How to Create Complete Website Backups on Linux/Mac Using Command Line

Necessary Conditions

Your server must have the required software and certificates installed.

Software on the server

tar

Software on your computer

SSH (to create/delete backup files) SCP (to download backup files) Terminal (e.g., gnome-terminal to run commands)

Required information

Server IP and SSH key Database credentials Website root directory (and any directories to include or exclude) Database type: MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite

Backup Creation Steps

Once your computer is connected to the server via SSH, you can perform the backup using command-line tools.

Connect to the server via SSH

Open a terminal and run the SSH command to log into your server.

After logging in, create a new folder named backup on the server (any location that is not publicly accessible).

If your web app root is /home/username/html , you can create /home/username/backup to store the backup files.

Find the web root directory in your cPanel if you are unsure.

The root directory shown is /home/ma658tvk.

Create the backup directory with mkdir -p /home/username/backup.

Inside this folder, create subdirectories db, core, logs, and conf.

Note the -p option for mkdir prevents errors if the directory already exists.

Export Database

Command‑line tools can dump databases without extra software.

For MySQL:

For PostgreSQL:

These commands prompt for username and password; the dump file is saved in /home/username/backup/db .

For SQLite, simply copy the database file.

Create Tar Archive of Website Files

Install tar on the server and compress the core files.

Assuming the site is at /home/username/html, run:

To exclude the cache directory, use the --exclude option:

Optional: Backup Configuration or Log Files

Include additional config or log files by adding their paths to the tar command, using backslashes (\) to split the command across lines.

Ensure the correct software is installed on the backup server; restoring config files is simply copying them back.

Final Backup

After preparing all files under /home/username/backup, create a final tar archive and download it.

The command creates latest.backup.tar. Exit the SSH session with exit.

Download via SCP

Use scp to transfer the tar file to your local machine, e.g., /home/username/backups/domainname/, and rename it with a timestamp.

Delete Backup from Server

After confirming the backup is safe locally, remove the server copies:

Warning! Verify file and folder paths before deletion; recovery after command‑line removal is difficult and may become impossible over time.

Finally, exit the server with exit.

Conclusion

The website backup process is now complete. While not a full solution, it provides a solid foundation for learning backup techniques in the information‑security field.