Backup and restore

A Pier backup is one archive file holding the whole installation: items, stock, every movement, orders, purchases, receipts, counts, imports with their original files, approvals and the command journal.

Make a backup

Stop Pier first so nothing changes while the archive is written, then export:

rer dev --stop
rer export --output exports/pier.rer

Keep the archive somewhere safe and private; it holds your business records. It does not contain passwords, sign-in sessions, tokens, the local outbox or private settings.

Note which Pier release made the archive: the commit you are running (git rev-parse HEAD). An archive restores with the same Pier release that made it, so restore into a checkout of that commit.

Restore it

Restore only into an empty installation. On the same checkout, reset it first:

rer reset --yes
rer import --input exports/pier.rer --yes
rer setup
rer dev

rer reset --yes deletes this computer's Pier records and settings, so make sure your archive is complete before running it.

To restore on another computer, clone Pier, check out the release that made the archive, then:

rer install
rer import --input exports/pier.rer --yes
rer setup
rer dev

After restoring, sign in again as the owner with a fresh session (see Getting started). People, roles and approvals come back as history; nobody is signed in by the restore.

Check before you carry on

Before taking new orders, look over balances, reservations, the remaining quantities on open orders and purchase orders, links in Activity and the retained import files. A database restore cannot bring back goods that were physically dispatched: Pier's records describe the moment of the backup.

A spreadsheet copy

Export records, costs and provenance in Activity, and Export complete business records on Imports, download your records for reading elsewhere. They are not a backup: only rer export restores a complete installation.