Backup Static Astro Site

This guide explains how to create a clean backup of a static Astro site, excluding unnecessary files like node_modules and .git.

Tested With

Astro 6.0.6
Node 22

Last updated: 19.mar.2026

What Gets Backed Up

Include	Exclude
`src/` - source code	`node_modules/` - reinstallable
`public/` - static assets	`dist/` - build output
`package.json` - dependencies manifest	`.git/` - version control
Config files (`astro.config.mjs`, `tsconfig.json`)	`.env` files - secrets
`Dockerfile`, `compose.yaml`	`*.tar.gz` - old backups

Prerequisites

Access to the server hosting the Astro project
Project directory (e.g., /opt/docker/<project>/)

Step 1 - Navigate to Project Parent Directory

cd /opt/docker

Step 2 - Create the Backup

Replace <project> with your project folder name and <date> with current date:

tar -czvf <project>-<date>.tar.gz \
  --exclude='node_modules' \
  --exclude='dist' \
  --exclude='.git' \
  --exclude='*.tar.gz' \
  --exclude='test-results' \
  --exclude='playwright-report' \
  --exclude='.env' \
  --exclude='.env.*' \
  --exclude='.astro' \
  -C /opt/docker <project>

Example

tar -czvf bucko-18-mar-2026.tar.gz \
  --exclude='node_modules' \
  --exclude='dist' \
  --exclude='.git' \
  --exclude='*.tar.gz' \
  --exclude='test-results' \
  --exclude='playwright-report' \
  --exclude='.env' \
  --exclude='.env.*' \
  --exclude='.astro' \
  -C /opt/docker bucko

Step 3 - Move Backup to Home Directory

mv <project>-<date>.tar.gz /home/<user>/

Example

mv bucko-18-mar-2026.tar.gz /home/<username>/

Step 4 - Verify Backup

Check the backup size and contents:

ls -lh /home/<user>/<project>-<date>.tar.gz
tar -tzvf /home/<user>/<project>-<date>.tar.gz | head -20

Step 5 - Download Backup (Optional)

To download the backup to your local machine:

scp <user>@<server_ip>:/home/<user>/<project>-<date>.tar.gz .

Restore from Backup

To restore the project from a backup:

# Extract to temporary directory first
mkdir -p /tmp/restore
tar -xzvf /home/<user>/<project>-<date>.tar.gz -C /tmp/restore

# Copy to destination
cp -r /tmp/restore/<project> /opt/docker/

# Install dependencies
cd /opt/docker/<project>
npm install

# Build and verify
npm run build

Verify Restore

After restoring, verify the site is working:

Check project files exist:
Terminal window
```
ls -la /opt/docker/<project>/
```
Install dependencies:
Terminal window
```
cd /opt/docker/<project>
npm install
```
Build the site:
Terminal window
```
npm run build
```
Verify dist/ was created:
Terminal window
```
ls -la dist/
```

Backup Retention

Keep last 2 backups locally in /home/<username>/
Delete backups older than 30 days
Test restore quarterly

Download Example Backup

A sample backup file is available:

bucko-18-mar-2026.tar.gz - 129MB

Next Steps

Store backups in multiple private locations (local + cloud)
Consider automated backup scripts with cron