---
title: "Pull GitLab Remote Backup Bash Script"
date: 2023-03-27T16:51:52.000Z
author: Z.SHINCHVEN
tags: [bash, GitLab]
canonical: https://atlassc.net/2023/03/27/pull-gitlab-remote-backup-bash-script
---
GitLab's backup files are generated locally on the server by default, though there are a lot of remote backup provider, I still want to pull backup files to local machine and not rely on any third party service.

If you are using GitLab on a remote server and want to backup your data, you can use the following bash script to download the latest backup file from the server to your local machine.

## Pull GitLab Backup Files from Server


```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -v

# Declare remote server variables
user="<User name>"
server="<Server IP>"
remote_dir="<Remote directory>"
backups_dir="$remote_dir/data/backups/"
port=<Port>

# Local directory to download file to
local_dir="<Local directory to download file to>"

# Get the latest file from server
latest_file=$(ssh -i "</path/to/custom/key>" -p $port $user@$server  "ls -t $backups_dir | head -1")
echo $latest_file

mkdir -p $local_dir

# Download latest file to local machine
scp -P $port $user@$server:"$backups_dir/$latest_file" $local_dir

echo "Latest file $latest_file downloaded to $local_dir"

# Backup config files, which contains secrets that are needed for restoring the backup
# zip $config_dir on remote server and download it to local using ssh and scp
ssh -i "</path/to/custom/key>" -p $port $user@$server "cd $remote_dir && zip -r config.zip ./config"
scp -i "</path/to/custom/key>" -P $port $user@$server:"$remote_dir/config.zip" $local_dir
```

## Automate This Script in Docker Container

I decide to deploy this script as a service in a Docker container, so it can be used as automated backup solution.

Let's just write a simple nodejs app that runs cron job and can be dockerized as a service.

```js
const cron = require('node-cron');
const { exec } = require('child_process');

// Run the script every day at 1:00 AM
cron.schedule('0 1 * * *', () => {
  exec('bash ./pull-gitlab-backup.sh', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
    if (err) {
      console.error(err);
      return;
    }
    console.log(stdout);
  });
});
```

Dockerize it and run it as a service.

```Dockerfile
FROM node:14.15.4-alpine3.12

WORKDIR /usr/src/app

COPY . /usr/src/app

RUN npm install

CMD [ "node", "index.js" ]
```

## Credits

This article was written with the help of ChatGPT and Bing Chat.