Restore or download backups with JetBackup

JetBackup 5 lets you restore or download the backups available for your account. Before choosing a date, work out what you want to recover and which recent changes you need to keep.

How to get in

Open cPanel > JetBackup 5, or go to Hosting > Manage > Backups > Restore points and click Open JetBackup. On a multi-account plan, first open the relevant client's account.

For a website or a mailbox you can also use the client area wizards. The general backups guide explains the difference between retention and available dates.

Choose the smallest resource

In Restore & Download you will find the components included in your backups:

A database may contain orders, comments or users created after the backup. Restoring it can replace them. If you are recovering a complete application, choose files and database from the same point and coordinate writes during the operation.

Keep a recoverable backup of the current state before overwriting it. If only one file or mailbox is missing, do not choose Full Account for convenience.

Files and directories

1. Open Home Directory Files and select the date before the problem.
2. If Change File Selection appears, browse to the affected files or folders and confirm with Select Files.
3. Click Restore and review the selection before Restore Selected Items.
4. Follow the task in Queue and then check the files in their location.

Selecting individual files depends on the backup format; it is not available in the same way for archived or compressed packages. If you need to extract only part of it and the interface does not allow it, consider downloading the backup or asking for help before widening the restore.

Databases

In Databases, select the database the application uses. Check its name in the website's configuration, not just by how similar it looks. Check the date and use Choose Other Backup if you need another point.

JetBackup does not restore individual tables from this interface. To recover only certain tables you need to download the database and prepare a selective import that respects its relationships; ask support if you cannot work out the scope.

Confirm Restore, review the items and continue with Restore Selected Items. When it finishes, check the specific data you were looking for and that the application works.

Recover email while keeping recent messages

In Email Accounts, select the full address and the backup point. Before confirming, check Merge live account data with backup data: it lets you add content from the backup while giving priority to the current data.

Use this mode to recover messages without replacing the whole mailbox. Do not take it as a guarantee that files or databases can be merged without risk. Afterwards, check both the recovered message and those received recently, including their folders.

If the mailbox no longer exists or you cannot find it in the panel wizards, check the resources available in JetBackup or ask for help. Do not create or delete accounts at random.

Restore the full account

Use Full Account only if you need to recover the whole set of resources. Select the date and review the Restore summary. Remove Items lets you exclude components from the selection: removing an item from the summary does not delete it from the server.

Confirm which websites, mailboxes, databases and settings will be affected before Restore Selected Items. If an account hosts several websites, this operation can affect all of them. Ask support when you cannot pin down its consequences.

Download a backup

1. In Restore & Download, select date and components; Full Account lets you prepare the whole set.
2. Click Download and review what the package will include.
3. Confirm Download Selected Items and follow the preparation in Queue.
4. When it finishes, go to Downloads and download the generated file.

Requesting the download prepares a package; it does not restore its content over the account. Keep the file outside the public folder and check that it is complete. The space a prepared download takes up should not be confused with the storage of the automatic backups.

On-demand backups

If you need a point before making a change, look for Create Backup On Demand on the JetBackup home screen, when it is available. Check the quota and retention your service specifies before relying on this option.

Wait for it to finish in Queue and confirm that the new point appears with the expected date and components. On-demand backups can also expire: download an independent backup if you need to keep it long term.

When a recovery is finished

A task that is pending or in progress has not finished yet. Wait for the final status, check the warnings and check the resource: file, order, message or setting. Do not repeat an operation just because it is taking longer than expected.

Cancelling a restore does not automatically undo what has already been applied. If it fails or is interrupted, keep the error and ask for a review before opening the application to new writes. Give the resource, backup date and affected task, without sending credentials.