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Can I Restore Individual Files Or Directories From A Vultr Backup?

Updated on 20 November, 2025

Backups are full-disk images that dont support individual file/directory restoration, requiring complete instance recovery.

No, Vultr Backups are automatic full-disk images of your instance, created on a scheduled basis. A backup includes the entire operating system, configuration, and all data on the disk, which makes it suitable for complete system recovery but not for extracting individual files or directories directly.

To recover specific files, you can use the following approach:

  1. Restore the backup to the original instance, or provision a new temporary instance by selecting the backup as the image with equal or greater disk size.
  2. Connect to the restored instance via OpenSSH, PuTTY, or the Vultr Console.
  3. Copy the required files or directories to your target system using SCP, rsync, or SFTP.
  4. If a temporary instance was used, destroy it after the transfer to avoid additional charges.

This process enables selective file recovery while ensuring the integrity of the full backup. For more granular protection, pair automatic backups with file-level or application-level backup tools.