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Create a backup

Backup creation is one of the core functionalities of the bot.

It allows you to create a snapshot of your server's data, which can be later used to restore the server to a saved state, e.g. in case of:

  • accidental deletion of channels or roles
  • staff abuse — account takeover, malicious actions, raids
  • migration — moving data from one server to another, e.g. when merging or splitting servers

Quick backup creation​

To create a backup, run the mb!create command in your server:

mb!create

This will create a backup with the default options, which saves:

  • all settings, channels, roles, emojis, stickers, bans
  • messages (amount depending on your license, see pricing)

In case of Premium users, to persist all attachments in messages, use the -saveAttachments option:

mb!create -saveAttachments

The flag is not enabled by default, since it significantly increases the backup creation time and storage requirements, and is usually not needed for most use cases.

After running the command, the bot will start creating the backup. You will receive a DM message with a real-time updated progress status, where you can see how many of each datatype has been saved so far.

Once the backup has been created, you will receive a follow-up DM message with the backup code, which you can use to restore the backup later.

Customized backup creation​

You can customize the backup creation with the following options:

  • -saveAttachments — persist message attachments (Premium only)
  • -msgLimit <number> — set the message backup limit per channel (see pricing for upper limits)
  • -noMsgs — do not save any messages (makes backups nearly instant to create, useful when only server skeleton is needed)
  • -includeChannel <channel-name> — only include channels with the specified name (can be used multiple times to specify multiple channels)
  • -excludeChannel <channel-name> — exclude channels with the specified name (can be used multiple times to specify multiple channels)

An example command with options looks like this:

mb!create -saveAttachments -msgLimit 1500 -excludeChannel general -excludeChannel memes

You may also write the command in a more readable way, e.g. by putting options in a new line:

mb!create
    -saveAttachments
    -msgLimit 1500
    -excludeChannel general
    -excludeChannel memes

Above command will create a backup with attachments persisted, with a message backup limit of 1500 messages per channel, while excluding channels with the name "general" and "memes" from the backup.

Backup current channel​

There is an alias mb!backupThis to easily run a backup of the server with only the current channel included.

mb!backupThis

This is equivalent to running:

mb!create -includeChannel <current-channel-name> -saveAttachments

Keep in mind that the command will include all channels with the same name as the current channel, so if you have multiple channels with the same name, they will all be included in the backup.

Additionally, the command will include the server settings, roles, emojis, stickers, bans, etc., with only the specified channel being included.

It can be quickly restored without deleting existing data using the mb!restoreAppend alias command.

Scheduled Backups​

With Premium, you can also set up scheduled backups, which automatically create backups at regular intervals.

Learn more in the Backup Scheduler section!