How do I manually back up my Droplet?

There are three ways to manually back up a Droplet. You can create a DigitalOcean snapshot for an on-demand full disk image, convert an automatic DigitalOcean backup into a snapshot, or use a third-party tool for a partial backup.

Use DigitalOcean Snapshots for Full System Backups

A DigitalOcean Snapshot is an on-demand full disk image of a Droplet. When you snapshot a Droplet, the image is saved to your account and remains there until you delete it. You can use snapshots to restore an existing Droplet or create a new Droplet from that point in time.

Convert Automatic DigitalOcean Backups into Snapshots

When you enable backups on a Droplet, we automatically create a full disk image of the Droplet either weekly or daily, depending on your choice. Like snapshots, backup images are saved to your account, and you can use backups to restore an existing Droplet or create new Droplets from that point in time.

Unlike snapshots, backup images remain in your team temporarily. We retain weekly backups for four weeks, daily backups for seven days, and usage-based backups for a custom amount of time. To keep a backup indefinitely, convert the backup into a snapshot.

Use Third-Party Tools for Partial Backups

To back up part of a Droplet, such as its configuration or data, we recommend SnapShooter. You can also use third-party tools like rsync or SFTP.

Related Topics

How can I migrate my data from my previous provider?

We have guides to help you migrate your data from your previous provider.

How can I destroy my Droplets while maintaining my backups?

Convert your backups to snapshots to save them indefinitely.

How do I fix a "system not initialized" error on multi-GPU Droplets?

Make sure NVIDIA Fabric Manager is running and has the same version number as the GPU drivers.