How to Take a Backup and restore of a Docker Container?

Introduction:

Backing up Docker containers is critical for ensuring business continuity, especially in production environments. But unlike traditional applications, Docker containers are ephemeral by design. In this guide.

Step 1:

First, list all running containers.

docker ps -a

Step 2:

Use the docker export command to save the container’s entire filesystem to a .tar file.

docker export image_name > image_backup.tar

Step 3:

Restore the Backup with “docker import” command

docker import image_backup.tar image_restored:latest

Verify:

docker images

Step 4:

Run a Container from the Restored Image.

docker run -it –name container_restored image_restored:latest /bin/bash

Conclusion:

Backing up a Docker container using the docker export and “docker import” method is a straightforward way to capture the entire filesystem of a container at a point in time. It’s especially useful for archiving or migrating container states across systems.