Backup Trigger URL

Run any backup on demand by calling a single URL.

Every backup has a unique Trigger URL that starts a run immediately, with no need to log in to SimpleBackups. It is the simplest way to drive a backup from something outside SimpleBackups — a deploy script, a cron job, a CI pipeline, or an automation tool.

Example use cases

• Run a backup before every deploy, straight from your deploy script or CI pipeline
• Run a backup on a custom interval your plan's schedule presets don't cover
• Give a client or another developer a URL that runs a backup without granting them dashboard access
• Kick off an ad-hoc backup before a risky migration

Finding your Trigger URL

1. Open the backup in your dashboard
2. Go to the Automation tab (https://my.simplebackups.com/backup/{BACKUP_ID}#automation)
3. Copy the URL under Backup Trigger URL

The URL looks like this, on the API domain rather than the dashboard domain:

https://api.simplebackups.com/backup/{TOKEN}/trigger?api_token={API_TOKEN}

Calling it

The endpoint accepts GET requests only. A POST returns 405 Method Not Allowed.

curl "https://api.simplebackups.com/backup/{TOKEN}/trigger?api_token={API_TOKEN}"

That is the whole interface — there are no other query parameters.

SThe URL is a credential

The Trigger URL embeds an API token that can start backups on your account. Treat it like a password: keep it in your secret manager or CI secrets, not in a committed script, a Slack message, or a client-side application.

If a Trigger URL leaks, rotate the API token under Settings → API.

Rate limits and cooldowns

Two limits apply, and both return errors you should handle rather than retry blindly:

• 60 requests per minute across the API, after which requests are throttled.
• A one-minute cooldown per backup. Calling the same backup's Trigger URL again within a minute, or while a run is already in progress, returns HTTP 409 rather than starting a second run.

There is also a cap on how many on-demand backups one Team can run simultaneously.

+Tip

The 409 response is a feature, not an error to work around — it is what stops a retry loop or a double-fired CI job from stacking up concurrent runs of the same backup. Treat 409 as "already running, nothing to do".

iAvailability

Trigger URLs are available on all current plans, including Basic. See Subscriptions.

Triggering from an automation tool

Any tool that can make a scheduled or event-driven HTTP GET request works — Zapier, Make, n8n, GitHub Actions, or a plain cron entry. The pattern is the same everywhere:

1. Create a scheduled or event trigger in the tool
2. Add an HTTP request action, method GET
3. Paste your Backup Trigger URL as the request URL, storing it as a secret if the tool supports it
4. Test the step — a successful response confirms the backup was dispatched
5. Enable the automation

From cron directly:

0 * * * * curl -fsS "https://api.simplebackups.com/backup/{TOKEN}/trigger?api_token={API_TOKEN}" > /dev/null

+Tip

If you only need a fixed interval, use a Custom schedule inside SimpleBackups instead. It needs no external tool and no credential stored elsewhere. Reach for the Trigger URL when the run has to be tied to an event — a deploy, a data import, a pipeline stage.

Backup automationThe full API for managing backups programmatically.›SchedulingRun backups on a schedule inside SimpleBackups, including custom cron.›