`pbm` commands¶

pbm CLI is the command line utility to control the backup system. This page describes pbm commands available in Percona Backup for MongoDB.

For how to get started with Percona Backup for MongoDB, see Initial setup.

pbm backup¶

Creates a backup snapshot and saves it in the remote backup storage.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm backup [<flags>]

For more information about using pbm backup, see Starting a backup

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-t`, `--type`	The type of backup. Supported values: physical, logical (default), incremental, external. When not specified, Percona Backup for MongoDB makes a logical backup.
`--base`	For incremental backups only. Set the backup as the base and start tracking the incremental backup history to calculate and save the difference in data blocks for subsequent incremental backups.
`--compression`	Create a backup with compression. Supported compression methods: `gzip`, `snappy`, `lz4`, `s2`, `pgzip`, `zstd`. Default: `s2` The `none` value means no compression is done during backup.
`--compression-level`	Configure the compression level from 0 to 10. The default value depends on the compression method used.
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output format as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`--wait`	Wait for the backup to finish. The flag blocks the shell session.
`-l`, `--list-files`	For external backups only. Shows the list of files per node to copy.
`--ns="database.collection"`	Makes a logical backup of the specified namespace - the database and collection(s). To back up all collections in the database, specify the value in the `--ns="database.*"` format. In version 2.0.0, only a single namespace is supported for the backup.

JSON output

{
  "name": "<backup_name>",
  "storage": "<my-backup-dir>"
}

pbm backup-finish¶

Closes the backupCursor and finishes the external backup. Must be run after running pbm backup -t external. To learn more, refer to API for snapshot-based physical backups.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm backup-finish [backup-name]

pbm cancel-backup¶

Cancels a running backup. The backup is marked as canceled in the backup list.

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output format as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`

JSON output

{
  "msg": "Backup cancellation has started"
}

pbm cleanup¶

Deletes outdated backup snapshots and point-in-time recovery oplog slices.

The command has the following syntax:

pbm cleanup [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--older-than=TIMESTAMP`	Deletes backups older than date / time specified in the format: - `%Y-%M-%DT%H:%M:%S` (e.g. 2020-04-20T13:13:20), - `%Y-%M-%D` (e.g. 2020-04-20), - `XXd` (e.g. 30d). Only days are supported
`-w`, `--wait`	Wait for the cleanup to finish. The flag blocks the shell session
`-y`, `--yes`	Cleans up the data storage without asking for a user’s confirmation
`--dry-run`	Checks for the old data to be deleted without deleting it. Allows to verify what data to delete

pbm config¶

Sets, changes or lists Percona Backup for MongoDB configuration.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm config [<flags>] [<key>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--force-resync`	Resync backup list with the current storage
`--list`	List current settings
`--file=FILE`	Upload the config information from a YAML file
`--set=SET`	Set a new config option value. Specify the option in the `<key.name=value>` format.
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output format as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: text, json
`-w`, `--wait`	Wait for resync of the backup list with the storage to finish. You can only use this flag together with the `--force-resync` flag.

PBM configuration output

{
  "pitr": {
    "enabled": false,
    "oplogSpanMin": 0
  },
  "storage": {
    "type": "filesystem",
    "s3": {
      "region": "",
      "endpointUrl": "",
      "bucket": ""
    },
    "azure": {},
    "filesystem": {
      "path": "<my-backup-dir>"
    }
  },
  "restore": {
    "batchSize": 500,
    "numInsertionWorkers": 10
  },
  "backup": {}
}

Setting a config value

[
  {
    "key": "pitr.enabled",
    "value": "true"
  }
]

pbm delete-backup¶

Deletes the specified backup snapshot or all backup snapshots that are older than the specified time with the option to filter by specific type. The command deletes backups that are not running regardless of the remote backup storage being used.

