![[Tip]](/media/com_docimport/admonition/tip.png) | Tip |
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If you are looking for a quick start to using the component please watch our video tutorials. |
As stated, Akeeba Backup is designed to make your life easier. It does that by streamlining the work flow of backing up and restoring (or migrating) your site. From Akeeba Backup's perspective, restoring to the same host and location, copying your site in a subdirectory / subdomain of the same host or transferring your site to a completely new host is identical. That's right, Akeeba Backup doesn't care if you are restoring, copying, cloning or migrating your site! The process is always the same, so you only have to learn it once. The learning curve is very smooth, too!
![[Warning]](/media/com_docimport/admonition/warning.png) | Warning |
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Do not attempt to restore to a different database technology, e.g. a backup taken on MySQL restored on PostgreSQL. This won't work and the restoration script won't even let you try. This is a consequence of how different database server technologies structure the databases and the tables in said databases. Restoring to different servers of the same database technology usually does work. This means that MySQL, MariaDB and Percona are mostly compatible with each other. Please remember that Akeeba Backup only supports database servers compatible with MySQL. |
The typical work flow involves using two utilities from the Akeeba Backup suite: the Akeeba Backup component itself, and Akeeba Kickstart. Here is the overview:
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Install Akeeba Backup and configure it to taste. Or use the automated to automatically configure it with the perfect settings for your server. Hit on the button and let your site back up. When it finishes up, click on the button. Click on the download links on the far-right of the only backup entry from the list - or, better yet, use FTP to do that - saving all parts of the backup archive somewhere on your local PC.
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Extract the kickstart-
VERSION.zip file you downloaded from our Downloads repository. The only contained files arekickstart.phpand the translation INI files. Upload them to the server on which you want to restore your site to. -
Upload all parts of the backup archive (do not extract it yet, just upload the files) to the server on which you want to restore your site to (called here forth the target server ). Your server's directory should now contain the
kickstart.phpand the parts of the backup archive (.jpa, .j01, etc). -
Fire up your browser and visit the Kickstart URL on your target server, for example
http://www.example.com/kickstart.php. -
Change any option - if necessary - and hit the button. Sit back while Kickstart extracts the backup archive directly on the server! It's ultra-fast too (when compared to FTP uploading all those 4000+ files!). If it fails with an error, go back, select the
Upload using FTPoption and supply your FTP connection information, then click on Start again. -
A new window pops up. It's the Akeeba Backup Installer (ABI), the site restoration script which was embedded inside your archive. Do not close the Kickstart window yet!
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Follow the prompts of the Akeeba Backup Installer, filling in the details of the new server (most importantly, the new database connection and FTP connection information).
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When the Akeeba Backup Restoration Script is done, it prompts you to delete the installation directory. Ignore this prompt and simply close the ANGIE window.
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Back to the Kickstart window, click the button titled . Kickstart removes the installation directory, restores your .htaccess file (if you had one in the first place), removes the backup archive and itself.
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Click on the button to visit your new site. You're done.
If you are restoring to a different subdirectory on the same server as the original site, or to a whole different host, you might need to edit your .htaccess file for your site to work properly. Also note that some third party extensions which store absolute filesystem paths, absolute URLs or contain host- or directory-specific settings may require manual reconfiguration after the restoration is complete. This is all described in the restoration section of this guide. If you need help backing up your site, take a look in the Backup Now section of this guide.
Can I restore the backup archive manually?
Yes, you can do that in an emergency. You should not do that to do a normal restoration, despite what ChatGPT, Bing Chat, or whichever “Artificial Intelligence” tells you (they are not intelligent; they are a glorified version of your phone's text autocomplete, they make glaring mistakes, and they deliver them with the unmistakable overconfidence of the village idiot). Under normal circumstances, you are supposed to use the restoration script included in the backup archive as explained above.
If and only if you cannot access the restoration script, e.g. if you are trying to restore a backup archive with a version of our software which predates your PHP version, you can use the Emergency Restoration Procedure documentation page for more information.
Please note that you should only use this method in an actual emergency. If you want to restore only some files included in the backup archive use the Files to extract feature in Akeeba Kickstart. If you want to only restore a few of the database tables, you can do so with the restoration script included in the backup archive, using the Tables to restore feature in the database restoration page.