How to take proper backup

[ironfeast]

Hi there,

I am using Bitcoin Core with RPC and have connected few accounts to it with a web wallet. Now I want to take regular backup everyday, but what should i back up from data directory, only the wallet.dat file or the whole data directory.

I want all the balances. transactions and pending transactions to be preserved safly. Please advise what kind of backup I should make.

Warm Regards

[ABCbits]

All balances, transactions and pending transactions are "stored" on all bitcoin nodes so you don't need to worry about that.

So all you need to backup is all of wallet.dat that you have and make sure your server is secure (such as strict firewall rules and add password to your RPC) and you place the backup on safe place.
You might want to backup whole blockchain and UTXO DB (blocks and chainstate folder) just in case when your storage drive is broken, so you can sync faster (and thus have less downtime).

[mocacinno]

All balances, transactions and pending transactions are "stored" on all bitcoin nodes so you don't need to worry about that.

So all you need to backup is all of wallet.dat that you have and make sure your server is secure (such as strict firewall rules and add password to your RPC) and you place the backup on safe place.
You might want to backup whole blockchain and UTXO DB (blocks and chainstate folder) just in case when your storage drive is broken, so you can sync faster (and thus have less downtime).

Agreed,

I only wanted to add that the default setting of recent versions of bitcoin core is to generate HD wallets. If you have a HD wallet, you only need to take a backup once (unless you encrypt your wallet, in this case you have to take a new backup after encryption).

If you used an old wallet.dat, or if you explicitly started core with the flag telling it not to create a HD wallet (either from the cli or in the bitcoin.conf by using or setting usehd=0) you NEED to create a backup every time your wallet created x new addresses. The x is determined by the keypool size (default: 100)

[bob123]

I want all the balances. transactions and pending transactions to be preserved safly. Please advise what kind of backup I should make.

All you need to backup to be able to access your coins again, are your private keys.

The private keys (and additional information) are stored inside the wallet.dat. That's all you need to backup.


But a proper backup isn't only determined by what to backup, but also by how.

Make sure to never store your backup on a PC connected to the internet (less risk of it getting compromised).
Don't store your backup on the same machine running your wallet (risk of getting destroyed through ransomware or lightning strike, HD failure, etc..)
Keep multiple copies of your backup (especially if you only store them digitally) spread across different devices NOT attached to the internet.