The following is the command syntax:

$ pbm delete-backup [<flags>] [<name>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--older-than=TIMESTAMP`	Deletes backups older than date / time specified in the format: - `%Y-%M-%DT%H:%M:%S` (e.g. 2023-04-20T13:13:20) or - `%Y-%M-%D` (e.g. 2023-04-20)
`--type=TYPE`	Deletes backups of the specified type. Must be used together with the `-older-than` flag. Available starting with version 2.4.0
`--force`	Forcibly deletes backups without asking for user’s confirmation. Deprecated. Use the `--yes` flag instead.
`-y`, `--yes`	Deletes backups without asking for user’s confirmation
`--dry-run`	Prints the list of backup snapshots to be deleted without deleting them. You can use the flag to check what exactly will be deleted. Available starting with version 2.4.0.

pbm delete-pitr¶

Deletes oplog slices produced for Point-in-Time Recovery.

The command has the following syntax:

pbm delete-pitr [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-a`, `--all`	Deletes all oplog slices. Deprecated. Use the `--older-than flag instead`
`--older-than=TIMESTAMP`	Deletes oplog slices older than date / time specified in the format: - `%Y-%M-%DT%H:%M:%S` (e.g. 2020-04-20T13:13:20) or - `%Y-%M-%D` (e.g. 2020-04-20) When you specify a timestamp, Percona Backup for MongoDB rounds it down to align with the completion time of the closest backup snapshot and deletes oplog slices that precede this time. Thus, extra slices remain. This is done to ensure oplog continuity. To illustrate, the PITR time range is `2021-08-11T11:16:21 - 2021-08-12T08:55:25` and backup snapshots are: `2021-08-12T08:49:46Z 13.49MB [restore_to_time: 2021-08-12T08:50:06]` `2021-08-11T11:36:17Z 7.37MB [restore_to_time: 2021-08-11T11:36:38]` Say you specify the timestamp `2021-08-11T19:16:21`. The closest backup is `2021-08-11T11:36:17Z 7.37KB [restore_to_time: 2021-08-11T11:36:38]`. PBM rounds down the timestamp to `2021-08-11T11:36:38` and deletes all slices that precede this time. As a result, your PITR time range is `2021-08-11T11:36:38 - 2021-08-12T09:00:25`. NOTE: Percona Backup for MongoDB doesn’t delete the oplog slices that follow the most recent backup. This is done to ensure point in time recovery from that backup snapshot. For example, if the snapshot is `2021-07-20T07:05:23Z [restore_to_time: 2021-07-21T07:05:44]` and you specify the timestamp `2021-07-20T07:05:45`, Percona Backup for MongoDB deletes only slices that were made before `2021-07-20T07:05:23Z`.
`--force`	Forcibly deletes oplog slices without asking a user’s confirmation. Deprecated. Use the `-y`/`--yes` flag instead.
`-o`, `--out=json`	Shows the output as either the plain text (default) or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`.
`--yes`	Deletes backups without asking for user’s confirmation
`--dry-run`	Prints the list of oplog slices to be deleted without deleting them. You can use the flag to check what exactly will be deleted. Available starting with version 2.4.0.
`-w`, `--wait`	Wait for the deletion operation to complete.

pbm describe-backup¶

Provides the detailed information about a backup:

backup name
type
status
namespaces - what was backed up during a selective backup
size
error message for failed backup
last write timestamp
last write time - human-readable indication of the last write
last transition time - the timestamp when a backup changed its status
cluster information: the replica set name, the backup status on this replica set, whether it is used as a config server replica set, last write timestamp
replica set info: name, backup status, last write timestamp and last transition time, mongod security options, if encryption is configured.
for snapshot-based backups, provides the list of files being copied
for logical and selective backups, provides the list of collections included in the backup. Available with version 2.3.0.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm describe-backup [<backup-name>] [<flags>]

Flag	Description
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the status as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`-l`, `--list-files`	Shows the list of files being copied for snapshot-based backups
`--with-collections`	Shows the collections included in the backup. For logical and selective backups only. Available with version 2.3.0.

