Dockergento Database Exporter

Automatically extracts and secures Magento database schemas using hm mysqldump before executing risky operations, providing reliable restore points with verification and compression.

When to Use

• Before database schema migrations
• Before running destructive SQL operations
• Before module uninstalls
• Before major version upgrades
• Before data cleanup operations
• Before testing risky refactorings
• Daily backup automation
• Pre-deployment snapshots

Requirements

• Hiberus Dockergento environment (https://github.com/hiberus-magento/hiberus-dockergento)
• hm CLI tool installed and configured
• Docker containers running
• Sufficient disk space for dumps

Execution Workflow

1. Assess operation risk

   • Identify if operation is destructive
   • Check if backup exists recently
   • Verify available disk space
   • Determine compression needs

2. Create backup directory

   • Use timestamped directory names
   • Organize by date and operation type
   • Keep backup metadata

3. Execute mysqldump

   • Use hm mysqldump command
   • Add compression if needed
   • Include all tables or specific ones
   • Capture output and errors

4. Verify backup

   • Check file size (not empty)
   • Verify SQL syntax (header check)
   • Test restoration (dry-run if critical)
   • Log backup metadata

5. Provide restore instructions

   • Document restore command
   • Save backup location
   • Include rollback procedure

Command Reference

Basic Database Dump

# Full database dump
hm mysqldump > backup.sql

# Dump to specific file with timestamp
hm mysqldump > "backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql"

# Compressed dump
hm mysqldump | gzip > backup.sql.gz

Advanced Usage

# Dump specific tables only
hm mysqldump magento sales_order sales_order_item > orders_backup.sql

# Dump structure only (no data)
hm mysqldump --no-data > schema_only.sql

# Dump data only (no structure)
hm mysqldump --no-create-info > data_only.sql

# Skip certain tables
hm mysqldump --ignore-table=magento.cache --ignore-table=magento.session > backup_no_cache.sql

Database Restoration

# Restore from dump
hm mysql -i backup.sql

# Restore from compressed dump
gunzip < backup.sql.gz | hm mysql -i

# Restore specific database
hm mysql -i backup.sql magento

Implementation Patterns

Pattern 1: Pre-Migration Backup

#!/bin/bash
# Script: pre_migration_backup.sh

set -e

OPERATION="schema_migration"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_DIR="backups/${OPERATION}"
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/backup_${TIMESTAMP}.sql.gz"

echo "Creating backup before ${OPERATION}..."

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"

# Execute dump with compression
hm mysqldump | gzip > "${BACKUP_FILE}"

# Verify backup
if [ ! -s "${BACKUP_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Backup file is empty"
    exit 1
fi

# Check if it's valid SQL
if ! gunzip < "${BACKUP_FILE}" | head -n 20 | grep -q "MySQL dump"; then
    echo "ERROR: Backup file doesn't appear to be a valid SQL dump"
    exit 1
fi

# Log backup metadata
cat > "${BACKUP_DIR}/backup_${TIMESTAMP}.meta" <<EOF
Timestamp: ${TIMESTAMP}
Operation: ${OPERATION}
File: ${BACKUP_FILE}
Size: $(du -h "${BACKUP_FILE}" | cut -f1)
Created: $(date)
Restore: gunzip < ${BACKUP_FILE} | hm mysql -i
EOF

echo "Backup created successfully: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
echo "To restore: gunzip < ${BACKUP_FILE} | hm mysql -i"

Pattern 2: Automated Daily Backups

#!/bin/bash
# Script: daily_backup.sh
# Add to crontab: 0 2 * * * /path/to/daily_backup.sh

set -e

BACKUP_BASE="/var/backups/magento"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_BASE}/${DATE}_daily.sql.gz"
RETENTION_DAYS=30

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p "${BACKUP_BASE}"

