How to make a backup
This article is about How to make a backup of your Gramps genealogy Family Tree database using original "Command Line Interface" process. It was written for when using older versions of Gramps. But the process is still valuable for scripting a batch of backups of different trees. Or for creating backups of Trees in multiple formats... such as with and without media.
Making backups for the active tree has become easier and more automated over the years.
This wiki started with Gramps 3.0 and through Gramps 3.2, the documented interface for archiving allowed either exporting a Tree or using the Archive feature.
In Gramps 3.3, a Make Backup..." item was added to the Family Trees menu.
Automation backup options, including default Backup path, backup intervals in minutes and "backup upon exit" was added in the 5.0 Gramps version. Interval choices in hours were added in the 5.2 Gramps version.
Instructions for the current 5.2.x version of Gramps may be found in the "Backing up a Family Tree" section of the manual.
Contents
Gramps version 3.3 and later
The Gramps XML Backup window will appear.
You can enter the path where the backup should be stored manually or using the path selector button.
You can enter a file name manually or use the automatically generated file name.
You can either choose to Include or Exclude the Media:.
Note This is just a regular XML export, except that no data is filtered out. You can import these as usual with any exported file. |
Gramps version 3.1.x to 3.2.x
With media files
Assuming your database is called "My Family Tree", and you want the backup to include external media objects such as images and documents, the recommended method to create a backup is to use the gramps-pkg format:
gramps -O "My Family Tree" -e backup.gpkg
or
gramps --open="My Family Tree" --export=backup.gpkg
This is equivalent to selecting the following menu options: Family Trees -> Export -> "GRAMPS package (portable XML)" -> "Entire Database"
In case of problems, you can add the format of the output to the above command. For a gramps package:
--format=gpkg
or
--format=gramps-pkg
Without media files
If you don't need to include the media objects in your backup, then you can make use of the Gramps XML format:
gramps -O "My Family Tree" -e backup.gramps
or
gramps --open="My Family Tree" --export=backup.gramps
This is equivalent to selecting the following menu options Family Trees -> Export -> "Gramps XML database" -> "Entire Database"
The Generate XML page has further information on what can be done with the .gramps files.
Gramps verson 3.0.x
With media files
Assuming your database is called "My Family Tree", and you want the backup to include external media objects such as images and documents, the recommended method to create a backup is to use the gramps-pkg format:
gramps --open="My Family Tree" --output=backup.gpkg --format=gramps-pkg
This is equivalent to selecting the following menu options Family Trees -> Export -> "GRAMPS package (portable XML)" -> "Entire Database"
Without media files
If you don't need to include the media objects in your backup, then you can make use of the Gramps XML format:
gramps --open="My Family Tree" --output=backup.gramps --format=gramps-xml
This is equivalent to selecting the following menu options Family Trees -> Export -> "Gramps XML database" -> "Entire Database"
The Generate XML page has further information on what can be done with the .gramps files.
Gramps version 2.2.x
Without media files
The gramps-xml data format will produce a backup of your data excluding any media objects, such as external images and documents. The following example shows how to create a gramps-xml file from a database called "MyFamilyTree.grdb
":
gramps -O MyFamilyTree.grdb -o backup.gramps -f gramps-xml
GEDCOM export
GEDCOM export Please note that GEDCOM is not recommended for backups since it is a lossy format. |
There are times you may need to export your data to GEDCOM. This command will attempt to export your database as a GEDCOM file:
gramps --open="My Family Tree" --output=export.ged --format=gedcom
See also
- Backup omissions - what is not included during a backup
- Discourse support forum discussion: Manually including omitted files using a 'placeholder' person as an anchor.
- How to restore a backup
- Recover corrupted family tree
- Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_Manage_Family_Trees#Backing_up_a_Family_Tree
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