simple-mysql-backups

Configurable Bash script for creating backups of a mysql database.

I often have a need for a cron script to simply dump a database on a nightly basis. This very simple bash script fills that need when executed as a cron job.

Installation

1. Copy the file to a secure place in your account
2. Give the file execute permissions chmod 755 simple-mysql-backups.sh (750 might be more appropriate depending on your server configuration)
3. Add the sample command below to your crontab

Database credentials

The script executes mysqldump without passing any credentials. Thus, you need to make sure mysqldump is in your path and it can connect to the database you are trying to back up. A common approach for handling credentials is to add your credetials to a .my.cnf and put that file in the root of your account. A sample .my.cnf file is included in this repo.

Usage

./simple-backup-creator.sh -k shoe_shop -p backups -d shoe_shop_database

Will produce a directory of up to 30 files with the following date-adjusted names:

shoe_shop_2020-06-14_030000.tar.gz
shoe_shop_2020-06-15_030000.tar.gz
shoe_shop_2020-06-16_030000.tar.gz
shoe_shop_2020-06-17_030000.tar.gz

to see built-in help

./simple-backup-creator.sh -h