# Create backup
echo "Starting daily backup: ${DATE}"
hm mysqldump | gzip > "${BACKUP_FILE}"

# Verify backup size (should be > 1MB)
FILESIZE=$(stat -f%z "${BACKUP_FILE}" 2>/dev/null || stat -c%s "${BACKUP_FILE}")
if [ "${FILESIZE}" -lt 1048576 ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Backup file too small (${FILESIZE} bytes)"
    exit 1
fi

# Clean old backups
find "${BACKUP_BASE}" -name "*_daily.sql.gz" -mtime +${RETENTION_DAYS} -delete

echo "Daily backup completed: ${BACKUP_FILE} ($(du -h "${BACKUP_FILE}" | cut -f1))"

# Optional: Upload to remote storage
# aws s3 cp "${BACKUP_FILE}" "s3://backups/magento/${DATE}_daily.sql.gz"

Pattern 3: Pre-Deployment Snapshot

#!/bin/bash
# Script: pre_deploy_snapshot.sh

set -e

DEPLOY_ID="${1:-$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)}"
BACKUP_DIR="deployments/${DEPLOY_ID}"
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/pre_deploy.sql.gz"

echo "Creating pre-deployment snapshot: ${DEPLOY_ID}"

# Create deployment backup directory
mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"

# Capture current git commit
git rev-parse HEAD > "${BACKUP_DIR}/git_commit.txt"

# Capture current module list
php bin/magento module:status > "${BACKUP_DIR}/module_status.txt"

# Database backup
echo "Dumping database..."
hm mysqldump | gzip > "${BACKUP_FILE}"

# Verify
if [ ! -s "${BACKUP_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Database backup failed"
    exit 1
fi

# Create restore script
cat > "${BACKUP_DIR}/restore.sh" <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
set -e

SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
BACKUP_FILE="${SCRIPT_DIR}/pre_deploy.sql.gz"

echo "Restoring database from: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
gunzip < "${BACKUP_FILE}" | hm mysql -i

echo "Database restored successfully"
echo "Remember to:"
echo "  1. Run: bin/magento setup:upgrade"
echo "  2. Clear cache: bin/magento cache:flush"
echo "  3. Reindex: bin/magento indexer:reindex"
EOF

chmod +x "${BACKUP_DIR}/restore.sh"

# Save metadata
cat > "${BACKUP_DIR}/metadata.json" <<EOF
{
  "deploy_id": "${DEPLOY_ID}",
  "timestamp": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
  "git_commit": "$(cat ${BACKUP_DIR}/git_commit.txt)",
  "backup_file": "${BACKUP_FILE}",
  "backup_size": "$(du -h "${BACKUP_FILE}" | cut -f1)",
  "restore_command": "cd ${BACKUP_DIR} && ./restore.sh"
}
EOF

echo "Pre-deployment snapshot completed: ${BACKUP_DIR}"
echo "To restore: cd ${BACKUP_DIR} && ./restore.sh"

Pattern 4: Selective Table Backup

#!/bin/bash
# Script: backup_critical_tables.sh

set -e

TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_DIR="backups/critical_tables"
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/critical_${TIMESTAMP}.sql.gz"

# Define critical tables
CRITICAL_TABLES=(
    "sales_order"
    "sales_order_item"
    "sales_order_address"
    "sales_order_payment"
    "quote"
    "quote_item"
    "customer_entity"
    "customer_address_entity"
)

echo "Backing up critical tables: ${#CRITICAL_TABLES[@]} tables"

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"

# Dump critical tables
hm mysqldump magento "${CRITICAL_TABLES[@]}" | gzip > "${BACKUP_FILE}"

# Verify
if [ ! -s "${BACKUP_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Backup failed"
    exit 1
fi

# Save table list
printf '%s\n' "${CRITICAL_TABLES[@]}" > "${BACKUP_DIR}/tables_${TIMESTAMP}.txt"

echo "Critical tables backed up: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
echo "Size: $(du -h "${BACKUP_FILE}" | cut -f1)"

