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How to Backup your Knowledge Base (no coding required, all platforms)
Posted Jul 07, 2017
Hey everyone, a couple of weeks ago I was wondering how I could back up all my knowledge base content and after some research I was a bit disappointed as my only options were
- upgrade to a plan that I couldn't afford at the moment
- write your own backup script that's using Zendesk APIs
- use a Windows app - haven't touched a Windows machine in years yay
So I decided to write an app that makes exporting knowledge base data a breeze for everyone.
You can find the latest version in the Zendesk Apps Marketplace
How to install & use TL;DR
- Head to the Zendesk Apps Marketplace & click install
- Add an API access token in the app config ( how to create API access tokens )
- Open the app and click "CREATE FIRST BACKUP"
- 🎉
Depending on the size of your help center a backup can take some time, you will receive an e-mail when your backup download is ready.
What does the backup contain?
- categories
- sections
- articles
- tags
- translations
- attachments (downloaded, not just linked)
The Backup File Structure
/data/data.json # All the data as 1 (soon to be importable) JSON file
/data/.log # Backup log
/html/[your knowledge base structure]... # A locally browsable copy of your knowledge base
/index.html # A backup summary - start here!
/README
If you open the /index.html you can see a backup summary and the hierarchy of your knowledge base:
Other Use Cases
Translation management. Sometimes you don't want your translators to have access to your internal knowledge base, by exporting your knowledge base you can pick specific pages and hand them to your translators
Roadmap
- Automatic Backup Scheduling
- Multi-Brand Backups
I hope this app is useful to you. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, and suggestions!
You can send me a message to patrick@kolibridigital.com any time :)
PS: I'm also currently working on a Knowledge Base Import app that will let you import your backups on a global and per article/section/category level (have a sneak peak)
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24 comments
Yehudit Kunkel
@Patrick - did you get a version of the Knowledge Base Import app done
Thanks!
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Heather Rommel
@Olga - Definitely let them know about it by emailing them support@kolibridigital.com
They usually get back with us right away.
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Olga Skvortsova
Hi,
For some reason, this app has recently started showing message "Backup creation is temporarily disabled".
Are there any plans to switch it on again? :)
Thank you!
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Joanna van Beuzekom
@ Heather, thanks! I have since heard from Patrick who helped me out and all is working fine again!!
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Heather Rommel
@Joanna,
I tried today when I saw your post. It took a little longer than usual to load but then it offered the option to make a new backup. If you're still having an issues, I have support@kolibridigital.com listed as their support, hopefully that's still correct.
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Joanna van Beuzekom
Loving this app and have been using it since the summer - but we've stopped seeing the option to make a new backup. Anyone else having this problem?
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Jacob the Moderator
Same here, the backup finished and was download - excellent! However, only one HC was backed up, and not the one I wanted.
The one I wanted to backup has only content in the draft state, does the backup ignore draft content?
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Greg Pope
Hi Patrick. That worked and we were able to download the backup. Thank you. We look forward to testing the import app too.
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Jessie Schutz
Heather, you are on fire! Thank you for digging up all those links!
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Lue Loudin
@ Heather R Thank you!
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