Creating Your First Backup

Backups are your safety net. They give you a complete snapshot of your Supabase project that you can download and store independently. This guide walks you through creating your very first backup in Stack2X.

Before You Start

Make sure you have at least one Supabase instance connected to Stack2X. If you haven't done that yet, follow the Connecting Your First Instance guide first.

You also need a member, admin, or owner role in your organization. Viewers cannot create backups.

Step 1: Navigate to Backups

From your Stack2X dashboard, click Backups in the sidebar. This takes you to the backups page, where you'll see a list of any previous backups (empty if this is your first time) and a button to create a new one.

Click Create Backup to get started.

Step 2: Select Your Instance

If you have multiple Supabase instances connected, choose the one you want to back up from the dropdown. If you only have one instance, it will be pre-selected for you.

Step 3: Pick Your Components

Stack2X lets you choose exactly which parts of your Supabase project to include in the backup. The available components are:

• Database -- All your tables, data, schemas, and database functions.
• Auth Users -- All user accounts, including email addresses, hashed passwords, and authentication metadata.
• Storage -- All files and buckets in your Supabase storage.
• Edge Functions -- Your serverless functions deployed to Supabase.

You can select all components for a complete backup, or pick only the ones you need. For your first backup, selecting everything is recommended so you have a full snapshot of your project.

Step 4: Start the Backup

Once you've selected your components, click Start Backup. Stack2X will begin reading data from your connected instance and packaging it into a downloadable backup.

Step 5: Monitor Progress

The backup page shows a real-time progress indicator for each component. You'll see the status change from "Pending" to "In Progress" to "Completed" as each part finishes.

Small projects typically complete in under a minute. Larger projects with big databases or many storage files may take longer. You don't need to keep the page open -- the backup runs in the background and you'll be notified when it's done.

If any component encounters an issue, you'll see a warning or error status with a message explaining what went wrong. Common issues include connection timeouts (for very large databases) or permission errors (if your credentials don't have access to a specific component).

Step 6: Download Your Backup

When all components have finished, your backup status changes to "Completed." Click the Download button to save the backup file to your computer.

The backup file is a compressed archive containing all the selected components in a structured format. Store it somewhere safe -- an external drive, a cloud storage service, or wherever you keep important files.

Tips for Your First Backup

• Start with a full backup. Even if you only plan to migrate specific components later, having a complete snapshot is valuable.
• Check the file size. If your backup is much smaller than expected, make sure you selected all the components you intended.
• Store backups in multiple locations. Don't rely on a single copy. Keep backups in at least two separate places.

What's Next

Now that you have a backup, you might want to learn about scheduling regular backups or explore running your first migration. Check out Running Your First Migration to continue.