Customize backups

The following primary customizations are available through values fed to the domino-data-importer Helm chart:

Backup schedule
Importer command-line arguments (The importer is the program that performs the backup. Typically, you do not have to customize this component.)

Customize backup schedule

Use the Helm chart value backups.schedule to change the interval at which backups are performed. This is fed to a Kubernetes CronJob object. The default value is @daily, and any valid Kubernetes CronJob schedule string works, for example: 0 */4 * * *. The string mimics standard cron syntax.

Customize importer command-line arguments

Use the backupJobScript Helm chart value to customize the command that creates the backup bundles. The default command line arguments are:

importer backup --upload --archive --delete --alert-on-fail

The available options for the importer are:

--strategy [standard|large]  Strategy for backing up large-storage services
                              (blobs, etc.)  standard: Backs up databases and
                              git large: Backs up everything (blobs, etc.),
                              pulling them locally from nfs/s3. Not
                              appropriate for production use.  [default:
                              standard]
--archive                    Archive backups into single `.tar.gz` archive
--archive-delay INTEGER      Delay in seconds before creating archive,
                              helpful with slow shared storage updates
                              [default: 5]
--delete                     Delete backup after creation
--upload                     Upload (or copy) backup archives into s3/shared
                              storage directory (implies `--archive`)
--alert-on-fail              Trigger a Domino notification on failure
                              targeting System Admins.
-i, --include TEXT           Include migrations by name (comma-delimited,
                              excludes still apply)
-x, --exclude TEXT           Exclude migrations by name (comma-delimited,
                              will exclude items in --include)
-d, --dry                    Dry run
-h, --help                   Show this message and exit.

You can remove --delete for testing or debugging purposes. The backups are typically removed from local storage after upload via this argument. Removing it leaves the backup’s working directory intact, allowing you to troubleshoot the state of it prior to upload. You can also remove --alert-on-fail for testing or debugging purposes to prevent sending any further alerts to the Domino Admin dashboard.

Last modified on July 16, 2026

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Customize backups