JSON output

{
  "name": "<backup_name>",
  "opid": "<string>",
  "type": "logical",
  "last_write_ts": Timestamp,
  "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
  "last_write_time": "2022-09-30T14:02:49Z",
  "last_transition_time": "2022-09-30T14:02:54Z",
  "namespaces": [
    "flight.booking"
  ],
  "mongodb_version": "<version>",
  "pbm_version": "<version>",
  "status": "done",
  "size": 470805945,
  "size_h": "449.0 MiB",
  "replsets": [
    {
      "name": "<name>",
      "status": "done",
      "last_write_ts": Timestamp,
      "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
      "last_write_time": "2022-09-30T14:02:49Z",
      "last_transition_time": "2022-09-30T14:02:53Z"
    }
  ]
}

pbm describe-restore¶

Shows the detailed information about the restore.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm describe-restore [<restore-timestamp>] [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-c`, `--config=CONFIG`	Only for physical restores. Points Percona Backup for MongoDB to a configuration file so it can read the restore status from the remote storage. For example, `pbm describe-restore -c /etc/pbm/conf.yaml <restore-name>`.
`-o`, `--out=TEXT`	Shows the output as either the plain text (default) or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`.

Selective restore status

{
 "name": "<restore_name>",
 "opid": "string",
 "backup": "<backup_name>",
 "type": "logical",
 "status": "done",
 "ts_to_restore": Timestamp,
 "time_to_restore": "Time",
 "namespaces": [
    "<database.*>"
 ]
 "replsets": [
   {
     "name": "rs1",
     "status": "done",
     "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
     "last_transition_time": "Time"
   },
   {
    "name": "rs0",
     "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
     "last_transition_time": "Time"
   },
   {
     "name": "cfg",
     "status": "done",
     "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
     "last_transition_time": "Time"
   }
 ],
}

Physical restore status

{
 "name": "<restore_name>",
 "opid": "string",
 "backup": "<backup_name>",
 "type": "physical",
 "status": "done",
 "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
 "last_transition_time": "Time",
 "replsets": [
   {
     "name": "rs1",
     "status": "done",
     "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
     "last_transition_time": "Timestamp",
     "nodes": [
       {
         "name": "IP:port",
         "status": "done",
         "last_transition_ts": Timestamp,
         "last_transition_time": "Timestamp"
       }
     ]
   }
 ],
}

pbm help¶

Returns the help information about pbm commands.

pbm list¶

Provides the list of backups. In versions 1.3.4 and earlier, the command lists all backups and their states. Backup states are the following:

In progress - A backup is running
Canceled - A backup was canceled
Error - A backup was finished with an error
No status means a backup is complete

As of version 1.4.0, only successfully completed backups are listed. To view currently information about a running or a failed backup, run pbm status.

When Point-in-Time Recovery is enabled, the pbm list also provides the list of valid time ranges for recovery and point-in-time recovery status.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm list [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--restore`	Shows last N restores. Starting with version 2.0, the output shows restore names instead of backup names, as multiple restores can be done from a single backup.
`--size=0`	Shows last N backups. It also provides the information whether the restore is a selective one.
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output format as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`--unbacked`	Shows Point-in-Time Recovery oplog slices that were saved without the base backup snapshot. Available starting with version 1.8.0.
`--replset-remapping`	Maps the replica set names for the data restore / oplog replay. The value format is `to_name_1=from_name_1,to_name_2=from_name_2`

List of backups

{
  "snapshots": [
    {
      "name": "<backup_name>",
      "status": "done",
      "completeTS": Timestamp,
      "pbmVersion": "1.6.0"
    }
  ],
  "pitr": {
    "on": false,
    "ranges": [
      {
        "range": {
          "start": Timestamp,
          "end": Timestamp
        }
      },
      {
        "range": {
          "start": Timestamp,
          "end": Timestamp
        },
      {
        "range": {
          "start": Timestamp,
          "end": Timestamp (no base snapshot)
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Restore history

