Setting Up Dropbox Backups
Setting Up Dropbox Backups is very important because our customers would not lose their ERPNext data by accident, when their system fails, or when their data gets corrupted. ERPNext makes backups of its databases as compressed SQL files that contain all of the transactional and master data.
If you need to, you can restore these SQL backup files to another ERPNext site that has the same version. This makes them a good choice for disaster recovery.
You can also set up ERPNext to automatically download backups of your files and databases directly to your Dropbox account. This keeps your backups safe and makes them easy to get to at any time.
Note: If you use Frappe Cloud, Frappe Cloud already takes care of both onsite and offsite backups for you.
Dropbox Backup is a simple and effective way to back up your self-hosted or custom-hosted ERPNext v16 installations offsite.
To set up Dropbox Backup, go to:
Home > Integrations > Settings for Dropbox
Step 1: Sign in to the Dropbox Developer Area
Visit https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps to open the Dropbox developer console in your browser.
You can use this portal to make and manage Dropbox apps that let other systems, like ERPNext, safely access your Dropbox account.
Step 2: Make a new app for Dropbox
Click Create App on the Dropbox Developer dashboard.
Pick the right access type (most of the time, this is Scoped access) and decide if the app can see the whole Dropbox account or just a certain app folder (which is best for backups).
Step 3: Add the information for your new app
Give your app a name that means something (like ERPNext Backups).
Once backups start syncing, this name will also show up in the Apps folder in your Dropbox. Check that the name is not already used in your Dropbox account.
Step 4: Add the Redirect URI for Your Custom Domain
Add this Redirect URI to the app settings:
- https://{yourwebsite.com}/api/method/frappe.integrations.doctype.dropbox_settings.dropbox_settings.dropbox_auth_finish
Put your real ERPNext site domain in place of {yourwebsite.com}. This Redirect URI is required to finish the OAuth authentication process between ERPNext and Dropbox.
Step 5: In ERPNext, go to Dropbox Settings.
Open your ERPNext installation in a new tab or window in your browser and go to:
Settings for Dropbox can be found on the Home page under Integrations.
ERPNext v16 keeps all the settings for Dropbox backups on this page.
Step 6: Choose how often to back up and send an email
Set how often ERPNext should send backups to Dropbox. Depending on how often your data changes, you can choose from frequencies like daily or weekly.
You can also give an email address to get notifications or alerts about backups or failures.
Step 7: Enter the keys from your Dropbox app
Copy the following information from the settings page of the Dropbox App:
- Key for the app
- App Secret (make sure it isn’t hidden)
In ERPNext, go to the Dropbox Settings page and paste these values into the right fields.
Advanced users can also add these credentials by hand in:
- sites/{sitename}/site_config.json
This method is usually used for server-level settings or scripted deployments.
Step 8: Before you go on, click Save.
Click Save on the Dropbox Settings page after filling out all the necessary information.
Before going on to authorisation, you must save because this is when ERPNext checks and saves the configuration.
Step 9: Click “Allow Access to Dropbox”
Click the Allow Dropbox Access button after you save it.
This action opens a new tab in your browser with the Dropbox login and authorisation page. For this step to work, you may need to let pop-ups happen in your browser.
Step 10: Let Dropbox in
If asked, log in to your Dropbox account.
You will see a screen asking for permission that shows what access ERPNext wants. Click “Allow” to let ERPNext upload backup files to your Dropbox account.
If you are successful in getting permission, you will be taken back to ERPNext with a message saying that you have been given access to Dropbox.
Step 11: Make sure backups are working
In ERPNext, go to the Dropbox Settings page and click “Take Backup Now” to start a manual backup.
Then you should open your Dropbox account and select Files. You should be able to see:
- A folder called Apps
- It has a folder called your dropbox app.
- In that, there are distinct folders of files and databases backup.
As the application is titled as erpnext, the path to the backup will be like the following:
- Apps > erpnext > database in Dropbox
Dropbox > Apps > erpnext > files
This is an indication that automatic occurrence of backups is functioning.
Note: When a compressed backup has a size larger than 1 GB, ERPNext will not create a new backup but will instead upload the latest one. This capacity is set to lead the upload capacity of Dropbox and ensure that the backups do not face any issues.
