This image allows you to use Percona XtraBackup, without having to install XtraBackup on the local system. This image also makes it possible to easily backup a MySQL/MariaDB server that runs in a Docker container (with volume mounts). You can also run XtraBackup on systems that are not officially supported by Percona XtraBackup, for example to prepare a backup on macOS.

The entrypoint of this Docker image is the xtrabackup executable. This allows you to pass any option to XtraBackup. For example, you can pass --backup to make a backup, and pass --prepare to prepare a backup. You can also pass any other option that is supported by XtraBackup (see the documentation). By default, this image sets the --datadir option to /var/lib/mysql, and the --target-dir option to /target. You'll need to mount the correct directories into the Docker container to allow XtraBackup to read the MySQL/MariaDB data directory and write the backup outside the container.

docker run --rm -it \
    -v /path/to/var/lib/mysql:/var/lib/mysql \
    -v /path/to/target/directory:/target \
    -v /path/to/etc/mysql/my.cnf:/etc/mysql/my.cnf \
    -v /path/to/my.cnf:/root/.my.cnf \
    raymondelooff/percona-xtrabackup:latest

It's recommended to use the my.cnf files to specify the server configuration and client credentials that XtraBackup has to use. By default, XtraBackup reads the following configuration files in the given order: /etc/my.cnf /etc/mysql/my.cnf /usr/etc/my.cnf ~/.my.cnf. You can also specify the username and password using the options --user and --password. For more information about the available options, see the documentation.

• -v /var/lib/mysql - Must be linked to the MySQL/MariaDB data directory
• -v /target - Must be linked to the target directory for the backup
• -v /etc/mysql/my.cnf - Recommended, mount the MySQL/MariaDB server my.cnf file
• -v /.root/.my.cnf - Recommended, mount the user-specific .my.cnf 'defaults extra file'