Full restore

 {
    "start": Timestamp,
    "status": "done",
    "type": "snapshot",
    "snapshot": "<backup_name>",
    "name": "<restore_name>"
  }

Selective restore

  {
    "start": Timestamp,
    "status": "done",
    "type": "snapshot",
    "snapshot": "<backup_name>",
    "name": "<restore_name>",
    "namespaces": [
      "<database.collection>"
    ]
  }

Point-in-time restore

  {
    "start": Timestamp,
    "status": "done",
    "type": "pitr",
    "snapshot": "<backup_name>",
    "point-in-time": Timestamp,
    "name": "<restore_name>"
  }

Selective point-in-time restore

{
    "start": Timestamp,
    "status": "done",
    "type": "pitr",
    "snapshot": "<backup_name>",
    "point-in-time": Timestamp,
    "name": "<restore_name>",
    "namespaces": [
      "<database.collection>"
    ]
  }
]

pbm logs¶

Shows log information from all pbm-agent processes.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm logs [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-t`, `--tail=20`	Shows last N entries. By default, the output shows last 20 entries. `0` means to show all log messages.
`-e`, `--event=EVENT`	Shows logs filtered by a specified event. Supported events: - backup - restore - resyncBcpList - pitr - pitrestore - delete
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows log information as text (default) or in JSON format. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`-n`, `--node=NODE`	Shows logs for a specified node or a replica set. Specify the node in the format `replset[/host:port]`
`-f`, `--follow`	Follow log output. Allow to view the logs dynamically
`-s`, `--severity=I`	Shows logs filtered by severity level. Supported levels are (from low to high): D - Debug, I - Info (default), W - Warning, E - Error, F - Fatal. The output includes both the specified severity level and all higher ones
`--timezone`=TIMEZONE	Timezone of the log output. Supported values: `UTC` (default), `local` or the timezone in the IANA timezone format (e.g. `America/New_York`)
`-i`, `--opid=OPID`	Show logs for an operation in progress. The operation is identified by the OpID
`-x`, `--extra`	Show extra data in the text format

Find the usage examples in Viewing backup logs.

Logs output

[
  {
    "t": "",
    "s": 3,
    "rs": "rs0",
    "node": "example.mongodb.com:27017",
    "e": "",
    "eobj": "",
    "ep": {
      "T": 0,
      "I": 0
    },
    "msg": "listening for the commands"
  },
  ....
]

pbm oplog-replay¶

Allows to replay the oplog on top of any backup: logical, physical, storage level snapshot (like EBS-snapshot) and restore it to a specific point in time.

To learn more about the usage, refer to Point-in-Time Recovery oplog replay.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm oplog-replay [<flags>]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`start=timestamp`	The start time for the oplog replay.
`end=timestamp`	The end time for the oplog replay.
`--replset-remapping`	Maps the replica set names for the oplog replay. The value format is `to_name_1=from_name_1,to_name_2=from_name_2`.

pbm restore¶

Restores database from a specified backup / to a specified point in time. Depending on the backup type, makes either logical, physical, or a snapshot-based restore.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm restore [<flags>] [<backup_name>]

For more information about using pbm restore, see Restoring a backup.

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--external`	Indicates the backup as the one made outside PBM (for example, snapshot-based)
`--time=TIME`	Restores the database to the specified point in time. Available for logical restores and if Point-in-time recovery is enabled.
`-w`	Wait for the restore to finish. The flag blocks the shell session.
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output format as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`--base-snapshot`	Restores the database from a specified backup to the specified point in time. Without this flag, the most recent backup preceding the timestamp is used for point in recovery. Available in Percona Backup for MongoDB starting from version 1.6.0. In version 2.3.0, this flag is optional for point-in-time recovery from physical backups. In version 2.2.0, this flag is mandatory for making a point-in-time recovery from physical backups. Without it, PBM looks for a logical backup to restore from.
`--replset-remapping`	Maps the replica set names for the data restore / oplog replay. The value format is `to_name_1=from_name_1,to_name_2=from_name_2`
`--ns="database.collection"`	Restores the specified namespace(s) - databases and collections. To restore all collections in the database, specify the values as `--ns="database."`. The `--ns` flag accepts several namespaces as the comma-separated list. For example, ns=”db1.,db2.coll2,db3.coll1,db3.collX”
`-c`, `--config`	The path to the `mongod.conf` file

