**ctl_backups**
***************

Perform administrative operations directly on Cyrus backups.


Synopsis
========

   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] compact [MODE] *backup*...
   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] list [LIST OPTIONS] [[MODE] *backup*...]
   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] lock [LOCK OPTIONS] [MODE] *backup*
   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] reindex [MODE] *backup*...
   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] stat [MODE] *backup*...
   **ctl_backups** [OPTIONS] verify [MODE] *backup*...


Description
===========

**ctl_backups** is a tool for performing administrative operations on
Cyrus backups.

**ctl_backups** reads its configuration options out of the
imapd.conf(5) file unless specified otherwise by **-C**.

In all invocations, *backup* is interpreted according to the specified
MODE. See Modes below.

**ctl_backups** provides the following sub-commands:

compact

   Reduce storage required by the named backups.  Compact behaviour is
   influenced by the **backup_compact_minsize**,
   **backup_compact_maxsize**, **backup_compact_work_threshold**, and
   **backup_retention_days** configuration settings.  See
   imapd.conf(5) for details.

   This should generally be invoked regularly, such as by adding an
   entry to the EVENTS section of cyrus.conf(5).  See Examples for an
   example.

   If the **backup_keep_previous** configuration setting is enabled,
   compact will preserve the original data and index files (renaming
   them with a timestamp).  This is useful for debugging.

list

   List backups.  See List Options for options specific to the
   **list** sub-command.  Columns are separated by tabs, and are:

   * end time of latest chunk

   * size of backup data file on disk

   * userid to which the backup belongs

   * path to backup data file

   If no mode or backups are specified, lists all known backups (as if
   invoked with the **-A** mode).

lock

   Obtain and hold a lock on the named backup.  Useful for operating
   on Cyrus backup files using non-Cyrus tools (such as UNIX tools or
   custom scripts) in relative safety.  See Lock Options for details.

reindex

   Rebuild the indexes for the named backups, based on the raw backup
   data. This is useful if their index files have been corrupted, or
   if the index format has changed.

   If the **backup_keep_previous** configuration setting is enabled,
   reindex will preserve the original index file (renaming it with a
   timestamp).  This is useful for debugging.

stat

   Display stats for the named backups.  Columns are separated by
   tabs, and are:

   * userid or filename

   * compressed (i.e. on disk) size

   * uncompressed size

   * compactable size

   * compression ratio

   * utilisation ratio

   * start time of latest chunk

   * end time of latest chunk

   The compactable size is an approximation of how much uncompressed
   data would remain after **compact** is performed.  The utilisation
   ratio is this figure expressed as a percentage of the uncompressed
   size.  Note that this approximation is an underestimate.  That is
   to say, a backup that has just been compacted will probably still
   report less than 100% utilisation.

verify

   Verify consistency of the named backups by performing deep checks
   on both the raw backup data and its index.


Options
=======

-C config-file

   Use the specified configuration file *config-file* rather than the
   default imapd.conf(5).

-F, --force

   Force the operation to occur, even if it is determined to be
   unnecessary. This is mostly useful with the **compact** sub-
   command.

-S, --stop-on-error

   Stop-on-error.  With this option, if a sub-command fails for any
   particular backup, **ctl_backups** will immediately exit with an
   error, without processing further backups.

   The default is to log the error, and continue with the next backup.

-V, --no-verify

   Don't verify backup checksums for read-only operations.

   The read-only operations **list** and **stat** will normally
   perform a "quick" verification of the backup file being read, which
   checks the checksums of the most recent chunk.  This can be slow
   for backups whose most recent backup chunk is very large.

   With this option, the verification step will be skipped.

-j, --json

   Produce output in JSON format.  The default is plain text.

-v, --verbose

   Increase the verbosity.  Can be specified multiple times.

-w, --wait-for-locks

   Wait for locks.  With this option, if a backup named on the command
   line is locked, execution will block until the lock becomes
   available.

   The default is to skip backups that are currently locked.


List Options
============

Options that apply only to the **list** sub-command.

-t [hours], --stale[=hours]

   List stale backups only, that is, backups that have received no
   updates in *hours*.  If *hours* is unspecified, it defaults to 24.


Lock Options
============

Options that apply only to the **lock** sub-command.

-c, --create

   Exclusively create the named backup while obtaining the lock.
   Exits immediately with an error if the named backup already exists.

   When the lock is successfully obtained, continue as per the other
   options.

-p, --pause

   Locks the named backup, and then waits for EOF on the standard
   input stream.  Unlocks the backup and exits once EOF is received.
   This is the default mode of operation.

-s, --sqlite3

   Locks the named backup, and with the lock held, opens its index
   file in the *sqlite3(1)* program.  The lock is automatically
   released when sqlite3 exits.

-x command, --execute=command

   Locks the named backup, and with the lock held, executes *command*
   using **/bin/sh** (as per *system(3)*).  The lock is automatically
   released when *command* completes.

   The filenames of the backup data and index are made available to
   *command* in the environment variables
   **$ctl_backups_lock_data_fname** and
   **$ctl_backups_lock_index_fname**, respectively.


Modes
=====

-A, --all

   Run sub-command over all known backups.

   Known backups are recorded in the database specified by the
   **backup_db** and **backup_db_path** configuration options.

-D, --domains

   Backups specified on the command line are interpreted as domains.
   Run sub-command over known backups for users in these domains.

-P, --prefixes

   Backups specified on the command line are interpreted as userid
   prefixes. Run sub-command over known backups for users matching
   these prefixes.

-f, --filenames

   Backups specified on the command line are interpreted as filenames.
   Run sub-command over the matching backup files.  The backup files
   do not need to be known about in the backups database.

-m, --mailboxes

   Backups specified on the command line are interpreted as mailbox
   names. Run sub-command over known backups containing these
   mailboxes.

-u, --userids

   Backups specified on the command line are interpreted as userids.
   Run sub-command over known backups for matching users.

   This is the default if no mode is specified.


Examples
========

Scheduling **ctl_backups compact** to run each morning using the
EVENTS section of cyrus.conf(5):

   EVENTS {
       checkpoint    cmd="ctl_cyrusdb -c" period=30

       **compact       cmd="ctl_backups compact -A" at=0400**
   }


History
=======


Files
=====


See Also
========

imapd.conf(5), *sqlite3(1)*, *system(3)*
