Automatic Environment Backups

This plugin creates automatic, rotating backups of your DatoCMS primary environment by cloning them into sandbox environments within the same project.

Because DatoCMS does not have a built-in job scheduler, the plugin has to create an external scheduled lambda (serverless function) to invoke the backup functionality on a recurring basis. It currently supports deployments to Vercel, Cloudflare, and Netlify.

The lambda function is only used as a job scheduler, similar to a cronjob. The lambda calls the DatoCMS Content Management API (CMA) to actually manage the environments and perform the backups.

How it works

• The plugin's configuration screen is a guided, four-step wizard with a progress bar showing the state of each step.
• Backup cadence is configured in the plugin (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly).
• The deployed scheduler runs once a day (02:05 UTC) and calls the backup endpoints. A missed cadence catches up on the next successful daily run.
• The plugin validates connectivity to the serverless function with a health check against /api/datocms/plugin-health, authenticated with a shared secret.
• Backup status lists each enabled schedule with its last run, next scheduled run, and linked sandbox environment, plus a per-schedule Backup now button for on-demand execution.
• The created backups are just forked sandboxes inside your DatoCMS project (named with a backup-plugin-<cadence> prefix), NOT separate files on an external provider. The external providers are only used to run the scheduled function that calls the CMA to create a backup.
• Source code for the deployed lambda function is at https://github.com/marcelofinamorvieira/datocms-backups-scheduled-function (this lambda was written by Marcelo Finamor, a DatoCMS employee).

Before you begin

• You will need an account with Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare that is capable of creating projects and adding serverless functions (lambdas). Usually the free plan will suffice.
• In your DatoCMS project, you will have to create a new API token with access to the CMA and an admin role. In older DatoCMS projects, this may have been automatically created as a "Full Access API Token", but newer projects will require manual creation of a similar token.

Setup

After reading the "Before you begin" section, install the plugin and open your DatoCMS project Configuration → Plugins → Automatic Environment Backups.

The configuration screen then walks you through four focused steps. Only the step you need to work on opens automatically. Completed steps collapse to a short summary and future steps stay collapsed; click any completed step to review it. The progress bar reads Setup complete once everything is configured.

1. Step 1 — Create a secret. A strong shared secret is generated for you. Click Save & copy secret to store it and copy it to your clipboard. Use Generate new before saving if you want a different value.
2. Step 2 — Deploy the backup service. Open or create a full-access DatoCMS API token, then choose Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare. Set DATOCMS_FULLACCESS_API_TOKEN to the API token. For the shared secret copied in Step 1, use CRON_SECRET on Vercel or DATOCMS_BACKUPS_SHARED_SECRET on Netlify and Cloudflare. Deploy the service, copy its public URL (for example, https://my-backups.netlify.app), paste it into the plugin, and click Save URL & continue.
3. Step 3 — Test the connection. Run the connection test against the saved deployment URL. The status box confirms that the service responds and authenticates, or shows the exact error. For example, an authentication error means the plugin secret and the provider's DATOCMS_BACKUPS_SHARED_SECRET value do not match.
4. Step 4 — Backup schedule. Choose the cadences you want and save the schedule. The plugin creates any missing backup environments for the enabled cadences.

Once all four steps are complete, Backup status shows the last and next backup, the linked environment for each schedule, and a Backup now button. You can leave the screen — backups run on their own.

Managing the connection

• Click any completed step to change the secret, deployment URL, or schedule. Automatic progression still opens only the current step.
• Changing the shared secret clears the verified connection so Step 3 must be tested again. Update CRON_SECRET on Vercel or DATOCMS_BACKUPS_SHARED_SECRET on Netlify and Cloudflare, then redeploy before testing.
• Use Remove saved deployment in Step 2 to clear the URL and return the flow to that step. The external provider keeps running until you remove the deployment there, but the plugin will no longer surface its status.
• Re-opening the configuration screen automatically re-runs a health check against the saved URL, so a broken or expired deployment is caught immediately in Step 3 and in Backup status.

Advanced settings

• Enable debug logs — When enabled, plugin events and outbound requests are logged to the browser console for troubleshooting.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.