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How to Download a Home Directory Backup

 

Backups are a very important part of maintaining a website. It is important to backup your files on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis or prior to making any major changes so that a backup is available in the event of data loss.

A home directory backup will backup all of the files in your home directory. This can be useful for backing up the files for your site; however, it is only a partial backup, and it will not include DNS, MySQL, or other system files and settings. If you would prefer to generate a full backup, please see the following article:

The following video will demonstrate how to backup and restore your website using your HostGator cPanel.

Note: Your control panel may look slightly different depending on the theme you are using; however, the steps will be the same for all themes based off of the X3 theme. 

Create a Home Directory Backup

To create a backup of your home directory:

  1. Log into cPanel.
  2. In the Files section, click on the Backup icon.
  3. Under Partial Backups > Download a Home Directory Backup, click the Home Directory button.
  4. There will be no pop-up, but it will automatically saved on your Downloads folder.

The backup file will be in a .tar.gz file, which can be opened with Linux command line. The file can also be unzipped from a Windows-based machine with the appropriate software.

Restore a Home Directory Backup

Warning: Restoring a backup will overwrite any existing files!

A home directory backup can be restored in cPanel, in the same place where the backup was created.

  1. Log into cPanel.
  2. In the Files section, click on the Backup icon.
  3. Under Partial Backups > Restore a Home Directory Backup, click on the Choose File button.
  4. In the popup that appears, navigate to the appropriate destination and select the backup file you intend to use.
  5. Click Open.
  6. Click Upload.

A new tab will open, displaying all of the files that were replaced. This is only for confirmation purposes and is safe to close.