Title: Access to Database Backups
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: August 31, 2023
Last modified: February 13, 2026

---

 1. [Databases](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/)
 2. [Database Backups](https://docs.wpvip.com/databases/backups/)
 3. Access to Database Backups

#  Access to Database Backups

A user’s ability to view or access Database Backup files in the VIP Dashboard or
with VIP-CLI are defined by [the Org role and permissions](https://docs.wpvip.com/roles-and-permissions/)
assigned to them by their organization.

 * VIP Dashboard
 * VIP-CLI

**Prerequisites**

 * **To view** the Database Backups panel, a user must have at minimum an [Org member role](https://docs.wpvip.com/manage-user-access/vip-dashboard/org-roles/)
   or an [App read role](https://docs.wpvip.com/app-role/) for that application.
 * **To generate and download** a database backup, a user must have at minimum an
   [Org admin role](https://docs.wpvip.com/manage-user-access/vip-dashboard/org-roles/)
   or an [App write role](https://docs.wpvip.com/app-role/) for that application.

 1. Navigate to the [VIP Dashboard](https://dashboard.wpvip.com/) for an application.
 2. Select an environment from the environment dropdown located at the upper left of
    the VIP Dashboard.
 3. Select “**Database**” from the sidebar navigation at the left of the screen.
 4. Select **“Database Backups”** from the submenu.

The “**Next hourly backup is in** [0-9]**m**” countdown is displayed in the top 
right of the panel and indicates when the next automated backup will occur.

The current size of the environment’s database is displayed in the right hand column.
Below the displayed size is a link to [the **Insights & Metrics** panel](https://docs.wpvip.com/performance/insights-metrics/database-metrics/)
for that database.

![](https://docs.wpvip.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/Database-Backups.png?
w=1024)

Example screenshot of the available Database Backups and additional data displayed
in the Database Backups panel of the VIP Dashboard

**Prerequisites**

 * [VIP-CLI is installed](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/installing-vip-cli/) and
   has been updated to [the most current version](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@automattic/vip/v/latest).
 * **To retrieve a list** of available database backups, a user must have at minimum
   an [Org member role](https://docs.wpvip.com/manage-user-access/vip-dashboard/org-roles/)
   or an [App write role](https://docs.wpvip.com/app-role/) for that application.
 * **To generate and export** a database backup, a user must have at minimum an 
   [Org admin role](https://docs.wpvip.com/manage-user-access/vip-dashboard/org-roles/)
   or an [App write role](https://docs.wpvip.com/app-role/) for that application.

Use [the `vip export sql` command](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/commands/export/sql/)
to download an archived copy of the most recent database backup for an environment
to the user’s current local directory. For example:

    ```lang-shell
    vip @example-app.develop export sql
    ```

Include the `--generate-backup` option with the `vip export sql` command to generate
a fresh database backup for an environment and download a copy of that backup. For
example:

    ```lang-shell
    vip @example-app.develop export sql --generate-backup
    ```

Last updated: February 13, 2026