---
title: influxd-ctl backup
description: >
  The `influxd-ctl backup` command backs up an InfluxDB Enterprise cluster's
  [metastore](/enterprise_influxdb/v1/concepts/glossary/#metastore) and
  [shard](/enterprise_influxdb/v1/concepts/glossary/#shard) data at that point in
  time and stores the copy in the specified directory.
menu:
  enterprise_influxdb_v1:
    parent: influxd-ctl
weight: 201
related:
  - /enterprise_influxdb/v1/administration/backup-and-restore/
  - /enterprise_influxdb/v1/tools/influxd-ctl/backup/
---

The `influxd-ctl backup` command backs up an InfluxDB Enterprise cluster's
[metastore](/enterprise_influxdb/v1/concepts/glossary/#metastore) and
[shard](/enterprise_influxdb/v1/concepts/glossary/#shard) data at that point in
time and stores the copy in the specified directory.

To back up only the cluster metastore, use the `-strategy only-meta` flag.
Backups are incremental by default, meaning they create a copy of the metastore
and shard data that have changed since the previous incremental backup.
If there are no existing incremental backups, the system automatically performs
a complete backup.

#### Backup strategies

InfluxDB Enterprise supports the following backup strategies:

- **only-meta**: Back up metastore data only, including users, roles, databases,
  continuous queries, and retention policies. This strategy does not back up shards.
- **full**: Back up metastore and all shard data.
- **incremental**: _(Default)_ Back up metastore and shard data that has changed
  since the last incremental backup. If there are no existing incremental backups,
  the system automatically performs a full backup.

## Usage

```sh
influxd-ctl backup [flags] <backup-dir>
```

## Arguments

- **backup-dir**: Directory to store backup files in

## Flags

| Flag        | Description                                                         |
| :---------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `-db`       | Database to backup                                                  |
| `-end`      | End date for backup _(RFC3339 timestamp)_                           |
| `-estimate` | Estimate the size of the requested backup                           |
| `-from`     | Data node TCP address to prefer when backing up                     |
| `-full`     | Perform an full backup _(deprecated in favour of `-strategy full`)_ |
| `-rp`       | Retention policy to backup                                          |
| `-shard`    | Shard ID to backup                                                  |
| `-start`    | Start date for backup _(RFC3339 timestamp)_                         |
| `-strategy` | Backup strategy to use (`only-meta`, `full`, or `incremental`)      |

{{% caption %}}
_Also see [`influxd-ctl` global flags](/enterprise_influxdb/v1/tools/influxd-ctl/#influxd-ctl-global-flags)._
{{% /caption %}}

## Examples

- [Perform an incremental backup](#perform-an-incremental-backup)
- [Perform a full backup](#perform-a-full-backup)
- [Estimate the size of a backup](#estimate-the-size-of-a-backup)
- [Backup data from a specific time range](#backup-data-from-a-specific-time-range)
- [Backup a specific shard](#backup-a-specific-shard)

### Perform an incremental backup

```sh
influxd-ctl backup /path/to/backup-dir
```

### Perform a full backup

```sh
influxd-ctl backup -full /path/to/backup-dir
```

### Estimate the size of a backup

```sh
influxd-ctl backup -estimate
```

### Backup data from a specific time range

```sh
influxd-ctl backup \
  -start 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z \
  -end 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z \
  /path/to/backup-dir
```

### Backup a specific shard

```sh
influxd-ctl backup -shard 00 /path/to/backup-dir
```