Joomla Backups — Akeeba Backup, Manual Backup and Restore Guide

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to back up and restore Joomla sites — using Akeeba Backup for automated full backups, manual database and file backups via command line, and the Kickstart restore script for disaster recovery.

What You'll Learn

• Installing and configuring Akeeba Backup for automated backups
• Creating backup profiles for full site, database-only, and files-only backups
• Configuring backup destinations (server directory, SFTP, Dropbox, Amazon S3)
• Scheduling backups via cron or the task scheduler
• Performing manual database backups with phpMyAdmin or mysqldump
• Performing manual file backups with tar and rsync
• Restoring a site using the Kickstart extraction wizard
• Restoring to a new server with a different domain

Why It Matters

Every Joomla site will eventually need a backup — whether for server failure, accidental content deletion, extension conflict, or security breach. Without a backup, recovery means rebuilding the site from scratch. Joomla sites consist of files (PHP, images, templates, extensions) and a database (articles, users, configuration). Both must be backed up together. A single backup is not enough — you need a regular schedule and off-site storage. Automating backups with Akeeba Backup is the safest approach, but knowing how to do it manually gives you options when automation is not available.

Real-World Use

A Joomla site administrator runs an e-commerce store with 2,000 products and daily orders. One morning, the site shows a white screen. The hosting company reports a corrupted database from a failed server Migration. Without a backup from yesterday, the administrator would lose 24 hours of orders and customer data. Because Akeeba Backup runs nightly and stores backups to both the server and Dropbox, the administrator restores the latest backup using Kickstart. The site is back online within 30 minutes. Only the orders from the current day are lost, which the team re-enters from email receipts.

Learning Path

flowchart LR
  A["Joomla 4 vs 5"] --> B["Backups"]
  B --> C["User Groups"]
  C --> D["Custom Fields"]
  D --> E["Joomla API"]

  classDef current fill:#38bdf8,color:#0f172a,stroke-width:2px
  class B current

Akeeba Backup

Akeeba Backup is the most popular backup extension for Joomla, installed on millions of sites. It creates complete .jpa backup archives that include both files and database.

Installing Akeeba Backup

1. Download Akeeba Backup from the Joomla Extensions Directory
2. Go to Extensions > Manage > Install
3. Upload the package
4. Go to Components > Akeeba Backup

First Backup

1. In Akeeba Backup, click Backup Now
2. Select a Backup Profile (default is "Site Root" — full site)
3. Click Backup Now

Akeeba creates a .jpa file containing all your site files and a database dump. The backup appears in the Manage Backups section.

Backup Profile Types

Akeeba Backup offers several profile types:

Creating a Custom Profile

1. Go to Components > Akeeba Backup > Profiles
2. Click New to create a profile
3. Configure:

Database Settings tab:

Files Settings tab:

Configuring Backup Destination

Akeeba can store backups to multiple locations:

Server Directory

The default destination stores backups in /administrator/components/com_akeeba/backup/.

SFTP/FTP

For off-site storage:

1. Go to Components > Akeeba Backup > Configuration
2. Click Add New Destination
3. Select SFTP
4. Enter:

Server: backup.example.com
Port: 22
Username: backupuser
Password: ********
Directory: /backups/mysite/

Cloud Storage

Akeeba supports:

Scheduling Backups

Via Joomla Task Scheduler (Joomla 4+)

1. Go to System > Scheduled Tasks
2. Click New
3. Select Akeeba Backup as the task type
4. Set frequency (e.g., daily at 2:00 AM)
5. Enable the task

Via Cron Job

For servers with cron access, use the CLI script:

# Run Akeeba backup from command line
php /path/to/joomla/cli/akeeba-backup.php --profile=1

# Add to crontab (daily at 3 AM)
0 3 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/joomla/cli/akeeba-backup.php --profile=1 >> /dev/null 2>&1

Via Frontend URL

If you cannot use CLI, Akeeba provides a frontend backup URL:

https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_akeeba&view=backup&key=YOUR_SECRET_KEY

Security: Protect the frontend backup URL with a secret key. Anyone who knows the URL can trigger a backup.

Backup File Format (.jpa)

Akeeba's .jpa format is a proprietary archive format. It contains:

• All site files (compressed)
• Database dump (SQL)
• Backup metadata
• Optional encryption

Encryption

For sensitive sites, enable encryption:

1. In Akeeba Backup > Configuration
2. Set Enable Encryption to Yes
3. Set a strong passphrase

Without the passphrase, the backup cannot be restored.

Excluding Files

You should exclude unnecessary files from backups to save space:

# Default exclusions in Akeeba Backup
tmp/
cache/
logs/
administrator/components/com_akeeba/backup/

Add custom exclusions in the profile's Files Settings tab, under Off-Site Directories.

Manual Database Backup

When Akeeba is not available, you can back up the database manually.

Using mysqldump

# Simple backup
mysqldump -u root -p joomla_db > joomla_db_backup.sql

# With options (recommended)
mysqldump -u root -p \
  --add-drop-table \
  --complete-insert \
  --default-character-set=utf8 \
  --routines \
  --triggers \
  joomla_db > joomla_db_backup.sql

# Compressed backup
mysqldump -u root -p joomla_db | gzip > joomla_db_backup.sql.gz

Using phpMyAdmin

1. Log into phpMyAdmin
2. Select your Joomla database
3. Click Export
4. Choose Custom export method
5. Select all tables
6. Check Add DROP TABLE / VIEW / PROCEDURE / FUNCTION
7. Check Enclose table and field names with backquotes
8. Select gzipped compression
9. Click Go

Manual File Backup

# Full site backup with tar
tar -czf joomla_files_backup.tar.gz /path/to/joomla/

# Exclude cache and tmp directories
tar -czf joomla_files_backup.tar.gz \
  --exclude='cache' \
  --exclude='tmp' \
  --exclude='logs' \
  /path/to/joomla/

# Sync to remote server with rsync
rsync -avz --delete /path/to/joomla/ user@backup.example.com:/backups/joomla/

Restoring with Kickstart

Kickstart is Akeeba's extraction script. It restores a .jpa backup to any server.