Restore output

{
   "name": "<restore_name>"
   "snapshot": "<backup_name>"
}

Point-in-time restore

{
  "name":"<restore_name>",
  "point-in-time":"<backup_name>"
}

pbm restore-finish¶

Instructs PBM to complete the snapshot-based physical restore. Must be run after running pbm restore --external. To learn more, refer to API for snapshot-based physical backups.

The command has the following syntax:

$ pbm restore-finish <restore_name> [flags]

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-c`	The path to the PBM configuration file. Required to complete the restore.

pbm status¶

Shows the status of Percona Backup for MongoDB. The output provides the following information:

pbm-agent processes version and state
Currently running backups or restores
Backups stored in the remote storage
Point-in-Time Recovery status
Valid time ranges for point-in-time recovery and the data size

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the status as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`
`-s`, `--sections=SECTIONS`	Shows the status for the specified section. You can pass several flags to view the status for multiple sections. Supported values: cluster, pitr, running, backups.
`--replset-remapping`	Maps the replica set names for the data restore / oplog replay. The value format is `to_name_1=from_name_1,to_name_2=from_name_2`

Status information

{
  "backups": {
    "type": "FS",
    "path": "<my-backup-dir>",
    "snapshot": [
       ...
      {
        "name": "<backup_name>",
        "size": 3143396168,
        "status": "done",
        "completeTS": Timestamp,
        "pbmVersion": "1.6.0"
      },
    ],
    "pitrChunks": {
      "pitrChunks": [
         ...
        {
          "range": {
            "start": Timestamp,
            "end": Timestamp
          }
        },
        {
          "range": {
            "start": Timestamp,
            "end": Timestamp (no base snapshot) !!! no backup found
          }
        },
      ],
      "size": 677901884
    }
  },
  "cluster": [
    {
      "rs": "<replSet_name>",
      "nodes": [
        {
          "host": "<replSet_name>/example.mongodb:27017",
          "agent": "<version>",
          "ok": true
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "pitr": {
    "conf": true,
    "run": false,
    "error": "Timestamp.000+0000 E [<replSet_name>/example.mongodb:27017] [pitr] <error_message>"
  },
  "running": {
      "type": "backup",
      "name": "<backup_name>",
      "startTS": Timestamp,
      "status": "oplog backup",
      "opID": "6113b631ea9ba5b815fee7c6"
    }
}

pbm version¶

Shows the version of Percona Backup for MongoDB.

The command accepts the following flags:

Flag	Description
`--short`	Shows only version info
`--commit`	Shows only git commit info
`-o`, `--out=text`	Shows the output as either plain text or a JSON object. Supported values: `text`, `json`

Version information

{
  "Version": "1.6.0",
  "Platform": "linux/amd64",
  "GitCommit": "f9b9948bb8201ba1a6400f6558496934a0685efd",
  "GitBranch": "main",
  "BuildTime": "2021-07-28_15:24_UTC",
  "GoVersion": "go1.16.6"
}

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Created: April 15, 2024

pbm commands¶

pbm backup¶

pbm backup-finish¶

pbm cancel-backup¶

pbm cleanup¶

pbm config¶

pbm delete-backup¶

pbm delete-pitr¶

pbm describe-backup¶

pbm describe-restore¶

pbm help¶

pbm list¶

pbm logs¶

pbm oplog-replay¶

pbm restore¶

pbm restore-finish¶

pbm status¶

pbm version¶

Get expert help¶

`pbm` commands¶