Creating and managing on-demand and automatic backups

MySQL   |  PostgreSQL   |  SQL Server

Warning: All data on an instance, including backups, is permanently lost when that instance is deleted. To preserve your data, export it to Cloud Storage before you delete it.

This page describes how to schedule and turn off automatic backups, create and manage on-demand backups, and view backups for your Cloud SQL instance.

For more information about how backups work, see Overview of backups.

Creating an on-demand backup

To create an on-demand backup:

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Select the Backups tab.
4. Click Create backup.
5. On the Create backup page, add a description, if needed, and click Create.

gcloud

Create the backup:

gcloud sql backups create --async --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]

You can provide a description of the backup using the --description parameter.

REST

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d "" \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "BACKUP_VOLUME",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

Scheduling automated backups

To schedule automated backups for an instance:

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Select the Backups tab.
4. Click Manage automated backups.
5. Select a time for the backup.
6. Click Save.

gcloud

1. Edit the instance to specify a backup start time:

   gcloud sql instances patch [INSTANCE_NAME] --backup-start-time [HH:MM]

   The `backup-start-time` parameter is specified in 24-hour time, in the UTC±00 time zone, and specifies the start of a 4-hour backup window. Backups can start any time during the backup window.
2. Confirm your changes:

   gcloud sql instances describe [INSTANCE_NAME]

   Under backupConfiguration confirm that you see enabled: true and the time that you specified.

REST

You can enable pointInTimeRecovery at the same time by setting pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled to true within the backupConfiguration object.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID
• start-time The time in the format "HH:MM"

HTTP method and URL:

PATCH https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body:

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "startTime": "start-time",
      "enabled": true,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": true
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X PATCH \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method PATCH `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

Note: If an on-demand backup is ongoing when an automatic backup is scheduled to begin, the automatic backup is rescheduled for a later time.

Setting a custom location for backups

Only use a custom backup location if required by regulation. If not required, use the default multi-region backup location.

You need to enable automated backups.

You can use a custom location for on-demand and automatic backups. For a complete list of valid location values, see the Instance locations.

Note: Backups fail if they are in a region the organization policy does not allow. Backups taken in the same region as the instance always succeed, regardless of the organization policy or other constraints.

To update an instance with a custom location:

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Click EDIT.
4. Under Configuration options, expand Backups, recovery, and high availability.
5. Expand Location options.
6. Click Multi-region (default) or Region.
7. Select the location from the Location drop-down menu.
8. Click Save.

gcloud

For reference information, see gcloud sql instances patch.

gcloud sql instances patch [INSTANCE_NAME] --backup-location=[BACKUP_LOCATION]
  

 

REST on-demand

For on-demand backups, use the backupRuns location parameter.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• region: The project region
• path: The backup location
• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

Request JSON body:

{
  "location": "path",
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

 

REST automatic

For automatic backups, use the instances settings.backupConfiguration.location parameter.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• region: The project region
• backup-region: The backup region
• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

PATCH https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body:

{
  "region": "region"
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "location": "backup-region",
      "enabled": true,
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X PATCH \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method PATCH `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

To see how the underlying REST API request is constructed for this task, see the APIs Explorer on the instances:patch page.

Viewing backups

The Cloud Console does not show skipped or failed backups in the backup history. To see skipped backups, use the gcloud command line tool or the API.

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Select the Backups tab to view recent backups, along with creation time and type of backup.

gcloud

1. List the backups of the instance:

   gcloud sql backups list --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]
   

   You can filter and control the results using the standard list parameters. For a complete list, see the gcloud sql backups list command reference page.

2. To list the details of one backup, use the ID from the output of the backups list command.

   gcloud sql backups describe [BACKUP_ID] --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]
   

REST

You can also use the APIs Explorer on the BackupRuns:list page to send the REST API request.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

GET https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method GET `
  -Headers $headers `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
      "kind": "sql#backupRun",
      "status": "SUCCESSFUL",
      "enqueuedTime": "2020-01-21T11:25:33.818Z",
      "id": "backup-id",
      "startTime": "2020-01-21T11:25:33.858Z",
      "endTime": "2020-01-21T11:26:18.663Z",
      "type": "AUTOMATED",
      "windowStartTime": "2020-01-21T10:00:00.479Z",
      "instance": "instance-id",
      "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns/backup-id",
      "location": "us"
    }

Viewing locations for backups

To see the locations of the backups taken for an instance, use backupRuns:

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Click the Backups tab.
4. In the backups list, the Location column lists the type of location (multi-region or region) and the specific multi-region or region for each backup.

gcloud

For reference information, see gcloud sql instances describe.

