pranasnet/sqlbak-agent repository overview

Important: This page describes the SqlBak Preview product (Docker image pranasnet/sqlbak-agent). If you need the regular SqlBak, see pranasnet/sqlbak on Docker Hub⁠.

⁠What is SqlBak?

SqlBak⁠ is an application that allows you to create database backups and send them to the cloud storage.

⁠What does this image contain?

This Docker image contains the SqlBak application (SqlBak Agent) and utilities for interacting with databases, such as mysql, mysqldump, psql, pg_dump, etc.

⁠Available tags

• MySQL: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mysql
• PostgreSQL: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:postgresql
• MSSQL: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql

⁠How to use this image?

To start working with SqlBak you need to connect the application to app.sqlbak.com⁠ and set up a connection to the database. You can configure the container in two ways – either by running several commands inside the container, or by passing environment variables to the container.

⁠Setting up with commands in a container

When starting one instance of SqlBak, it can be convenient to configure the connection by executing commands using the SqlBak utility inside the container.

Run SqlBak container (replace the tag with one of: mysql, postgresql, mssql):

docker run -d \
  --name sqlbak_agent \
  -v sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql

Link your application to app.sqlbak.com⁠:

docker exec -i sqlbak_agent sqlbak agent connect --secret-key=[secret_key] --server-name=[name_on_dashboard]

After linking, add a database connection from the SqlBak web UI or by using the sqlbak CLI inside the container. For CLI usage details, see the SqlBak Command Line Interface documentation⁠.

⁠Setting up using environment variables

Setting up a SqlBak container through environment variables is convenient for automation. At startup the container will link to your account on app.sqlbak.com⁠ and create a database connection based on the variables. If a connection with the same internal id already exists, the container will skip creating it on subsequent runs.

⁠Environment variables

The environment variables below map to SqlBak database connection settings. For detailed descriptions of database-specific options, see the Database Connection Settings documentation⁠.

• SECRET_KEY – secret key from the download page⁠ (required for automatic account connection)
• SOURCE_TYPE – database type: mysql | postgresql | mssql (required for automatic database source creation)
• HOST – database host or instance/network address (required for database source creation)
• USER_NAME – database user
• USER_PASSWORD – database user password
• PORT – port for MySQL or PostgreSQL connection
• SERVER_NAME – SqlBak Agent display name in app.sqlbak.com⁠ (optional)
• NAME – database source display name in app.sqlbak.com⁠ (optional)

⁠PostgreSQL-specific optional variables

• POSTGRESQL_BIN_FOLDER – path to the PostgreSQL client tools folder containing psql and pg_dump. Usually detected automatically.
• CONNECTED_DATABASE – database used to establish the PostgreSQL connection. If not specified, SqlBak uses the default value from the source settings.

⁠MySQL-specific optional variables

• MYSQL_BIN_FOLDER – path to the MySQL client tools folder. Usually detected automatically.
• MAX_PACKET_SIZE – maximum allowed packet size for MySQL operations.
• LOGIN_PATH – MySQL Login Path name created with mysql_config_editor. Can be used instead of providing a password directly.
• AUTH_METHOD – MySQL authentication method used by the source connection settings.

⁠MSSQL-specific optional variables

• TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE – set to true to trust the SQL Server certificate without validating it. This is useful for self-signed certificates, but should only be used in trusted environments.
• CONNECTION_ENCRYPT – SQL Server encryption mode: Mandatory, Optional, or Strict.

⁠Common optional variables

• CONNECT_TIMEOUT – time in seconds to wait while opening a database connection.
• COMMAND_TIMEOUT – time in seconds to wait for database commands to complete.

⁠MySQL/PostgreSQL optional variables

• SSH_TUNNEL_SETTINGS – JSON object with SSH tunnel settings for connecting to a database that is not directly accessible from the container.

Database-specific documentation: MySQL connection⁠, PostgreSQL connection⁠, Microsoft SQL Server connection⁠.

Note: The HOST variable should be the hostname or IP address visible from the SqlBak container. When connecting to an external database (e.g., Amazon RDS, Azure), use the public hostname. When connecting to a database in another Docker container, both containers must share the same Docker network — use Docker Compose (which handles networking automatically) or pass --network to docker run.

