Creating manual backups lets you capture the full state of your VPS at a specific moment. This is useful before system changes, upgrades, or risky operations. LumaDock backups are handled directly from the control panel and don’t require SSH access.
Access the backup section
Log in to your LumaDock client area and open My servers. Select the VPS you want to back up and click Manage.
In the Service Management menu on the left, click Backups.
This page shows your available backup storage, how many backup files you can keep and a list of existing backups if any already exist.
Start a new manual backup
To create a new backup, click the Create Backup button in the top right corner of the page.
A dialog window will open where you can configure how the backup is taken.
Step 1 – Choose compression
Select the compression method. ZSTD is selected by default and offers a good balance between speed and storage usage. In most cases, leaving this unchanged is recommended.
Step 2 – Select backup mode
Choose how the VPS is handled during the backup process:
Snapshot keeps the server running and creates a live snapshot. This is the fastest option and works well for most use cases.
Suspend pauses the VPS during backup to reduce disk activity.
Stop powers off the VPS completely before creating the backup. This provides the highest consistency for databases and critical systems.
If uptime matters, Snapshot is usually the right choice. If data consistency is critical, Suspend or Stop is safer.
Step 3 – Confirm backup creation
Click Confirm to start the backup process.
The task will run in the background and you can monitor its progress from the Task History section.
Backup limits and rotation
Each VPS has a defined backup limit based on its plan. If your limit is set to one backup, creating a new backup will automatically replace the previous one.
After the backup is complete
Once finished, the backup will appear in the backups list with details such as date, size, format, and protection status.
From here, you can restore the backup, delete it, or mark it as protected if your plan allows it.
Manual backups are a simple way to stay safe before making changes. Using them regularly can save time and prevent data loss when something goes wrong.