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Backups Quickstart

Last verified 13 Jul 2026

Backups are automatically-created disk images of Droplets. Enabling backups for Droplets enables system-level backups at intervals of every 4 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, day, or week, which provides a way to revert to an older state or create new Droplets.

Enable Backups

You can enable backups during Droplet creation or for existing Droplets.

To enable backups when you create a Droplet:

1. From the Droplet create page, in the Add backups section, check Enable backups.
2. When you’ve selected all of your options, click the Create button at the bottom of the page.

To enable backups on an existing Droplet:

1. From the control panel, click the name of Droplet.
2. In the left menu, click Backups.
3. In the Backups section, click Enable backups.

Restore Droplets from Backups

1. From the control panel, click the Droplet you want to restore.
2. In the left menu, click Backups.
3. Locate the backup you want to restore from, then open its More menu to the right and choose Restore Droplet.

Convert Backups to Snapshots

We retain weekly backups for four weeks, daily backups for seven days, and usage-based backups for a custom amount of time. We retain snapshots until you delete them. To convert a backup into a snapshot:

1. From the control panel, click the Droplet with the backups you want to convert.
2. In the left menu, click Backups.
3. Locate the backup you want to convert, then open its More menu and click Convert to snapshot.

Disable Backups

1. From the control panel, click the name of the Droplet for which you’d like to disable backups.
2. In the left menu, click Backups.
3. Click Disable Backups.

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