> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://snapr.seshuk.im/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> What a backup source is, which source types snapr supports, the fields they share, and how remote sources are fetched.

A source is what a job backs up. Each job defines a `sources` array, and one job can combine multiple sources — for example an application database plus its upload directory — into a single archive.

```yaml snapr.yaml theme={null}
jobs:
  - name: app
    sources:
      - type: postgresql
        host: db.internal
        port: 5432
        username: backup
        password: env:PG_PASSWORD
        database: app
      - type: local
        path: /var/data/uploads
```

## Shared fields

Every source entry must set `type`. The remaining fields depend on the type, but a few conventions apply across all of them:

| Field         | Applies to                          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `type`        | all                                 | One of `local`, `sqlite`, `postgresql`, `mysql`, `mariadb`, `mongodb`, `redis`, `s3`, `bunny`. Required.                                                                                                                      |
| `extraParams` | CLI-backed and object-store sources | A `key: value` map. For database sources, each key becomes a `--key=value` flag on the dump command; an empty string value produces a bare `--key` flag. For `s3` and `bunny`, it tunes snapr itself (for example `workers`). |
| `excludes`    | `local`, `s3`, `bunny`              | Glob patterns for files to skip.                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `env:` prefix | any secret value                    | `password: env:PG_PASSWORD` reads the value from the environment instead of the config file.                                                                                                                                  |

## Required external tools

Most database sources shell out to the vendor's own dump utility. snapr does not bundle these tools — they must be on `PATH` (or inside the snapr Docker image you build or extend).

| Source       | Required binary                            | Typical package (Debian/Ubuntu)                                 |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `postgresql` | `pg_dump`                                  | `postgresql-client-<version>`                                   |
| `mysql`      | `mysqldump`                                | `mysql-client` or `default-mysql-client`                        |
| `mariadb`    | `mariadb-dump` (falls back to `mysqldump`) | `mariadb-client`                                                |
| `mongodb`    | `mongodump`                                | `mongodb-database-tools` (separate package from MongoDB itself) |
| `redis`      | `redis-cli`                                | `redis-tools`                                                   |
| `sqlite`     | `sqlite3`                                  | `sqlite3`                                                       |
| `local`      | none                                       | —                                                               |
| `s3`         | none (uses the AWS SDK)                    | —                                                               |
| `bunny`      | none (uses the HTTP API)                   | —                                                               |

If [encryption](/configuration/encryption) is enabled, `openssl` must also be on `PATH`.

<Warning>
  Match the major version of `pg_dump` / `mysqldump` to the server version, otherwise the dump may fail or omit data.
  The official Docker image ships matching client tooling — when running outside Docker, install the client package that
  pairs with your server.
</Warning>

## How remote sources are fetched

Database, S3, and bunny.net sources are pulled to the snapr host first, then archived and uploaded to the configured [storages](/configuration/storages/overview). snapr does not stream data directly from the source to the storage backend.

This has practical implications:

* The host needs free disk space at least equal to the uncompressed source size, plus headroom for the resulting archive.
* The first run downloads everything. Object-store sources (`s3`, `bunny`) support a persistent local cache via `syncPath` — later runs only fetch files whose size or modification time changed. Without `syncPath`, every run re-downloads the full tree.
* For very large buckets, factor in egress costs and transfer time.

snapr cleans up the working directory after the job finishes, whether it succeeds or fails. When `syncPath` is set, the cache directory is preserved between runs.

## Source types

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Local files" icon="folder-open" href="/configuration/sources/local">
    Files and directories on the host filesystem.
  </Card>

  <Card title="PostgreSQL" icon="database" href="/configuration/sources/postgresql">
    Logical dumps via `pg_dump`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MySQL" icon="database" href="/configuration/sources/mysql">
    Logical dumps via `mysqldump`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MariaDB" icon="database" href="/configuration/sources/mariadb">
    `mariadb-dump` with a `mysqldump` fallback.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MongoDB" icon="leaf" href="/configuration/sources/mongodb">
    Dumps via `mongodump`, with optional oplog.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Redis" icon="server" href="/configuration/sources/redis">
    Live RDB snapshots or RDB file copies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SQLite" icon="file-code" href="/configuration/sources/sqlite">
    SQL dumps of a single database file.
  </Card>

  <Card title="S3" icon="cloud" href="/configuration/sources/s3">
    Files from any S3-compatible bucket.
  </Card>

  <Card title="bunny.net" icon="cloud-arrow-down" href="/configuration/sources/bunny">
    Files from a bunny.net Storage Zone.
  </Card>
</Columns>