Knowledge Base

How to create hourly backups in Plesk

Question

How to create hourly backups in Plesk?

Answer

An hourly backup task can be created using the pleskbackup utility and Plesk Scheduled Tasks (Cron jobs). Plesk hourly backup tasks can be created by Plesk administrator only.

To learn more about the pleskbackup utility and its options, visit:

For Plesk on Linux: pleskbackup: Backing Up Content and Configuration
For Plesk on Windows Server: pleskbackup.exe: Backing Up Content and Configuration

Examples of hourly backup tasks

Creating a backup task that runs every hour

In this example, we are creating the Plesk backup task that will create a full backup of the domain example.com with the comment "Hourly backup" every hour.

In Plesk, go to Tools & Settings > Scheduled Tasks and click Add Task.
Fill in the fields and click OK to create the task:

Note: The command path to the pleskbackup utility must be full. Plesk command aliases (e.g. plesk bin pleskbackup) do not work with Plesk Scheduled Task.
- For Plesk on Linux
  - Task type: Run as command
  - Command: /usr/local/psa/bin/pleskbackup domains-name example.com --description="Hourly backup"
  - Run: Hourly
  - System user: root
- For Plesk on Windows Server
  - Task type: Run as command
  - Command: C:Program Files (x86)Pleskbinpleskbackup
    
    with arguments: --domains-name example.com --description="Hourly backup"
    
    Note: The path to the pleskbackup utility may vary.
  - Run: Hourly
  - System user: Plesk Administrator

Creating a backup task that runs every X hours

In this example, we are creating the Plesk backup task that will create a full backup of the domain example.com with the comment "Hourly backup" every 3 hours.

In Plesk, go to Tools & Settings > Scheduled Tasks and click Add Task.
Fill in the fields and click OK to create the task:

Note: The command path to the pleskbackup utility must be full. Plesk command aliases (e.g. plesk bin pleskbackup) do not work with Plesk Scheduled Task.
- For Plesk on Linux
  - Task type: Run as command
  - Command: /usr/local/psa/bin/pleskbackup domains-name example.com --description="Hourly backup"
  - Run: Cron style 0 */3 * * *
    
    This cron value will run the task every 3 hours. Change it to your own value if necessary.
  - System user: root
- For Plesk on Windows Server
  - Task type: Run as command
  - Command: C:Program Files (x86)Pleskbinpleskbackup
    
    with arguments: --domains-name example.com --description="Hourly backup"
    
    Note: The path to the pleskbackup utility may vary.
  - Run: Cron style 0 */3 * * *
    
    This cron value will run the task every 3 hours. Change it to your own value if necessary.
  - System user: Plesk Administrator