Back up and restore MagicINFO Server (database and files)

A database dump alone does not give you a working MagicINFO server back. Your content files, the separate thumbnail folder, two configuration files and any certificate you installed live outside the database. Back up all of them, copy them off the machine, and prove the copies are fresh.

Before you start

• Know which database you run. This page shows PostgreSQL, the default (see PostgreSQL and MagicINFO). On SQL Server, back up the MagicINFO database with SQL Server's own backup tools instead; the file steps below still apply.
• Know the database role MagicINFO uses (wsrm.username in conf\config.properties) and have its password available.
• Pick a destination folder on another disk, for example D:\backup\.
• Install the same MagicINFO build on any machine you restore to. Check yours with /MagicInfo/openapi/auth?cmd=isMagicInfo (see find your version).

What to back up

Item	Location on a default install
Database magicinfo	PostgreSQL
Content and uploads	C:\MagicInfo Premium\runtime\contents_home, runtime\upload
Thumbnails	runtime\content_thumbnail (a separate folder from content)
Keystores	runtime\keystore, plus any certificate files you installed elsewhere
Server settings	C:\MagicInfo Premium\conf\config.properties
Web server settings	C:\MagicInfo Premium\tomcat\conf\server.xml
Your change list	A short text file of every local change you made

The change list matters more than it looks: ports, a redirect page you added, trust-store imports, raised memory settings. Upgrades and restores do not remember any of them.

Steps

Back up

1. Open a Command Prompt and go to the PostgreSQL tools: cd "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\15\bin".
2. Decide how PostgreSQL gets the password so that it never appears on the command line. Either type it at the prompt, or set the PGPASSFILE environment variable to a password file that only your backup account can read.
3. Dump the database in custom format. <role> is your MagicINFO database role (or postgres):

pg_dump -h localhost -p 5432 -U <role> -Fc -f D:\backup\magicinfo.dump magicinfo

pg_dump takes a consistent snapshot while MagicINFO keeps running. If the database and the files must match exactly, for example before moving the server, stop the MagicInfoPremium service first.

4. Copy the folders and files in the table above to the same destination, keeping the folder structure.
5. Copy everything to a second place off the server.

tip

Schedule steps 3 to 5 with Windows Task Scheduler, for example nightly, using a dedicated account that can read the install folder.

Restore

1. Install the same MagicINFO build on the target machine and stop the MagicInfoPremium service.
2. Create an empty database owned by the MagicINFO role:

createdb -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -O <role> magicinfo

3. Restore as that role, not as postgres. Objects created by another role cause "permission denied" errors later:

pg_restore -h localhost -p 5432 -U <role> -d magicinfo D:\backup\magicinfo.dump

4. Copy the saved runtime\ folders, config.properties, server.xml and keystores back over the installed ones. Check that the database address and the server name in config.properties suit this machine; if the name or IP differs, see change the server IP address.
5. Replay your change list.
6. Start the service. Allow several minutes before the console answers.

If the machine is new, licenses are tied to the computer; see move the server to a new computer.

Check the backup, not the job

A scheduled job that says "success" proves little. We have seen backup jobs report success for 11 days while every upload to the destination failed, because the script did not pass on the failure. Look at the date of the newest file at the destination (the off-server copy) every week, or automate that check and alert on it.

Then, once, restore onto a spare machine and sign in. A backup you have never restored is a guess.

How to confirm it worked

• isMagicInfo answers with the same build number as before.
• Sign-in works with your usual account.
• Content shows thumbnails, not blank tiles (the thumbnail folder was restored).
• Screens reconnect and appear in the device list.

Related

• Manual: Choose a database
• PostgreSQL and MagicINFO
• Move MagicINFO Server to a new computer
• MagicINFO upgrade failed
• Manual: Before you upgrade

Checked against MagicINFO Server 21.1070 on Windows with PostgreSQL 15, October 2026.

Prefer not to run the server yourself? MiCloud hosts MagicINFO for you.