Backup and Restore

Note: Super Admin access is required to back up or restore a site.

Backup and Restore can be used to back up a site configuration, restore a site to a previous state, configure a new site, or to manage the migration of changes between sandbox and production environments. To fully duplicate a site, you must complete the following steps:

Step 1: Back up and restore the site configuration See details

Step 2: Export and import blocks configuration See details

Step 3: Manually recreate configuration data not included in the previous steps See details

Best Practices

When backing up and restoring a site, you can perform the backup and restore between the same two sites multiple times, but:

• Changes should be limited to mission updates. Changing point category names or performing other testing activities may cause the restore to fail.

• Only make changes in the source or the destination site. Making changes in both sites may cause the restore to fail.

When backing up and restoring a site that includes an award account, the award account in both sites must use a new point category with the exact same name. To back up and restore a site with an award account:

1. In sandbox, create the award account point category and link it to the award account.

2. In production, create the same award account point category and link it to the award account.

3. Run the backup and restore. If the point categories have the exact same name, the restore should succeed.

Step 1: Back up and Restore the Site Configuration

Backup and restore can be run in Nitro Studio or programmatically. Each site can have up to 9 non-system backups and 1 system backup.

Backup only saves site configuration data and does NOT include leaderboard or recognition IDs, OAuth Clients, quizzes, blocks, themes, or any user data.

The backup process downloads the following site data in XML format:

Actions	Leaderboards	Point Categories
Bill Codes	Levels	Preferences
Group Settings	Locales	Recognitions
Labels	Missions	Web Component Embed Settings

 

Restoring a site's configuration replaces the current configuration with the backup data. This means that:

• If a configuration element (for example, a mission) is in both the source and destination, the source values overwrite the destination values.
• If an element is only in the source, then it is added to the destination.
• If an element is only in the destination, then it is removed from the destination.
• If a mission in the destination has a reward limited by points and the points are depleted, the spent limit will reset to 0 and out of stock will be set to "false".
• If a mission in the destination has a reward limited by date, the date (number of days) will be restored as-is even if the date is in the past.

Create a Backup

1. Log in to the site that you want to back up.
2. Open Nitro Studio > Tools > Backup & Restore.
3. Click Backup.
4. In the Name of Backup field, enter a name for the backup, and then click Generate Backup on Server.
5. If you are planning to restore the backup immediately, click Copy site configuration to Clipboard?. Otherwise, click Cancel.

Note: Large backups will not copy to the clipboard. You will need to generate the backup on the server or run the backup programmatically.

Restore a Backup

Note: Databases are indexed multiple times a day. After a restore, some information may not be available in searches until the next time the database is re-indexed.

1. Log in to the Nitro Studio site where you want to restore the backup.
2. For programs with an award account:
   1. Verify the award account exists in the site where you want to restore the backup. If it does not exist, create it.
   2. Verify the point category linked to the award account has the same name as the award account point category in the backup site.
3. Click Tools > Backup & Restore.
4. Click Restore.
5. Do one of the following:
   • If you copied a site configuration to the clipboard, click XML Text, paste the configuration data, and then click Restore.
   • If you do not have site configuration in the clipboard, click Backups on Server, select a backup in the list, and then click Restore.
6. Click Yes to confirm.

Note: When restoring larger backup files, the progress can appear to time out although the process is running properly. If you're concerned the restore has timed out, log in with a private/incognito browser to check if the expected changes are visible.

Step 2: Export and Import Blocks

Export and import uses a copy/paste process to move block information from one site to another. This means that:

• If a block is only in the source, then it is added to the destination.
• If a block is only in the destination, it stays in the destination.
• If a block is in both the source and the destination, the source overrides the destination.
• A maximum of 25 blocks are allowed in the export. If you have more than 25 blocks, you will need to delete data from the source site before running the export.
• The import runs as a batch operation. It allows partial imports so if one block fails, the process will continue. Failures are listed after the import. Any blocks not listed were imported successfully.

Create an Export

Safari browsers may not copy the export to the clipboard. Use Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge for the best results.

1. Log in to the site where you want to run the export.
2. Open Nitro Studio > Tools > Backup & Restore.
3. Click Export.

Run an Import

1. Log in to the site where you want to run the import.
2. Open Nitro Studio > Tools > Backup & Restore.
3. Click Import.
4. Paste the data from the export into the text field.
5. Click Import.
6. Click Yes to confirm.

Step 3: Manually Recreate Configuration Data

Some configuration elements must be manually recreated in the destination site after completing your backup/restore and export/import.

• Quizzes - recreate quizzes and update any missions that reference those quizzes (recreating quizzes will create new IDs)
• Themes - add your active theme to the destination site for styling blocks
• Leaders and Recognitions web components - update the web components to reference new IDs (a backup from sandbox to production will create new IDs)
• Studio Users - add admin users to the new environment
• OAuth Clients
• Webhooks

See also

Site settings

Sandbox and production environments