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ELOWEN · Documentation

Last updated: October 27, 2026

Browse documentation · Back up before an update
Operations and updates

Back up before an update

Save the database and the instance folder as one pair, so you can restore the instance if an update does not start.

Chetty has no built-in backup or restore command. Use the tools of your database server and your file system, or the procedure in Instance settings overview.

What to back up

  • The PostgreSQL database. It holds settings, accounts, conversation history and plugin data.
  • The complete instance folder, ELOWEN_INSTANCE_ROOT, by default ~/.config/elowen/. It holds the licence record, provider credentials, plugin data, attachments and the update journal.

Keep plugin-secrets.key with the pair: a database restored against a different instance folder cannot read its plugin data.

Installed services keep their logs in the log directory they were configured with, which can be outside the instance folder. Include those logs if you rely on them.

Stop Chetty first

Collect both parts while Chetty is stopped, so the database and the files describe the same state.

elowen down
# back up the database and the instance folder
elowen up

Restore and migrations

Database migrations run when the daemon starts. Keep a recoverable backup from before the update, and inspect the service logs if the new version does not start.

Never remove migration or lock files to work around a failed upgrade. Restore the backup instead, then report the failure with the log lines.

Continue with Update Chetty on a server, Production & Updates and Instance settings overview.