1. List the backups of the instance:

   gcloud sql backups list --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]
   

   You can filter and control the results using the standard list parameters. For a complete list, see the gcloud sql backups list command reference page.

2. To list the details of one backup, use the ID from the output of the backups list command.

   gcloud sql backups describe [BACKUP_ID] --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]
   

REST

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

GET https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method GET `
  -Headers $headers `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

In the previous examples:

• REGION is the region for the original instance.
• BACKUP_REGION is the region where you want Cloud SQL to store the backup.

Deleting a backup

You can delete automated and on-demand backups.

Deleting a backup might not free up as much space as the size of the backup. This is because backups are incremental, so deleting an older backup might transfer some of its contents to a more recent backup to preserve the integrity of the newer backup.

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Select the Backups tab.
4. Click more actions for the backup you want to delete.
5. Select Delete.
6. In the Delete backup window, type Delete into the field and click Delete.

gcloud

Delete a backup of a Cloud SQL instance:

gcloud beta sql backups delete [BACKUP_ID] --instance [INSTANCE_NAME]
      

For a complete list of parameters, see the gcloud beta sql backups delete command reference page.

REST

1. List the backups to obtain the ID for the backup you want to delete:

   Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

   • project-id: The project ID
   • instance-id: The instance ID

   HTTP method and URL:

   GET https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

   To send your request, expand one of these options:

   curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

   Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

   Execute the following command:

   curl -X GET \
   -H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
   https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns

   PowerShell (Windows)

   Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

   Execute the following command:

   $cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
   $headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }
   
   Invoke-WebRequest `
     -Method GET `
     -Headers $headers `
     -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns" | Select-Object -Expand Content

   You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

   Response

   {
         "kind": "sql#backupRun",
         "status": "SUCCESSFUL",
         "enqueuedTime": "2020-01-21T11:25:33.818Z",
         "id": "backup-id",
         "startTime": "2020-01-21T11:25:33.858Z",
         "endTime": "2020-01-21T11:26:18.663Z",
         "type": "AUTOMATED",
         "windowStartTime": "2020-01-21T10:00:00.479Z",
         "instance": "instance-id",
         "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns/backup-id",
         "location": "us"
       }
   
   

2. Delete the backup:

   Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

   • project-id: The project ID
   • instance-id: The instance ID
   • backup-id: The backup ID

   HTTP method and URL:

   DELETE https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns/backup-id

   To send your request, expand one of these options:

   curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

   Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

   Execute the following command:

   curl -X DELETE \
   -H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
   https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns/backup-id

   PowerShell (Windows)

   Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

   Execute the following command:

   $cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
   $headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }
   
   Invoke-WebRequest `
     -Method DELETE `
     -Headers $headers `
     -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id/backupRuns/backup-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

   You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

   Response

   {
     "kind": "sql#operation",
     "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
     "status": "PENDING",
     "user": "[e-mail]",
     "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
     "operationType": "DELETE_BACKUP",
     "name": "operation-id",
     "targetId": "instance-id",
     "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
     "targetProject": "project-id"
   }
   

Disabling automated backups

To disable automated backups for an instance:

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Click the instance to open its Overview page.
3. Select the Backups tab.
4. Click Manage automated backups
5. Uncheck Automate backups.
6. Click Save.

gcloud

Edit the instance to disable backups:

gcloud sql instances patch [INSTANCE_NAME] --no-backup

REST

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• instance-id: The instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

PATCH https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

Request JSON body:

{
  "settings":
  {
    "backupConfiguration":
    {
      "enabled": false,
      "pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled": false
    }
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X PATCH \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method PATCH `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "UPDATE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

Point-in-time recovery

Learn more about point-in-time recovery.

What's next

• Learn more about backing up your data.
• Learn more about restoring data.
• See how to restore your data from a backup.