Backup Automation

Drive your backups from your own systems and workflows.

SimpleBackups gives you three ways to automate backups from outside the dashboard, in increasing order of power:

Approach	Best for
Trigger URL	Running one specific backup from a script, cron entry, or automation tool
API	Creating, configuring, and querying backups programmatically
MCP server	Letting an AI assistant inspect and manage your backups conversationally

Backup API

The SimpleBackups API lets you integrate backup operations into your existing workflows and applications. You can programmatically start backups, check run status, list logs, manage servers and storages, and retrieve restore information.

Generate an API token under Settings → API. Requests are authenticated with that token and are rate-limited to 60 requests per minute.

SSecurity

An API token can read your backup configuration and start backups. Store it in a secret manager or your CI provider's secret store, and rotate it if it is ever exposed.

Trigger URL

Each backup also has a unique URL that runs it immediately with a single GET request — no API client needed. This is usually the fastest path for deploy hooks and cron entries.

Backup Trigger URLFind your Trigger URL, call it, and understand its cooldown and rate limits.›

Reacting to backup events

Automation runs both ways. To have SimpleBackups notify your systems when a backup finishes or fails, use a webhook notification channel.

Backup WebhookReceive a signed POST when a backup succeeds or fails.›MCP serverConnect an AI assistant to your SimpleBackups account over MCP.›