---
title: Provisioning
url: https://docs.vultr.com/products/storage/backups/provisioning
description: The process of setting up and configuring a new server or service to make it ready for use.
publish_date: 2024-09-23T20:21:16.107279Z
last_updated: 2026-05-26T20:11:49.554000Z
---

# How to Manage Automatic Backups for Vultr Cloud Compute

Automatic Backups for Vultr instances are scheduled point-in-time data recovery solutions that allow you to backup your Cloud Compute instances' data with minimal intervention. These backups are suitable for mission-critical applications because they aid in data protection, disaster recovery, compliance, and auditing. Vultr supports daily, every other day, weekly, and monthly backup schedules.

Follow this guide to manage Automatic Backups for Vultr instances using the Vultr Console, API, CLI, or Terraform.

=== "Vultr Console"

    1. Navigate to **Products** and select **Compute**.
    1. Select your target Cloud Compute instance from the list.

        
    1. Navigate to **Backups** and click **Enable Backups**.

        
    1. Click **Enable Backups** to confirm.

        
    1. Navigate to **Backup Schedule**. Then, select daily, weekly, or every other day backup schedule. Set the day of the week and time and click **Update**.

        
    1. From this point forward, any new backup appears under the backup history. Click **Convert** to convert the backup to a manual snapshot or **Restore** to restore the backup to the cloud compute instance.

        
    1. Navigate to **Products**, select **Orchestration**, then click **Backups**. Click the camera icon to convert the backup to a snapshot.
    
=== "Vultr API"

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**List Instances** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/instances/operation/list-instances) to get the Cloud Compute instance ID.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/instances" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

    1. Send a `PATCH` request to the [**Update Instance** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/instances/operation/update-instance) to turn on automatic backups.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/instances/instance_id" \
            -X PATCH \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            --data '{
                "backups" : "enabled",
                "backups_schedule" : {
                    "type" : "daily",
                    "hour" : "0"
                }  
            }'
        ```

    1. Send a `PATCH` request to the [**Update Instance** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/instances/operation/update-instance) to turn off automatic backups.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/instances/instance_id" \
            -X PATCH \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            --data '{
                "backups" : "disabled"    
            }'
        ```

        Visit the [**Update Instance** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/instances/operation/update-instance) to view additional attributes to add to your request.

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**List Backups** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/backup/operation/list-backups) and note the backup ID.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/backups" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**Get Backup** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/backup/operation/get-backup) and specify the backup ID to view the backup details.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/backups/backup_id" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

=== "Vultr CLI"

    1. List all cloud compute instances and note the instance ID.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli instance list
        ```

    1. Update the backup schedule by specifying the `instance_id`.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli instance backup create instance_id --type weekly --dow 0 --hour 0
        ```

    1. List all backups by specifying a cloud compute instance ID.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli instance backup get instace_id
        ```

    1. List all Cloud Compute instance backups.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli backups list
        ```

    1. Get details of a specific backup by specifying the backup ID.

        ```console
        $ vultr-cli backups get backup_id
        ```

        Run `vultr-cli instance backup create --help` to view all options.

=== "Terraform"

    1. Open your Terraform configuration for the existing instance.

    1. Enable automatic backups and optionally set a backup schedule.

        ```terraform
        resource "vultr_instance" "server" {
            # ...existing fields (region, plan, os_id or snapshot_id, label)

            backups = true

            # Optional: schedule (availability depends on plan)
            backups_schedule {
                type = "daily"    # daily | weekly | alternating
                hour = 0          # 0-23
                # dow = 0         # for weekly: 0=Sunday ... 6=Saturday
            }
        }
        ```

    1. Apply the configuration and observe the following output:

        ```
        Apply complete! Resources: 0 added, 1 changed, 0 destroyed.
        ```