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Back up MongoDB

Create a consistent dump of a MongoDB database with mongodump, verify it, and prepare it for upload to Lighthouse.

Prerequisites​

  • MongoDB Database Tools (mongodump, mongorestore) — these are a separate download from the server:
  • A connection string / URI with read access.

1. Sign in & create an API key​

You need a Lighthouse account, a workspace, and an API key before you can upload a backup.

  1. Sign in to the portal and claim your free 5 GB workspace — see Web Portal & Free Workspace.

  2. Create an API key scoped backup:write, backup:read, snapshots:read — see API Keys.

  3. Export the credentials so the upload step can read them:

    export LH_API_KEY="lh_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    export LH_WORKSPACE_ID="your-workspace-uuid"

Already have a key? Continue to the dump step below.

2. Create the dump​

Create the local dump directory once:

mkdir -p ./db-dumps

The cleanest output for backup is a single gzipped archive file (--archive + --gzip), which fits the "one stable file" pattern perfectly:

mongodump \
  --uri="mongodb://user:pass@127.0.0.1:27017/app_db" \
  --archive=./db-dumps/app.archive \
  --gzip
FlagWhy
--uriFull connection string (host, port, credentials, database).
--archive=<file>Write a single archive file instead of a directory tree — ideal for upload.
--gzipCompress the archive.

Dump the whole server​

Omit the database from the URI to dump every database:

mongodump --uri="mongodb://user:pass@127.0.0.1:27017" \
  --archive=./db-dumps/all.archive --gzip

Directory output (alternative)​

If you prefer the classic BSON directory layout:

mongodump --uri="mongodb://user:pass@127.0.0.1:27017/app_db" \
  --out=./db-dumps/mongo --gzip
Point-in-time consistency

For replica sets, add --oplog to capture an oplog slice so the restore is consistent to a single point in time.

3. Verify the dump​

ls -lh ./db-dumps/app.archive
# Inspect archive contents without restoring:
mongorestore --archive=./db-dumps/app.archive --gzip --dryRun --verbose 2>&1 | head

4. Restore (recovery test)​

Restore into a different database name to avoid touching the original:

mongorestore \
  --uri="mongodb://user:pass@127.0.0.1:27017" \
  --archive=./db-dumps/app.archive \
  --gzip \
  --nsFrom='app_db.*' --nsTo='app_db_restore.*'

5. Upload to Lighthouse​

Your dump is now in ./db-dumps. After creating an authenticated SDK client with the API key from step 1, upload the directory as a snapshot:

snapshot, err := client.Backup([]string{"./db-dumps"}, &sdktypes.BackupOptions{})
if err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
log.Printf("snapshotId=%s", snapshot.SnapshotID)

To run this on a schedule, use Automated backup with scheduling.

The dump command for this database, ready to drop into the scheduled job's make_dump():

mongodump --uri="$MONGO_URI" --archive=./db-dumps/app.archive --gzip