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

Necessary Conditions

Your server must have the required software and certificates installed.

Server software

tar

Client software

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

After connecting your computer to the server, you can quickly back up the site via command line.

Connect to the server via SSH

Open a terminal and run the SSH command to log into your server. Once connected, commands you type are executed on the remote host.

Create a directory named backup on the server (e.g., /home/username/backup) to store all backup files.

If you do not know the web root, you can find it in your cPanel account.

Use mkdir -p /home/username/backup to create the folder, then create subfolders db, core, logs, and conf.

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 of Website Files

Compress the website core files using tar. Assuming the site resides in /home/username/html:

To exclude unnecessary directories (e.g., cache), use the --exclude option:

Optional: Backup Configuration or Log Files

Backing up config and log files can be valuable for future reference. Add multiple paths to a single tar command, using backslashes (\) to split the command across lines.

Ensure the server has the required software; otherwise, restoring config files may fail.

Final Backup

All necessary files are now under /home/username/backup. Create a final tar archive and download it via scp:

The command creates latest.backup.tar. After downloading, you can safely delete the backup on the server:

Warning! Verify file and folder paths before deletion; recovery after command‑line removal is difficult.

Conclusion

The website backup process is now complete. While this is not a comprehensive solution, it provides a solid foundation for learning backup techniques in information security.