB_TYPE)
COMPRESS	❌	Compression type: gzip or none
KEEP_LOCAL	❌	If false, deletes local copy after upload
RCLONE_REMOTE	❌	Destination remote for rclone (e.g., pcloud:MyBackups/db)
RCLONE_FLAGS	❌	Extra flags for rclone (default optimized for S3)
S3_URL	❌	Destination URL for s3cmd (e.g., s3://mybucket/backups/)
S3CMD_OPTS	❌	Extra flags for s3cmd upload
RETENTION_DAYS	❌	Automatically delete remote backups older than N days
DBS_EXCLUDE	❌	Regex to skip certain DBs (e.g. `^(test	dev_)`)

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🚀 Basic Usage (Docker CLI)

Example — MySQL with pCloud Retention

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_TYPE=mysql \
  -e DB_HOST=mysql.local \
  -e DB_USER=root \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RCLONE_REMOTE="pcloud:Backups/mysql" \
  -e RETENTION_DAYS=15 \
  -e KEEP_LOCAL=false \
  -v /path/to/rclone.conf:/home/backup/.config/rclone/rclone.conf:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup/output \
  yourname/db-backup:latest

Example — PostgreSQL with S3 Upload

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_TYPE=postgres \
  -e DB_HOST=postgres.local \
  -e DB_USER=postgres \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RCLONE_REMOTE="s3:my-bucket/pg" \
  -v /path/to/rclone.conf:/home/backup/.config/rclone/rclone.conf:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup/output \
  yourname/db-backup:latest

Example — MongoDB using URI

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_TYPE=mongodb \
  -e MONGO_URI="mongodb://root:secret@mongo.local:27017" \
  -e RCLONE_REMOTE="s3:my-bucket/mongo" \
  -e RETENTION_DAYS=30 \
  -v /path/to/rclone.conf:/home/backup/.config/rclone/rclone.conf:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup/output \
  yourname/db-backup:latest

Example — Redis Dump

docker run --rm \
  -e DB_TYPE=redis \
  -e DB_HOST=redis.local \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e RCLONE_REMOTE="pcloud:Backups/redis" \
  -e RETENTION_DAYS=10 \
  -v /path/to/rclone.conf:/home/backup/.config/rclone/rclone.conf:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/backups:/backup/output \
  yourname/db-backup:latest

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☁️ Using in Kubernetes CronJob

Automate daily backups with retention cleanup:

apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: CronJob
metadata:
  name: db-backup-mysql
spec:
  schedule: "0 3 * * *"  # Every day at 03:00 UTC
  concurrencyPolicy: Forbid
  jobTemplate:
    spec:
      backoffLimit: 1
      template:
        spec:
          restartPolicy: Never
          containers:
            - name: backup
              image: yourname/db-backup:latest
              env:
                - name: DB_TYPE
                  value: "mysql"
                - name: DB_HOST
                  value: "mysql.svc.cluster.local"
                - name: DB_USER
                  valueFrom:
                    secretKeyRef:
                      name: mysql-secret
                      key: user
                - name: DB_PASSWORD
                  valueFrom:
                    secretKeyRef:
                      name: mysql-secret
                      key: password
                - name: RCLONE_REMOTE
                  value: "pcloud:Backups/mysql"
                - name: RETENTION_DAYS
                  value: "15"
                - name: KEEP_LOCAL
                  value: "false"
              volumeMounts:
                - name: rclone-config
                  mountPath: /home/backup/.config/rclone
                  readOnly: true
          volumes:
            - name: rclone-config
              secret:
                secretName: rclone-config
                items:
                  - key: rclone.conf
                    path: rclone.conf

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📦 Output Structure

Each run produces a date-first archive:

/backup/output/
  ├── 02-11-2025-mysql.tar.gz
  ├── 02-11-2025-postgres.tar.gz
  └── ...

The archive contains:

• Folder per DB engine (mysql, postgres, mongodb, redis)
• Inside each: per-database dump files or data snapshots

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🧩 Remote Upload & Retention

rclone (Recommended)

• Works with pCloud, S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Backblaze, and more.

• Mount your rclone.conf file at:

  /home/backup/.config/rclone/rclone.conf
  

Automatic Retention:

If RETENTION_DAYS is set, the container will automatically:

rclone delete "${RCLONE_REMOTE}" --min-age ${RETENTION_DAYS}d --include "*-<name>.*"
rclone rmdirs "${RCLONE_REMOTE}"

💡 Example: RETENTION_DAYS=15 keeps only the last 15 days of backups in your pCloud/S3 folder.

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s3cmd (Alternative)

Supports AWS S3 and S3-compatible services. Mount your .s3cfg at:

/home/backup/.s3cfg

Example:

s3cmd put /backup/output/*.gz s3://my-bucket/backups/

🔸 For retention with s3cmd, use your cloud provider’s lifecycle policies.

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🧹 Cleanup Behavior

At the end of each run:

• Temporary directories are deleted.
• Local archives are removed (if KEEP_LOCAL=false and upload succeeded).
• Remote files older than RETENTION_DAYS are automatically deleted.
• All actions and outcomes are logged with timestamps.

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🧰 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Possible Cause
Access denied	Wrong credentials or insufficient privileges
rclone: command not found	Image build incomplete or outdated
Permission denied on /backup/output	Volume not writable for UID 10001
Backup empty	DB has no accessible databases or filtered by DBS_EXCLUDE
Remote cleanup skipped	RETENTION_DAYS not set or RCLONE_REMOTE missing

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🏁 Summary

✅ One image for all major databases ✅ Dumps all databases securely ✅ Supports rclone (pCloud, S3, Dropbox, etc.) and s3cmd ✅ Includes automatic retention cleanup ✅ Fully compatible with Kubernetes CronJobs

Enjoy automated, versioned, and cloud-retained database backups!

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About

I'm Himel, a Software Engineer passionate about building efficient and optimized automation solutions. If you enhance this project or add new database integrations, your contribution will be recognized and appreciated.

📧 Contact: contact@himelrana.com