# Backup and Restore Operations

BCOS creates a database dump, a controlled files archive and an encrypted manifest. The manifest uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 with a key derived from `APP_KEY`. Protect and rotate the application key through a documented key-management process. A lost key can make encrypted manifests unreadable.

Recommended schedule: daily encrypted full backup, daily verification, weekly off-host copy, monthly restore rehearsal, and quarterly documented recovery exercise. Keep at least one backup in a separate failure domain. cPanel storage alone is not sufficient protection against account compromise or hosting failure.

Restore safeguards: verified backup, approved restore plan, written rollback plan, maintenance mode, explicit CLI confirmation, staging rehearsal and post-restore validation.