Backup and Restore

Charon can create a full snapshot of a game data file and restore it later. Backups capture the complete state of the database — all documents, schemas, project settings, and metadata — in a single portable file.

Creating a Backup 

# Local file
charon DATA BACKUP --dataBase gamedata.json --output backup.msgpack

# Remote project
charon DATA BACKUP \
    --dataBase "https://charon.live/view/data/MyGame/develop/" \
    --output backup.msgpack \
    --credentials "$CHARON_API_KEY"

The output is a file containing the complete game data in JSON format.

What is included 

All document collections (user data, schema definitions, project settings).
ToolsVersion, RevisionHash, and ChangeNumber file-level fields.

What is not included 

User accounts, API keys, and access control settings (server edition — managed separately).
Binary resource files (images, audio) attached to documents via Asset Path properties.

Restoring from a Backup 

# Local file
charon DATA RESTORE --dataBase gamedata.json --input backup.msgpack

# Remote project
charon DATA RESTORE \
    --dataBase "https://charon.live/view/data/MyGame/develop/" \
    --input backup.msgpack \
    --credentials "$CHARON_API_KEY"

Warning

DATA RESTORE replaces all content in the target database. The operation is not incremental — the entire existing state is overwritten. Confirm you are targeting the correct database before running.

Backup vs Export 

Choose the right tool for the job:

	`DATA BACKUP`	`DATA EXPORT`
Purpose	Full snapshot for disaster recovery	Filtered slice for runtime or tooling
Format	JSON / MEssagePack	JSON / BSON / MessagePack / XLSX
Includes schemas	Always	Optional (`--schemas Schema`)
Strips unused data	No	Yes — `--mode publication` strips unused docs and languages
Restorable	Yes, via `DATA RESTORE`	Partially — via `DATA IMPORT`

Use Backup when you need a full, restorable point-in-time snapshot. Use Export when preparing data for the game runtime or for external tools.

Scheduled Automated Backups 

Linux / macOS (cron)

# Daily at 02:00
0 2 * * * charon DATA BACKUP \
    --dataBase /var/game/gamedata.json \
    --output /backups/gamedata_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).msgpack

GitHub Actions

- name: Backup game data
  run: |
    charon DATA BACKUP \
      --dataBase "${{ secrets.CHARON_DB_URL }}" \
      --output backups/gamedata_${{ github.run_id }}.msgpack \
      --credentials "${{ secrets.CHARON_API_KEY }}"

- name: Upload artifact
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: gamedata-backup
    path: backups/

Pre-Publish Safety Snapshot 

Take a backup immediately before publishing so that a known-good restore point exists:

# 1. Snapshot
charon DATA BACKUP --dataBase gamedata.json --output pre_publish_backup.msgpack

# 2. Validate
charon DATA VALIDATE --dataBase gamedata.json \
    --validationOptions checkRequirements checkReferences --output err

# 3. Publish
charon DATA EXPORT --dataBase gamedata.json \
    --mode publication --output StreamingAssets/gamedata.json --outputFormat json