Table of Contents
How to take a snapshot
We recommend creating a snapshot before doing something dramatic, like a large import or deleting a lot of people. If you snapshot the database, we will have a fighting chance of restoring the info you might have deleted. Your nation's administrators can also download the snapshot to move your data out of NationBuilder.
An administrator can create and download a snapshot of your PostgreSQL 9 database from Settings > Database > Snapshots.
Use the "Comment" text box to leave a note about the snapshot.
Click Start database snapshot to begin your snapshot.
📌 The time it takes to complete the snapshot will depend on the size of your database. Larger nations will take more time to back up completely. Your data will not be fully backed up until the snapshot is complete. Therefore, avoid making changes to your nation after starting your snapshot as the changes will not be captured.
Once you begin your snapshot, "Requester" lists the user taking the snapshot, "File" either indicates where you are in the queue or lists the file size of a completed snapshot, "Comment" includes the note you make about the snapshot, "Requested" gives a timestamp of when you begin your snapshot, and "Finished" gives a timestamp of when your snapshot is completed.
If you want to delete a snapshot, click arrow to the far right side of the specific file and select delete.
What is backed up
All supporter, prospect, and non-supporter information (including notes)
All custom lists and tags
All activity stream information, including comments, tweets, Facebook post likes, and flags
All pages and page-types created
All event RSVPs and shifts
All paths and path related activity, including steps, actions, status changes, journeys and history
All page/user follows and follow-up settings
All donations, invoices, tracking codes, and merchant accounts
All data imports, legacy imports, and redirect pages
All text, voice, and email messages including broadcasters
Restoring your nation
You do not have the ability to restore your database - please contact [email protected].
To restore your snapshot on your own postgres database, you can use these commands. It assumes you have a UTF-8 encoded database called "nbuild" with a user of "nbuild" already set up, and that your nation slug is "abeforprez":
psql -d nbuild -U nbuild -h 127.0.0.1 --password -c "CREATE SCHEMA nbuild_abeforprez; CREATE SCHEMA shared_extensions; CREATE EXTENSION hstore WITH schema shared_extensions; CREATE EXTENSION dblink WITH schema shared_extensions; CREATE EXTENSION citext WITH schema shared_extensions; CREATE EXTENSION pg_trgm WITH schema shared_extensions;"
pg_restore -d nbuild --password --format=c -U nbuild -h 127.0.0.1 --schema="nbuild_abeforprez" --verbose --clean --no-acl --no-owner nbuild_abeforprez-4f231bcdc2e48c27ef000003-20120127.dump
Replace that last filename with the filename of the snapshot that you downloaded.
👉🏼 Next steps
Learn more about how to open a snapshot on a Mac.