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Create a file backup of a DigitalOcean Spaces bucket ​

Mount a DigitalOcean Space as a local filesystem and back it up with SimpleBackups.

DigitalOcean Spaces is an S3-compatible object storage service. By mounting a Space on your server using s3fs-fuse, you can treat it as a regular directory and back it up as a file backup with SimpleBackups. This guide covers mounting, credential management, boot automation, and backup configuration.

Prerequisites ​

  • Ubuntu VPS running Ubuntu or a compatible distribution
  • DigitalOcean Space with its Access Key and Secret Key
  • Root or sudo access on your server
  • SimpleBackups account — sign up if you do not have one

Install s3fs-fuse ​

s3fs-fuse lets you mount S3-compatible storage as a local filesystem.

bash
sudo apt update
bash
sudo apt install s3fs

Store your credentials ​

Create a directory for secrets and save your DigitalOcean Spaces credentials:

bash
mkdir ~/.secrets
bash
echo "ACCESS_KEY_ID:SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" > ~/.secrets/dospace-credentials

Replace ACCESS_KEY_ID and SECRET_ACCESS_KEY with your actual credentials. Then restrict the file permissions:

bash
chmod 600 ~/.secrets/dospace-credentials

Mount the Space ​

Create a mount point and mount your Space:

bash
sudo mkdir /mnt/dospace
bash
s3fs YOUR_SPACE_NAME /mnt/dospace -o passwd_file=~/.secrets/dospace-credentials -o url=https://YOUR_REGION.digitaloceanspaces.com -o use_path_request_style

Replace YOUR_SPACE_NAME with the name of your Space and YOUR_REGION with the region code (for example, nyc3).

Verify the mount by checking the filesystem and listing the contents:

bash
df -h
bash
ls /mnt/dospace

You should see the contents of your DigitalOcean Space.

Automate mounting at boot ​

To ensure the Space mounts automatically after a reboot, add an entry to /etc/fstab:

bash
sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add the following line:

bash
s3fs#YOUR_SPACE_NAME /mnt/dospace fuse _netdev,passwd_file=/home/your_username/.secrets/dospace-credentials,url=https://YOUR_REGION.digitaloceanspaces.com,use_path_request_style 0 0

Replace your_username with your actual username. Test the configuration:

bash
sudo mount -a

Check for any errors and verify the mount as described above.

Set up the backup in SimpleBackups ​

With your Space mounted as a local directory, you can configure a file backup in SimpleBackups:

  1. Log in to your SimpleBackups dashboard
  2. Navigate to Servers and click Connect Server. Use the Automatic (SSH Key) method and follow the instructions to connect your VPS
  3. Click Create Backup and select File Backup
  4. Select the server you connected and enter the directories you want to back up (for example, /mnt/dospace or specific subdirectories within it)
  5. Choose your storage destination — you can use SimpleStorage or any connected storage provider
  6. Set your schedule and retention policy
  7. Review your settings and click Save to enable the backup
Create a file/server backupGeneral guide to creating file and server backups.Backup storageLearn about the storage options available for your backups.