Backup and restore

3DPrintForge stores all data locally — print history, filament inventory, settings, users, and more. Regular backups ensure you do not lose anything in the event of a server failure or when migrating.

What is included in a backup?

Data	Included	Notes
Print history	Yes	All logs and statistics
Filament inventory	Yes	Spools, weights, brands
Settings	Yes	All system settings
Printer configuration	Yes	IP addresses, access codes
Users and roles	Yes	Passwords stored hashed
Notification configuration	Yes	Telegram tokens, etc.
Camera images	Optional	Can become large files
Timelapse videos	Optional	Excluded by default
data/model-cache/	Cached 3MF models	Optional
data/history-models/	3MF linked to history	Recommended
data/toolpath-cache/	Cached gcode toolpath	Optional

Automatic nightly backup

By default, an automatic backup runs every night at 03:00.

View and configure automatic backup:

1. Go to System → Backup
2. Under Automatic backup you can see:
   • Last successful backup and timestamp
   • Next scheduled backup
   • Number of backups stored (default: 7 days)

Configure:

• Time — change from the default 03:00 to a time that suits you
• Retention period — number of days backups are kept (7, 14, 30 days)
• Storage location — local folder (default) or external path
• Compression — enabled by default (reduces size by 60–80%)

Backup files are stored here by default

/path/to/3dprintforge/data/backups/
backup-2025-03-22-030000.tar.gz
backup-2025-03-21-030000.tar.gz
...

Manual backup

Take a backup at any time:

1. Go to System → Backup
2. Click Take backup now
3. Wait until the status shows Completed
4. Download the backup file by clicking Download

Alternatively via terminal:

cd /path/to/3dprintforge
node scripts/backup.js

The backup file is saved in data/backups/ with a timestamp in the filename.

Restoring from backup

Restoration overwrites existing data

All existing data is replaced by the contents of the backup file. Make sure you are restoring the correct file.

Via the dashboard

1. Go to System → Backup
2. Click Restore
3. Select a backup file from the list, or upload a backup file from disk
4. Click Restore now
5. The dashboard restarts automatically after restoration

Via terminal

cd /path/to/3dprintforge
node scripts/restore.js data/backups/backup-2025-03-22-030000.tar.gz

After restoration, restart the dashboard:

sudo systemctl restart 3dprintforge
# or
npm start

Exporting and importing settings

Want to save only the settings (not all history)?

Exporting:

1. Go to System → Settings → Export
2. Select what to include:
   • Printer configuration
   • Notification configuration
   • User accounts
   • Filament brands and profiles
3. Click Export — you download a .json file

Importing:

1. Go to System → Settings → Import
2. Upload the .json file
3. Select which parts to import
4. Click Import

Useful for new installations

Exported settings are handy to bring to a new server. Import them after a fresh installation to avoid having to configure everything from scratch.

Migrating to a new server

How to move 3DPrintForge with all data to a new machine:

Step 1 — Take a backup on the old server

1. Go to System → Backup → Take backup now
2. Download the backup file
3. Copy the file to the new server (USB, scp, network share)

Step 2 — Install on the new server

git clone https://github.com/skynett81/3dprintforge.git
cd 3dprintforge
./install.sh

Follow the installation guide. You don't need to configure anything — just get the dashboard up and running.

Step 3 — Restore the backup

Once the dashboard is running on the new server:

1. Go to System → Backup → Restore
2. Upload the backup file from the old server
3. Click Restore now

Everything is now in place: history, filament inventory, settings, and users.

Step 4 — Verify the connection

1. Go to Settings → Printers
2. Test the connection to each printer
3. Check that IP addresses are still correct (the new server may have a different IP)

Tips for good backup hygiene

• Test restoration — take a backup and restore it on a test machine at least once. Untested backups are not real backups.
• Store externally — regularly copy the backup file to an external drive or cloud storage (Nextcloud, Google Drive, etc.)
• Set up an alert — enable an alert for "Backup failed" under Settings → Notifications → Events so you know immediately if something goes wrong