jpbgomes/laravel-database-backup

A simple Laravel package to backup MySQL databases and send them via email.

v1.0.0 2025-09-21 20:38 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.0
• illuminate/support: >=9.0
• symfony/process: ^6.0|^7.0

MIT

README

A simple Laravel package to back up your MySQL or MariaDB database and send the backup file via email.

⚠️ Only MySQL/MariaDB are supported currently, since the package relies on mysqldump.

🚀 Installation

Require the package via Composer (from Packagist):

composer require jpbgomes/laravel-database-backup

Laravel will auto-discover the service provider. If not, add it manually to config/app.php:

'providers' => [
    Jpbgomes\DatabaseBackup\BackupServiceProvider::class,
]

Publish the config file:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Jpbgomes\\DatabaseBackup\\BackupServiceProvider" --tag=config

⚙️ Configuration

Edit config/backup.php after publishing:

return [
    'path' => storage_path('app/backups'),
    'recipient' => env('BACKUP_EMAIL', '[e-mail]'),
    'keep_local' => false,
];

Set your backup recipient in .env:

BACKUP_EMAIL=[e-mail]

Mailer Configuration

You must configure Laravel’s mailer to send the backups. A free recommended option is Gmail, but you must enable 2-Factor Authentication and create an App Password.

Example .env:

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_SCHEME=null
MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_PORT=465
MAIL_USERNAME=[e-mail]
MAIL_PASSWORD='your_app_password'
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="[e-mail]"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

📝 Usage

Run the backup command:

php artisan backup:database

This will:

1. Create a .sql dump of your MySQL/MariaDB database using mysqldump.
2. Email it to the configured recipient.
3. Optionally remove the local file after sending, depending on backup.keep_local.

⏰ Automating Daily Backups

You can automate backups using crontab. Example to run every day at 4 AM:

Generic command:

0 4 * * * sudo php /path_to/your_project/artisan backup:database >> /dev/null 2>&1

Concrete example:

0 4 * * * sudo php /var/www/laravel-database-backup/artisan backup:database >> /dev/null 2>&1

Adjust the path to your Laravel project’s artisan file.

🛡 Security Notes & Caveats

• mysqldump must be installed and accessible to the PHP process user.
• DB credentials may appear briefly in process listings.
• For large databases, consider compressing the .sql dump before emailing.
• Automatic cache clearing is not included; handle environment-specific operations separately.

🤝 Contributing & Improvements

Suggestions for improvements:

• Support for other database types (Postgres, SQLite).
• Compression options and retention policies.
• Remote storage integrations (S3, Google Cloud, etc.).
• Unit and integration tests for the backup command.
• CI/CD pipeline for testing and releases.

📜 License

MIT — free to use, modify, and share.