---
last_review: "2025-01-01"
last_reviewer: "-"
documented_code: [ ]
---

```{tags} how-to, administrator
```

# Manage the SQL database manually

## How to export the SQL database folder manually (e.g. for backup) #

If it should ever be necessary to export the SQL database folder manually (for example for low-level
backup, development or debugging), use these hints.

The idea is: Mount the Docker volume with the database into a temporary container, then export it
from there.

```
docker run --rm --mount "src=$(pwd),dst=/sql_export,type=bind" \
  --mount "src=compose_caosdb-sqldata,dst=/sql,type=volume,ro" debian bash \
  -c "tar -czf /sql_export/sql_data.tar.gz /sql/"
```

The data will be now inside `sql_data.tar.gz`.

## How to migrate the SQL database from a bind mount directory to a Docker volume #

**Attention:** Be aware that you can delete Docker volumes with the Docker client (e.g.
`docker volume prune` or `docker system prune --volumes`). Thus, be careful not to lose data when
you use these commands.

In order to migrate an SQL database from a directory that was mounted via bind mounts to a Docker
volume, you simply need to populate the right volume with the existing data. In the following let us
assume that the default project name is used (otherwise replace `compose` with the project name).

- Note that if a volume named `compose_caosdb-sqldata` existed before, you should remove it first
  (`docker volume rm compose_caosdb-sqldata`).
- Go to the parent folder of the sql data directory (typically `somepath/profile/paths`) and start a
  container which mounts the old sql data folder and a new volume with the correct name:

```
docker run --rm --mount "src=$(pwd)/sql_data,dst=/sql_data,type=bind,ro" \
  --mount "src=compose_caosdb-sqldata,dst=/new,type=volume" debian bash \
  -c "cp -a /sql_data/* /new"
```

You can now start LinkAhead using Docker volumes. Check that the migration from a plain directory to
a Docker volume succeeded, then you can remove the old directory.