Fiber Node Backup

TL;DR

Fiber v0.9.1 creates online backups automatically under $BASE_DIR/fiber/backups/<timestamp>. Enable the admin RPC module when you also need an immediate manual backup. To restore one of these backup directories, stop the node, run fnn --restore <backup-directory>, and then start the node normally with the same FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD.

What a v0.9.1 Backup Contains

Each timestamped native-node backup contains:

• db/ — a consistent RocksDB checkpoint of the Fiber store;
• key — the encrypted CKB private-key file; and
• sk — the Fiber network identity key.

The backup does not contain config.yml or your FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD. Store those separately in an encrypted location. Anyone with both the encrypted key and its password can control the associated funds.

Automatic Online Backups

When the Fiber service is running, v0.9.1 schedules a backup every 24 hours. Important channel-state changes pull the next backup forward so it normally runs within 60 seconds. The default location is:

<BASE_DIR>/fiber/backups/<timestamp>/

For example, a node started with -d ./node1 writes backups below ./node1/fiber/backups/. These are live database checkpoints, so the node does not need to stop while they are created.

Check that backups are appearing and contain the database and both key files:

find ./node1/fiber/backups -maxdepth 2 -type f

Trigger an Immediate Backup

The admin RPC module is not enabled by default. Add it while retaining the standard modules you use:

rpc:
  listening_addr: "127.0.0.1:8227"
  enabled_modules:
    - cch
    - channel
    - graph
    - payment
    - info
    - invoice
    - peer
    - admin

Restart the node after changing the module list, then trigger a backup with either interface:

fnn-cli admin backup

curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8227' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"backup","params":[]}'

A successful request returns null and creates a new timestamped directory. Keep the RPC listener private; if you expose it beyond the local machine, configure Biscuit authentication and grant administrative access only to a trusted operator.

Create a Full Offline Archive

The built-in backup covers the Fiber database and node keys. A stopped-node archive is still useful when you also want the exact configuration and other files from the data directory:

# Stop fnn cleanly first, then archive the complete data directory.
tar -zcvf node1.tar.gz node1

Store node1.tar.gz and the password separately. Restore this form of backup by extracting it and starting Fiber with the same base directory:

tar -zxvf node1.tar.gz
FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD='YOUR_PASSWORD' ./fnn -c ./node1/config.yml -d ./node1

Restore a v0.9.1 Online Backup

Stop the node before restoring. Pass the timestamped directory itself—not its db subdirectory—to --restore.

chmod u+w ./node1/fiber/sk

./fnn \
  -c ./node1/config.yml \
  -d ./node1 \
  --restore ./node1/fiber/backups/<timestamp>

The restore command restores the database and the backed-up key and sk files, then exits. Start the node normally afterward:

FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD='YOUR_PASSWORD' ./fnn -c ./node1/config.yml -d ./node1

The restore process preserves the replaced database as a timestamped safety backup. Channels that could carry penalty risk are marked Stale; Fiber must passively audit them with their peers before normal operation resumes. Keep the node online and connected to those peers, and do not assume a restored channel is spendable merely because it exists in list_channels.

Cross-Version Restore

From v0.8.x to v0.9.1

For a complete v0.8.x data-directory backup, extract it and start the v0.9.1 binary. Fiber detects the older database and runs the supported migration on startup after confirmation.

tar -zxvf node1.tar.gz
FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD='YOUR_PASSWORD' ./fnn -c ./node1/config.yml -d ./node1

From v0.7.x or Older to v0.9.1

Databases older than version 20260302100001 cannot migrate directly with the v0.9.1 fnn binary. First use the v0.8.x fnn-migrate tool to upgrade the database, then start v0.9.1:

./fnn-migrate -d ./node1
FIBER_SECRET_KEY_PASSWORD='YOUR_PASSWORD' ./fnn -c ./node1/config.yml -d ./node1