Docker Volume Backup Manager

A web-based application for scheduling and managing Docker volume backups with support for local storage and remote cloud backup via rclone.

Disclaimer! AI was used to assist in the creation of the WebApp frontend of this tool. Backend scripts and core functionalities have been refined for UI use but were written by a human.

Overview

Docker Volume Backups provides an interface to:

• Schedule automated backups of Docker volumes at regular intervals
• Manage backup jobs with granular control over frequency and retention
• Restore volumes from previously created backups
• Sync backups to cloud storage via rclone (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure, Dropbox, etc.)
• Configure backup naming and filtering to match your workflow

How It Works

Backup Flow

1. You create a backup job specifying:

   • Volume label (containers with this label are backed up)
   • Backup frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or custom cron)
   • Storage options (local only or local + rclone remote)
   • Retention policy (for local backups)

2. The backend uses node-cron to schedule jobs based on your chosen frequency

3. When a backup runs:

   • The backup.sh script stops containers with the specified label
   • Copies volume contents to /backups/{label}/{timestamp}/
   • Restarts the containers
   • If rclone is enabled, syncs the backup to your remote storage
   • If retention is set, removes oldest local backups beyond the count

4. You can manually trigger backups anytime via the Run button

Restore Flow

1. Click Restore to open the restore modal
2. Select a backup label (step 1)
3. Select which backup to restore from (step 2)
4. Confirm the restore operation
5. The restore.sh script:
   • Stops containers with the specified label
   • Clears existing volume contents
   • Restores data from the selected backup
   • Restarts the containers

Features & Options

Backup Jobs

Backup Label

The Docker label used to identify containers whose volumes should be backed up. All running containers with this label will have their volumes backed up together.

Example: If you set the label to myapp, the backup will include volumes from all containers labeled myapp.

Backup Frequency

Choose how often backups should run:

• Hourly: Runs at the start of every hour (00:00 minutes)
• Daily: Run at a specific time each day (configure with time picker)
• Weekly: Run on a specific day of the week at a specific time (configure with day + time pickers)
• Monthly: Run on a specific day of the month at a specific time (configure with day + time pickers)
• Custom: Use a custom cron expression for fine-grained control

Schedule

The cron expression that defines when the backup runs. This is automatically generated from your frequency selection, or you can input a custom cron expression directly.

Cron Format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week

Example: 0 2 * * * means "run at 2:00 AM every day"

Enable/Disable

Toggle whether a backup job is active. Disabled jobs will not run on schedule, but can still be manually triggered.

Rclone Remote

If enabled, backups are synced to a remote storage location configured in rclone.

What is rclone?
rclone is a command-line tool that syncs files to/from cloud storage services. It supports 70+ cloud providers including:

• AWS S3
• Google Cloud Storage
• Azure Blob Storage
• Dropbox
• OneDrive
• SFTP servers
• and many more

Using Rclone:

1. Install rclone
2. Configure a remote (e.g., rclone config)
3. Enter the remote name in the "Rclone Remote" field (e.g., my-s3-bucket)
4. When a backup runs, it automatically syncs to your remote

Rclone Documentation: https://rclone.org/docs/

Common Remote Types:

• AWS S3
• Google Cloud Storage
• Azure Blob Storage
• Dropbox
• SFTP

Retention Count (Local Backups Only)

The number of local backups to keep. Older backups are automatically deleted when this limit is reached.

Example: If set to 5, the application keeps the 5 most recent local backups and removes older ones.

Note: Retention only applies to local backups. When rclone is enabled, retention is disabled (all backups are kept in cloud storage).

Settings

Access settings via the ⚙️ Settings button in the header.

Backup Naming Schema

Controls how backup directories are named. Available variables:

• {label} - The backup label
• {date} - Date in YYYYMMDD format (e.g., 20251225)
• {time} - Time in HHMM format (e.g., 1430)
• {timestamp} - Combined date and time in YYYYMMDD_HHMM format (e.g., 20251225_1430)

Example: backup_{label}_{date} creates directories like backup_myapp_20251225

Ignore Patterns (Regex)

Regular expressions to exclude files/directories from backups. These patterns are passed to the backup script to skip matching paths.

Example patterns:

• .*\.log$ - Exclude .log files
• node_modules - Exclude node_modules directories
• \.git - Exclude .git directories

Background Gradient

Customize the app's background with a gradient. Select start and end colors to create a personalized look.

Rclone Configuration

Paste your rclone configuration here (from ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf). This allows the app to access configured remotes.

Installation & Setup

Docker Setup

Using Docker Hub Registry

# Create a docker-compose.yml file
services:
  backup-manager:
    image: coltondx/docker-volume-backup-manager
    container_name: backup-manager
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - data:/app/data
      - /backups/rclone.conf:/rclone/rclone.conf
      - /backups:/backups
      - /var/lib/docker/volumes:/var/lib/docker/volumes
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
    environment:
      - admin_password=${ADMIN_PASSWORD:-}
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  data:

# Run the container
docker-compose up -d

Building Locally

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ColtonDx/Docker-Volume-Backup-Manager.git
cd Docker-Volume-Backup-Manager

# Build and run
docker-compose up --build

The app will be available at http://localhost:3000

Authentication

The application supports optional password protection via the admin_password environment variable.

Without Password (Default):

• No login page is shown
• The application loads immediately with full access
• Set by: Not providing the admin_password variable, or leaving it empty

With Password:

• A login page is displayed on first access
• Users must enter the password to access the application
• Set by: docker-compose up with ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

Configuration:

Option 1 - Using .env file (recommended):

# .env file
ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password

Option 2 - Command line:

ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password docker-compose up -d

Option 3 - In docker-compose.yml directly (not recommended):

environment:
  - admin_password=your_secure_password

Security Note: When password protection is enabled, sessions are stored in the browser's sessionStorage. The password is transmitted as an HTTP header with each API request. For production use over the internet, use HTTPS to encrypt all communications.

Troubleshooting

Backups aren't running

1. Ensure the job is Enabled
2. Check that the Frequency and Schedule are correct
3. Review backend logs: docker logs <container_id> or check console output if running locally

Restore fails

1. Verify the backup label and backup file exist
2. Ensure containers with the label are running
3. Check that sufficient disk space is available
4. Review backend logs for detailed error messages

Rclone sync issues

1. Verify rclone is installed and accessible
2. Test your remote: rclone ls <remote>:
3. Ensure the rclone configuration is correctly entered in Settings
4. Check that the remote has appropriate permissions and credentials

Support & Documentation

• rclone Documentation
• Docker Documentation
• cron Expression Guide