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Meilisearch offers two backup methods: snapshots and dumps. They serve different purposes and have different trade-offs.

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Snapshots vs dumps

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When to use snapshots

Use snapshots as a safeguard. If something goes wrong, you can recover and relaunch your database quickly. You can schedule periodic snapshot creation at launch. Learn how to create and import snapshots.

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When to use dumps

Use dumps when migrating data between Meilisearch versions. Dumps are not bound to a specific version, so they are ideal for upgrades.
You can import dumps from older Meilisearch versions into newer ones. Importing a dump from a newer version into an older one can lead to unexpected behavior.
Learn how to create and import dumps.

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Backup recommendations

  • Schedule snapshots for regular backups. A daily snapshot (--schedule-snapshot=86400) is a good starting point.
  • Create a dump before upgrading Meilisearch to a new version.
  • Test your restore process periodically to make sure backups work.
  • Store backups off-server using S3 snapshot storage or by copying dump files to external storage.