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Upgrade and back up

What is stored

Everything is in one place: the SQLite file semula.db in the data directory (/data in the image). Entries, versions, pins, per-project settings and modes, the review queue and the call log are all in it. With Postgres, the database holds it instead and /data is unused.

Upgrade

Replace the container with the new image. The volume stays, and semula upgrades the database itself on start:

docker pull ghcr.io/leejianrong/semula:0.2.0
docker stop semula && docker rm semula
docker run -d --name semula -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 \
  -v semula-data:/data ghcr.io/leejianrong/semula:0.2.0

Three things to know:

  • Recordings made with one release open in the next. The 0.x promise is that a release may change behaviour, and the changelog lists each change under "Changed".

  • There is no downgrade. After an upgrade the database is migrated and an older release cannot read it. Back up first (below) if you might want to go back. Starting a release that is too old for the database stops with a message instead of a traceback:

    error: This database was made by a newer semula (revision 0009) and cannot be downgraded. Run a release at least as new as the one that wrote it, or restore a backup taken before the upgrade.
    - Pin a version in anything shared. ghcr.io/leejianrong/semula:latest moves. Use :0.2.0, or :0.2 to follow patch releases.

Back up

Two ways, for two jobs.

A full copy of the volume, for restoring this exact server. Stop semula first, so the database file is complete, then copy the volume to a tarball:

docker stop semula
docker run --rm -v semula-data:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
  tar czf /backup/semula-backup.tgz -C /data .
docker start semula

An export per project, for sharing and for git. It is portable across versions and servers, and the files diff cleanly:

docker exec semula semula export support-bot --dir /tmp/cassettes
docker cp semula:/tmp/cassettes ./cassettes

An export holds entries and approved aliases. It leaves out hit counts, the call log, the review queue and each project's mode, so it is a record of what was recorded, not a copy of the server.

Restore

Put the tarball into a fresh volume, make it writable by the semula user, and start from it:

docker volume create semula-restore
docker run --rm -v semula-restore:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
  sh -c 'tar xzf /backup/semula-backup.tgz -C /data && chown -R 10001 /data'
docker run -d --name semula-restored -p 127.0.0.1:8099:8080 \
  -v semula-restore:/data ghcr.io/leejianrong/semula

Or import an export into any running server: docker exec semula semula import /tmp/cassettes.

Postgres

Back up with your usual pg_dump. semula migrates the schema on start, the same as with SQLite.