Run the container and configure it immediately:

docker run -d \
  --name sqlbak_agent \
  -e SECRET_KEY=[secret_key] \
  -e SERVER_NAME=[name_on_dashboard] \
  -e SOURCE_TYPE=[mysql|postgresql|mssql] \
  -e HOST=[host-name] \
  -e PORT=[port] \
  -e USER_NAME=[db_user] \
  -e USER_PASSWORD=[db_password] \
  -v sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:postgresql

⁠Docker Compose examples

⁠MySQL

services:
  mysql:
    image: mysql:latest
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpassword
      MYSQL_DATABASE: mydatabase
      MYSQL_USER: myuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: mypassword
  sqlbak:
    image: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mysql
    environment:
      SECRET_KEY: ${SECRET_KEY}
      SOURCE_TYPE: mysql
      HOST: mysql
      PORT: 3306
      USER_NAME: root
      USER_PASSWORD: rootpassword
    volumes:
      - sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net/
    depends_on:
      - mysql
volumes:
  sqlbak_data:

⁠PostgreSQL

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:latest
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: myuser
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: mypassword
      POSTGRES_DB: mydatabase
  sqlbak:
    image: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:postgresql
    environment:
      SECRET_KEY: ${SECRET_KEY}
      SOURCE_TYPE: postgresql
      HOST: postgres
      PORT: 5432
      USER_NAME: myuser
      USER_PASSWORD: mypassword
    volumes:
      - sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net/
    depends_on:
      - postgres
volumes:
  sqlbak_data:

⁠MSSQL

services:
  mssql:
    image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest
    environment:
      ACCEPT_EULA: "Y"
      SA_PASSWORD: "MyStrongP@ssword"
      MSSQL_PID: "Express"
    volumes:
      - backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net
      - mssql_data:/var/opt/mssql
  sqlbak:
    image: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql
    environment:
      SECRET_KEY: ${SECRET_KEY}
      SOURCE_TYPE: mssql
      HOST: mssql
      USER_NAME: sa
      USER_PASSWORD: "MyStrongP@ssword"
    volumes:
      - backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net
      - sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net/
    depends_on:
      - mssql
volumes:
  backup_folder:
  mssql_data:
  sqlbak_data:

⁠Features of physical backups

Microsoft SQL Server backups require file transfer between the environment where the DBMS is running and the SqlBak container.

Microsoft SQL Server: create a volume for /var/tmp/sqlbak.net. This directory must be shared between the SqlBak container and the environment where SQL Server is located.

If SQL Server is on the host system, run SqlBak with:

docker run -d \
  ...\
  -v /var/tmp/sqlbak.net:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net \
  pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql

If SQL Server is in another container, mount the same named volume for both containers:

docker run -d ... -v sqlbak_backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql
docker run -d ... -v sqlbak_backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

⁠Use cases

Connecting SqlBak to Amazon RDS PostgreSQL

docker run -d \
  --name sqlbak_rds_pg \
  -e SECRET_KEY=[secret key] \
  -e SERVER_NAME=my_rds_postgresql \
  -e SOURCE_TYPE=postgresql \
  -e USER_NAME=postgres \
  -e USER_PASSWORD=my-secret-password \
  -e HOST=myinstance.rds.amazonaws.com \
  -v sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:postgresql

SqlBak and SQL Server in docker-compose with a shared backup folder

services:
  mssql:
    image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest
    environment:
      ACCEPT_EULA: "Y"
      SA_PASSWORD: secretPassword1
    volumes:
      - backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net
  sqlbak:
    image: pranasnet/sqlbak-agent:mssql
    environment:
      SECRET_KEY: [secret key]
      SERVER_NAME: name_on_dashboard
      SOURCE_TYPE: mssql
      USER_NAME: sa
      USER_PASSWORD: secretPassword1
      HOST: mssql
    volumes:
      - backup_folder:/var/tmp/sqlbak.net
      - sqlbak_data:/etc/sqlbak.net/
volumes:
  backup_folder:
  sqlbak_data:

⁠Other notes regarding container use

• Since SqlBak provides regular backups, it is recommended to run the container with --restart unless-stopped.
• Application data (configuration) is stored under /etc/sqlbak.net, so a named volume is recommended for this path to preserve settings across updates.
• You can also manage the container from inside using the sqlbak CLI. To see supported commands run: docker exec [container-id] sqlbak --help.
• For details on supported parameters, see the SqlBak Command Line Interface documentation⁠.
• If the container cannot connect to the database, see the Database connection error troubleshooting guide⁠.