Implementing Backup Strategies
Overview
Design and implement backup strategies for databases, file systems, and cloud resources using tools like tar, rsync, pg_dump, mysqldump, AWS S3, and cloud-native snapshot APIs. Covers full, incremental, and differential backup schemes with retention policies, encryption, and automated verification.
Prerequisites
tar, rsync, or restic installed for file-level backups- Database client tools (
pg_dump, mysqldump, mongodump) for database backups
- AWS CLI configured with S3 write permissions (or equivalent GCP/Azure storage access)
- Sufficient storage capacity at backup destination (local, NFS, or object storage)
- Cron or systemd timer access for scheduling automated backups
- GPG or OpenSSL for backup encryption at rest
Instructions
- Inventory all data sources requiring backup: databases, application data directories, configuration files, secrets/certificates
- Classify data by RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) requirements
- Select backup strategy per data class: full daily + incremental hourly for databases, snapshot-based for block storage, rsync for file systems
- Generate backup scripts using appropriate tools (
pg_dump --format=custom, tar czf, rsync -avz --delete)
- Configure retention policy: daily backups kept 7 days, weekly kept 4 weeks, monthly kept 12 months
- Add encryption for backups containing sensitive data (
gpg --encrypt or S3 server-side encryption with KMS)
- Set up automated scheduling via cron jobs or systemd timers with proper logging
- Implement backup verification: restore to a test environment on a weekly schedule and validate data integrity
- Configure alerting for backup failures via email, Slack, or PagerDuty
Output
- Backup shell scripts with logging, error handling, and lock files to prevent concurrent runs
- Cron entries or systemd timer/service unit files
- Retention policy configuration (lifecycle rules for S3, cleanup scripts for local)
- Restore runbook with step-by-step recovery procedures
- Monitoring configuration for backup success/failure alerts
Error Handling
| Error |
Cause |
Solution |
No space left on device |
Backup destination full |
Verify retention cleanup is running; increase storage or reduce retention window |
pg_dump: connection refused |
Database not accepting connections or wrong credentials |
Check pg_hba.conf, verify connection string, and test with psql first |
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed |
Network interruption or SSH timeout |
Add --timeout=300 and --partial flags; use persistent SSH tunnel |
S3 upload failed: Access Denied |
IAM policy missing s3:PutObject permission |
Attach proper IAM policy; verify bucket policy allows writes from the backup source |
Backup file corrupted on restore |
Incomplete write or disk error during backup |
Add checksum verification (sha256sum) after backup; test restores regularly |
Examples
- "Create a backup strategy for a PostgreSQL database: full dump nightly to S3, WAL archiving for point-in-time recovery, 30-day retention."
- "Generate rsync scripts to mirror
/var/www to a remote NAS with incremental daily backups and weekly full backups."
- "Implement encrypted backups for a MongoDB replica set with automated restore testing every Sunday."
Resources
1---
2name: implementing-backup-strategies-2
3description: |
4 Execute use when you need to work with backup and recovery.
5 This skill provides backup automation and disaster recovery with comprehensive guidance and automation.
6 Trigger with phrases like "create backups", "automate backups",
7 or "implement disaster recovery".
8
9allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(tar:*), Bash(rsync:*), Bash(aws:s3:*)
10version: 1.0.0
11author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
12license: MIT
13compatible-with: claude-code, codex, openclaw
14tags: [devops, backup, disaster-recovery]
15
16---
17
18# Implementing Backup Strategies
19
20## Overview
21
22Design and implement backup strategies for databases, file systems, and cloud resources using tools like `tar`, `rsync`, `pg_dump`, `mysqldump`, AWS S3, and cloud-native snapshot APIs. Covers full, incremental, and differential backup schemes with retention policies, encryption, and automated verification.
23
24## Prerequisites
25
26- `tar`, `rsync`, or `restic` installed for file-level backups
27- Database client tools (`pg_dump`, `mysqldump`, `mongodump`) for database backups
28- AWS CLI configured with S3 write permissions (or equivalent GCP/Azure storage access)
29- Sufficient storage capacity at backup destination (local, NFS, or object storage)
30- Cron or systemd timer access for scheduling automated backups
31- GPG or OpenSSL for backup encryption at rest
32
33## Instructions
34
351. Inventory all data sources requiring backup: databases, application data directories, configuration files, secrets/certificates
362. Classify data by RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) requirements
373. Select backup strategy per data class: full daily + incremental hourly for databases, snapshot-based for block storage, rsync for file systems
384. Generate backup scripts using appropriate tools (`pg_dump --format=custom`, `tar czf`, `rsync -avz --delete`)
395. Configure retention policy: daily backups kept 7 days, weekly kept 4 weeks, monthly kept 12 months
406. Add encryption for backups containing sensitive data (`gpg --encrypt` or S3 server-side encryption with KMS)
417. Set up automated scheduling via cron jobs or systemd timers with proper logging
428. Implement backup verification: restore to a test environment on a weekly schedule and validate data integrity
439. Configure alerting for backup failures via email, Slack, or PagerDuty
44
45## Output
46
47- Backup shell scripts with logging, error handling, and lock files to prevent concurrent runs
48- Cron entries or systemd timer/service unit files
49- Retention policy configuration (lifecycle rules for S3, cleanup scripts for local)
50- Restore runbook with step-by-step recovery procedures
51- Monitoring configuration for backup success/failure alerts
52
53## Error Handling
54
55| Error | Cause | Solution |
56|-------|-------|---------|
57| `No space left on device` | Backup destination full | Verify retention cleanup is running; increase storage or reduce retention window |
58| `pg_dump: connection refused` | Database not accepting connections or wrong credentials | Check `pg_hba.conf`, verify connection string, and test with `psql` first |
59| `rsync: connection unexpectedly closed` | Network interruption or SSH timeout | Add `--timeout=300` and `--partial` flags; use persistent SSH tunnel |
60| `S3 upload failed: Access Denied` | IAM policy missing `s3:PutObject` permission | Attach proper IAM policy; verify bucket policy allows writes from the backup source |
61| `Backup file corrupted on restore` | Incomplete write or disk error during backup | Add checksum verification (`sha256sum`) after backup; test restores regularly |
62
63## Examples
64
65- "Create a backup strategy for a PostgreSQL database: full dump nightly to S3, WAL archiving for point-in-time recovery, 30-day retention."
66- "Generate rsync scripts to mirror `/var/www` to a remote NAS with incremental daily backups and weekly full backups."
67- "Implement encrypted backups for a MongoDB replica set with automated restore testing every Sunday."
68
69## Resources
70
71- PostgreSQL backup guide: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup.html
72- AWS S3 lifecycle policies: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lifecycle-mgmt.html
73- Restic backup tool: https://restic.readthedocs.io/
74- Backup best practices (3-2-1 rule): https://www.veeam.com/blog/321-backup-rule.html
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