Pattern 5: Verification and Testing

<?php
// File: scripts/verify_backup.php

declare(strict_types=1);

class BackupVerifier
{
    private const MIN_BACKUP_SIZE = 1048576; // 1MB
    
    public function verifyBackup(string $backupFile): array
    {
        $errors = [];
        $warnings = [];
        
        // Check file exists
        if (!file_exists($backupFile)) {
            $errors[] = "Backup file not found: {$backupFile}";
            return ['errors' => $errors, 'warnings' => $warnings, 'valid' => false];
        }
        
        // Check file size
        $fileSize = filesize($backupFile);
        if ($fileSize < self::MIN_BACKUP_SIZE) {
            $errors[] = "Backup file too small: " . $this->formatBytes($fileSize);
        }
        
        // Check if gzipped
        $isGzipped = str_ends_with($backupFile, '.gz');
        
        // Read first few lines
        $handle = $isGzipped ? gzopen($backupFile, 'rb') : fopen($backupFile, 'rb');
        if (!$handle) {
            $errors[] = "Cannot open backup file";
            return ['errors' => $errors, 'warnings' => $warnings, 'valid' => false];
        }
        
        $header = '';
        for ($i = 0; $i < 20; $i++) {
            $line = $isGzipped ? gzgets($handle) : fgets($handle);
            if ($line === false) break;
            $header .= $line;
        }
        
        if ($isGzipped) {
            gzclose($handle);
        } else {
            fclose($handle);
        }
        
        // Verify SQL dump header
        if (!str_contains($header, 'MySQL dump')) {
            $errors[] = "File doesn't appear to be a MySQL dump";
        }
        
        // Check for common tables
        $commonTables = ['admin_user', 'store', 'store_website', 'customer_entity'];
        $foundTables = 0;
        foreach ($commonTables as $table) {
            if (str_contains($header, "CREATE TABLE `{$table}`")) {
                $foundTables++;
            }
        }
        
        if ($foundTables === 0) {
            $warnings[] = "No common Magento tables found in dump header";
        }
        
        $valid = empty($errors);
        
        return [
            'valid' => $valid,
            'errors' => $errors,
            'warnings' => $warnings,
            'file_size' => $fileSize,
            'file_size_formatted' => $this->formatBytes($fileSize),
            'is_compressed' => $isGzipped,
        ];
    }
    
    private function formatBytes(int $bytes): string
    {
        $units = ['B', 'KB', 'MB', 'GB'];
        $power = $bytes > 0 ? floor(log($bytes, 1024)) : 0;
        return number_format($bytes / pow(1024, $power), 2) . ' ' . $units[$power];
    }
}

// Usage
$verifier = new BackupVerifier();
$result = $verifier->verifyBackup($argv[1] ?? 'backup.sql.gz');

if ($result['valid']) {
    echo "✓ Backup is valid\n";
    echo "  Size: {$result['file_size_formatted']}\n";
    echo "  Compressed: " . ($result['is_compressed'] ? 'Yes' : 'No') . "\n";
} else {
    echo "✗ Backup verification failed\n";
    foreach ($result['errors'] as $error) {
        echo "  ERROR: {$error}\n";
    }
}

if (!empty($result['warnings'])) {
    foreach ($result['warnings'] as $warning) {
        echo "  WARNING: {$warning}\n";
    }
}

exit($result['valid'] ? 0 : 1);

Backup Strategy

Retention Policy

# Keep backups for different durations
BACKUP_BASE="/var/backups/magento"

# Hourly: Keep 24 hours
find "${BACKUP_BASE}/hourly" -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +1 -delete

# Daily: Keep 30 days
find "${BACKUP_BASE}/daily" -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +30 -delete

# Weekly: Keep 12 weeks
find "${BACKUP_BASE}/weekly" -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +84 -delete

# Monthly: Keep 12 months
find "${BACKUP_BASE}/monthly" -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +365 -delete

