# Add a prompt (even an aggressive prompt) to backup before updating

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-prompt-even-an-aggressive-prompt-to-backup-before-updating/315617>\
**Category:** Feature\
**Tags:** docker-manager\
**Created:** [July 9, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-prompt-even-an-aggressive-prompt-to-backup-before-updating/315617 "2024-07-09T17:08:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![jericson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jericson/32/116215_2.png) [@jericson](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jericson)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-prompt-even-an-aggressive-prompt-to-backup-before-updating/315617/1 "2024-07-09T17:08:07Z")

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Continuing the discussion from [Fix Discourse installation on Digital Ocean that broke during Docker update](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fix-discourse-installation-on-digital-ocean-that-broke-during-docker-update/315474/8):

> [@Fix Discourse installation on Digital Ocean that broke during Docker update](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fix-discourse-installation-on-digital-ocean-that-broke-during-docker-update/315474/8):
>
> **Make a backup before doing anything!** I wonder if there should be a warning in the interface strongly recommending a backup before you can do an update.

While helping someone restore a production system that had some issue doing an update and needed to be restored from backup, I realized the [Docker Manager plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-docker-manager/12655) doesn’t prompt admins to do a backup. One place that might make sense is in a warning on `/admin/update`:

 ![Screenshot 2024-07-09 at 9.31.17 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/9/b/f/9bfed14c57e050e29e0d677b9b5c4198cbbfd97b.png)

The link would go to `/admin/backups`.

But I’d go further and put dialog box to slow people down a step before doing something potentially dangerous:

 ![Screenshot 2024-07-09 at 9.38.32 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/e/9/1/e9172b50ac257befc881be61125fd153f32fe1a5.png)

I could see not doing either of these things if the backup is recent. From my perspective, “recent” means a few minutes. But my threshold could be very different than yours. `¯\_(ツ)_/¯`

In any case, I think it would be useful to include a timestamp for the most recent backup on the page where the “Start Updating” button sits:

 ![Screenshot 2024-07-09 at 9.47.30 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/7/e/8/7e89188ba12dcecf5cc81718351f1d006a9be6e7.png)

That way there’s a chance the admin will have the information they need to decide whether they are ready to update.

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-a-prompt-even-an-aggressive-prompt-to-backup-before-updating/315617)._