Add a server

The FlashBackup agent is a small program that runs on your server. It makes the backups and sends them to your Google Drive. You install it once with a single command.

Requirements

Linux: Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS/RHEL, Rocky, AlmaLinux or Amazon Linux (64-bit Intel/AMD or ARM).
sudo (administrator) access.
Outbound internet access over HTTPS (port 443). You don't need to open any ports. The agent only connects out to FlashBackup and Google.

Install

In the dashboard, go to Servers, type a name (for example Main website server) and click Get install command.

Copy the command shown. It looks like this:

curl -fsSL https://flashbackup.com.ng/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- 1a2b3c…

Connect to your server (SSH, or the "Connect" button in your cloud provider's console), paste the command and press Enter.
When it finishes, the installer prints your encryption key. Copy it into a password manager now.
Go back to the dashboard. Within a minute, the page shows Connected! and opens your server.

Each install command works once and expires after 24 hours. For another server, create a new command.

What the installer does

Downloads the agent to /opt/flashbackup and creates the command flashbackup-agent.
Registers the server with your account and saves its settings in /etc/flashbackup/agent.json (readable only by root).
Creates a random encryption key for this server.
Starts the agent as a background service (flashbackup-agent) that starts again automatically after a reboot.

The agent runs backups at low priority, so your websites stay fast. Backups stream directly to Google Drive, so they don't fill up your disk. The exception is SQLite, which needs a temporary safe copy.

Check that it's running

sudo systemctl status flashbackup-agent     # should say "active (running)"
sudo journalctl -u flashbackup-agent -f     # live log (Ctrl+C to exit)
sudo flashbackup-agent status               # connection and installed tools

Update the agent

When a new version is available, the server page in the dashboard shows a notice. To update, run:

curl -fsSL https://flashbackup.com.ng/install.sh | sudo bash

Your settings and encryption key are kept.

Remove the agent

In the dashboard, open the server and click Remove server.

On the server, run:

curl -fsSL https://flashbackup.com.ng/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --uninstall

The uninstaller keeps /etc/flashbackup/agent.json because it contains your encryption key. Delete it only when you are sure you won't need to open old backups.

Moving to a new server

Install the agent on the new server with a new command. To restore old backups on the new server, copy the encryption key from the old one (sudo flashbackup-agent show-key), or use --key when decrypting. See Restore a backup.