# Pre-deployment: Keep forever
# (manually clean when deployment is obsolete)

Backup Size Optimization

# Exclude cache and session tables
hm mysqldump \
    --ignore-table=magento.cache \
    --ignore-table=magento.cache_tag \
    --ignore-table=magento.session \
    --ignore-table=magento.customer_visitor \
    --ignore-table=magento.report_event \
    | gzip -9 > optimized_backup.sql.gz

# Structure only (for version control)
hm mysqldump --no-data > schema.sql

# Data only for specific tables
hm mysqldump --no-create-info magento sales_order > orders_data.sql

Restore Procedures

Full Database Restore

#!/bin/bash
# Script: restore_full.sh

set -e

BACKUP_FILE="${1}"

if [ -z "${BACKUP_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <backup_file.sql.gz>"
    exit 1
fi

if [ ! -f "${BACKUP_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Backup file not found: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
    exit 1
fi

echo "WARNING: This will replace the entire database!"
echo "Backup file: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
echo "Press Ctrl+C to cancel, or wait 10 seconds to proceed..."
sleep 10

echo "Restoring database..."
gunzip < "${BACKUP_FILE}" | hm mysql -i

echo "Database restored successfully"
echo "Running post-restore tasks..."

# Post-restore cleanup
hm bash php bin/magento setup:upgrade
hm bash php bin/magento cache:flush
hm bash php bin/magento indexer:reindex

echo "Restore completed successfully"

Selective Table Restore

#!/bin/bash
# Script: restore_tables.sh

BACKUP_FILE="${1}"
shift
TABLES=("$@")

if [ ${#TABLES[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <backup_file.sql.gz> table1 table2 ..."
    exit 1
fi

echo "Extracting tables: ${TABLES[*]}"

# Extract and restore specific tables
gunzip < "${BACKUP_FILE}" | \
    sed -n "/CREATE TABLE \`${TABLES[0]}\`/,/UNLOCK TABLES/p" | \
    hm mysql -i

echo "Tables restored: ${TABLES[*]}"

Best Practices

1. Always backup before destructive operations
2. Verify backup integrity immediately after creation
3. Compress large backups to save disk space
4. Use timestamped filenames for easy identification
5. Store backups outside Docker volumes (persistent storage)
6. Test restore procedures regularly (quarterly)
7. Document restore commands with each backup
8. Implement retention policies to manage disk usage
9. Monitor backup failures (alert on errors)
10. Exclude transient data (cache, sessions) from production backups

Common Pitfalls

❌ Don't

• Don't backup to Docker volumes (data loss on rebuild)
• Don't skip verification after backup
• Don't store backups only locally (hardware failure)
• Don't backup without compression (disk space)
• Don't forget to test restore procedures
• Don't mix structure and data backups

✅ Do

• Store backups on persistent host filesystem
• Verify every backup immediately
• Upload critical backups to remote storage
• Use compression for large databases
• Test restoration quarterly
• Separate structure (schema.sql) from data

Automation Examples

Pre-Commit Hook

# File: .git/hooks/pre-commit
#!/bin/bash

# Backup before commits that touch migrations
if git diff --cached --name-only | grep -q "Setup/.*\.php\|db_schema\.xml"; then
    echo "Detected database migration changes, creating backup..."
    ./scripts/pre_migration_backup.sh
fi

Deployment Integration

# File: .gitlab-ci.yml
before_script:
  - ./scripts/pre_deploy_snapshot.sh "${CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA}"

deploy:
  script:
    - bin/magento setup:upgrade
    - bin/magento cache:flush
  after_script:
    - echo "Backup available at: deployments/${CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA}/restore.sh"

Quality Bar

• Backup created successfully without errors
• Backup file size > 1MB (non-empty)
• Valid SQL dump header present
• Compression applied for large databases
• Verification script confirms integrity
• Restore command documented
• Backup metadata saved (timestamp, size, operation)
• Retention policy configured
• Post-restore procedures documented