> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.curator.interworks.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Curator Backup

> Learn about Curators comprehensive backup options beyond basic Import/Export functionality.

The Import / Export is a great way to backup your Curator data but sometimes a more complete backup is
needed. The Full Backup will export an entire snapshot of all your Curator data (it's a full database and
filesystem backup of the Curator webroot directory). Curator will even show you up-to-date stats on how much
free space you have available on your server to ensure you have room.

***Modifying the Full Backup Settings***

1. Login to the backend of your Curator instance (e.g. `http://curatorexample.com/backend`).
2. Navigate to the **Settings** > **Curator** > **Backups** in the left -hand menu.
3. Click on the gear icon to display a popup.  From here you can modify the location/frequency and retention options.

***To Manually Create a new Curator Backup:***

1. Login to the backend of your Curator instance (e.g. `http://curatorexample.com/backend`).
2. Navigate to the **Settings** > **Curator** > **Backups** in the left-hand menu.
3. Click the "Take New Backup" button to start a backup.  If you would like to check the status of the backup
   while it is running, you can view the active status under the
   **Settings** > **Curator** > **Queued Processes** in the left navigation.

***To Restore From a Full Backup:***

1. Login to the backend of your Curator instance (e.g. `http://curatorexample.com/backend`).
2. Navigate to the **Settings** > **Curator** > **Backups** in the left navigation.
3. Find the backup from the list view (NOTE: They are all appended with a timestamp from when they were
   taken), and click the "Restore Backup" icon (counter clockwise arrow) to restore Curator to exactly mirror
   the time the backup was taken.

***Curator SaaS (InterWorks-Hosted) Notes***

On Curator SaaS instances (InterWorks-hosted, with backups stored in S3), the behavior described above
differs in two important ways:

* **The Backups list view shows only the 10 most recent `.iwe` backups**, even when more backups exist on
  S3. Older backups remain safely stored on S3 and are still recoverable by InterWorks support, but they will
  not appear in the backend list view. If you need to restore from a backup older than the 10 most recent,
  contact InterWorks support.
* **The configured retention schedule does not purge `.iwe` or `.iwgz` backup files on SaaS S3.** These
  backup files accumulate indefinitely and are protected by S3 Object Lock in Compliance mode, which prevents
  deletion or modification for the duration of the lock period. Retention settings in the backend gear icon
  popup have no effect on `.iwe` / `.iwgz` retention for SaaS deployments. To manage these files on SaaS,
  contact InterWorks support.