# Backing up flows

**URL:** <https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612>\
**Category:** Flow Classic\
**Created:** [January 29, 2024, 9:06am UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612 "2024-01-29T09:06:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jdoherty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7C9FD7/32.png) [@jdoherty](https://forum.novacura.com/u/jdoherty)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 9:06am UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/1 "2024-01-29T09:06:10Z")

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Hi,  
I am backing up the flows in my PROD environment manually by doing an RMB- Export flows on the Server Manager interface (see attached image)  
Is there a way of automating this because I won’t be there every day to do it?  
Thank you.

 ![Exporting flows](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/novacuratalk/original/1X/0974b3eb35d884acd9707aecae20edde560ad08b.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ivstde](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.novacura.com/ivstde/32/146_2.png) [@ivstde](https://forum.novacura.com/u/ivstde)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/2 "2024-01-29T12:41:55Z")

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Hi,

all contents of the Flow server are in the Data folder. If you want to backup everything you could set up a windows server to backup that folder.

If you want to backup just flows then its folders FlowServerObjects and Workflows

 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/novacuratalk/original/1X/004371f46da85357f5addfd95d3e772513faaab1.png)

You could also create a scheduled machine flow to backup your flows (Oh the inception! 🙂 ) by using the File Connector and Zip operations / Add folder to zip file and pointing it to the folder you want to backup and creating the name of the destination zip file in flow (with time stamp)

 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/novacuratalk/original/1X/ee3db8b0cb9d83ed9799b5dcdf58bc1750993883.png)

Hope this helps!

B R  
Ivan

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jdoherty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7C9FD7/32.png) [@jdoherty](https://forum.novacura.com/u/jdoherty)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/3 "2024-01-29T13:47:59Z")

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Many thanks for the reply. If I use the first option; doing a daily automated backup of the folders **FlowServerObjects** and **Workflows** from that Data folder; if that server gets wiped (worst case scenario) is it just a case of dropping that folder into the same location on a different PC that is the Novacura Flow host server?  
Then I can fire up Studio and all the flows will be there?  
The backup that I perform manually (from my screen cap() results in a single file with an “fzip” extension.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ivstde](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.novacura.com/ivstde/32/146_2.png) [@ivstde](https://forum.novacura.com/u/ivstde)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/4 "2024-01-29T14:28:26Z")

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Hi,

yes if you take those 2 folders to any server installation (of the same version) and paste it to its FlowServerObjects and Workflows folders, that other server would get all the flows.  
One more thing maybe worth backing up would also be the Connectors folder (Connectors dont change that often and if the connector that is used in the flow is not present, studio would make you remap…but still it would be easier if everything matches).

Opening that fzip (in any zip program, this case its 7Zip) shows that it contains FlowServerObjects, Workflows and EnvironmentConfiguration folders

 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/novacuratalk/original/1X/eb2e134d7f5ea4301ca7d2d7b63fe58de7b18413.png)  
But i personaly never backed up EnvironmentConfiguration folder as it contains only logo, theme and languages data (but you can do that too since its very small)  
 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/novacuratalk/original/1X/7d77407fc9680e376d70c8a58e55fa37860f333a.png)

Hope this helps!

B R  
Ivan

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jdoherty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7C9FD7/32.png) [@jdoherty](https://forum.novacura.com/u/jdoherty)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2024, 8:36am UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/5 "2024-02-01T08:36:52Z")

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Thanks for the replies. I can’t use a flow to do the backup because I don’t have the FileSystem connector.  
I will have to use a Windows task instead and copy the FileServerObjects" and “Workflows” folders.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![daniel](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.novacura.com/daniel/32/708_2.png) [@daniel](https://forum.novacura.com/u/daniel)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/6 "2024-04-11T15:52:04Z")

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You can automate this process with a batch script…

Please change `sitename`, `basepath`, and `ncpath` to match your environment.

_sitename_: Your IIS site under which Novacura is running  
_basepath_: Where you want your backups to go  
_ncpath_: The full path to the Novacura directory within the data folder

```auto
@echo off
setlocal
set sitename=Default Web Site
set basepath=C:\Users\%username%\backups\Novacura
set ncpath=C:\Novacura\Data\Novacura Flow
goto adminchk

:adminchk
ECHO Checking permissions...
net session >nul 2>&1
if %errorLevel% == 0 (
    goto stopiis
) else (
    goto elevate
)
goto end

:elevate
cls
ECHO Elevating permissions...
powershell -command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/c cd /d %CD% && %~nx0' -Verb runas"
goto end

:stopiis
ECHO Stopping IIS website...
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd stop site /site.name:"%sitename%"
ECHO[
goto backup

:backup
for /f "tokens=2-4 delims=/ " %%a in ('date /t') do (
  set _date=%%c%%a%%b
)
for /f "tokens=1-4 delims=/:." %%a in ("%TIME%") do (
  set _time=%%a%%b%%c
)
echo Backing up Novacura...
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Novacura\Flow Server Manager\NovaCura.Flow.Server.ExporterTool.exe" -e "%ncpath%" "%basepath%novacura_%_date%-%_time%.fzip" >NUL 2>&1
ECHO[
ECHO Starting IIS website...
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd start site /site.name:"%sitename%"
goto end

:end
endlocal

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jdoherty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7C9FD7/32.png) [@jdoherty](https://forum.novacura.com/u/jdoherty)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 11:11am UTC](https://forum.novacura.com/t/backing-up-flows/612/7 "2024-04-24T11:11:53Z")

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Thanks for your reply. I think I have my own backup script working using a batch file.