Steps to Restore

1. Upload the kickstart.php file to the target directory
2. Upload the .jpa backup file to the same directory
3. Open https://yoursite/kickstart.php in your browser
4. Click Start
5. Select the .jpa file
6. Enter the password (if encrypted)
7. Click Extract

Database Restoration

After extraction, Kickstart shows the database restoration screen:

Kickstart will:

1. Drop existing tables (with confirmation)
2. Create tables from backup
3. Update configuration.php with new database credentials

Updating configuration.php

After restoration, Kickstart updates configuration.php:

public $host = 'localhost';
public $user = 'new_db_user';
public $password = 'new_db_password';
public $db = 'new_database_name';
public $dbprefix = 'jos_';

Restoring to a New Server

Changing the Domain

If you are moving to a new domain:

1. Restore the backup using Kickstart
2. After restoration, edit configuration.php:

public $live_site = 'https://newdomain.com';

3. Update any hardcoded URLs in the database:

UPDATE jos_content SET introtext = REPLACE(introtext, 'olddomain.com', 'newdomain.com');
UPDATE jos_content SET fulltext = REPLACE(fulltext, 'olddomain.com', 'newdomain.com');
UPDATE jos_categories SET description = REPLACE(description, 'olddomain.com', 'newdomain.com');

Clear Cache After Restore

# Delete cache files
rm -rf /path/to/joomla/cache/*
rm -rf /path/to/joomla/tmp/*

Check .htaccess

If you used SEF URLs, ensure .htaccess is present and configured for the new domain.

Backup Testing

A backup that cannot be restored is worthless. Test your backups regularly:

1. Set up a staging environment

2. Restore the most recent backup to staging

3. Test all critical functions:

   • Frontend pages load
   • Admin login works
   • Search returns results
   • Forms submit
   • User registration works

4. Verify database integrity:

CHECK TABLE jos_content;
CHECK TABLE jos_users;
CHECK TABLE jos_menu;

Common Mistakes

1. Only having one backup: If the backup file is on the same server as the site, a server failure destroys both the site and the backup. Always keep off-site backups (Dropbox, S3, or another server).

2. Not testing backups: A backup that fails to restore is useless. Test your backups monthly by restoring to a staging environment.

3. Excluding the database from a file backup: Backing up files without the database produces a useless archive. The database contains all your content, users, and configuration. Always back up both.

4. Forgetting to update configuration.php after domain change: If you restore to a new domain without updating configuration.php, the site loads but all URLs point to the old domain, and assets (images, CSS) fail to load.

5. Not securing the backup directory: The default Akeeba backup directory is web-accessible. Secure it via .htaccess:

<Directory "/administrator/components/com_akeeba/backup/">
  Deny from all
</Directory>

Practice Questions

1. What is the Akeeba Backup .jpa file format, and what does it contain? Answer: The .jpa format is Akeeba's proprietary archive that contains compressed site files, a database SQL dump, backup metadata, and optional encryption. It is self-contained — one file holds everything needed to restore the site.

2. How do you restore a Joomla site using Kickstart? Answer: Upload kickstart.php and the .jpa backup file to the target server. Open kickstart.php in a browser, select the backup file, extract the archive, then enter the new database credentials. Kickstart updates configuration.php automatically.

3. Why should backups be stored off-site, and what are some off-site storage options? Answer: On-site backups are vulnerable to server failure, ransomware, and accidental deletion. Off-site storage options include Dropbox, Amazon S3, Google Drive, SFTP to another server, and external hard drives.

4. Challenge: Set up a complete backup and recovery system for a Joomla site. Install Akeeba Backup, configure a custom profile (exclude cache, tmp, logs), schedule daily backups via the task scheduler, and configure off-site storage to Dropbox. Then manually simulate a disaster: delete the database and some key files. Use Kickstart to restore from your latest backup. Document every step, including timestamps and any issues encountered.

FAQ

Mini Project

Your task is to create a complete backup and disaster recovery plan for a Joomla site.

1. Install a Joomla 5 site with sample data and at least two extensions
2. Install Akeeba Backup and create three backup profiles:
   • Full site backup (daily)
   • Database-only backup (hourly)
   • Files-only backup (weekly)
3. Configure off-site backup to at least one destination (use Dropbox or local directory)
4. Schedule the full backup to run daily at 3:00 AM
5. Take a manual backup using mysqldump
6. Take a manual file backup using tar
7. After you have three backups, simulate a disaster: drop all tables in the Joomla database
8. Restore using Akeeba Kickstart
9. Verify the site works completely (frontend, backend, search, extensions)
10. Write a disaster recovery document that a non-technical person could follow

What's Next

Now that your backup Strategy is solid, learn about advanced user management:

Continue to Lesson 36: Joomla User Groups Deep Dive — Nested groups, inheritance, and custom access control.

Related lessons:

• {{< ilink "Joomla" "Joomla Database Maintenance" }} — Keep your recovered database healthy
• {{< ilink "Joomla" "Joomla Go-Live Checklist" }} — Pre-launch checks after migration