README

A simple and developer-friendly way to back up and restore your MySQL database using PHP — now made to work smoothly with CodeIgniter 4.

Introduction
About the Project
Features
Requirements
Installation
Usage
Disclaimer
Contributing
Authors
License
Copyright

Introduction

Whether you're a beginner getting started or a developer who wants reliable backup features, this library is made to help you manage your database backups and restores in a simple and efficient way.

About the Project

This lightweight PHP library makes it easy to create clean and organized backups of your MySQL database — either full backups or selected tables. You can also restore your database using a .sql file or a .zip backup with just one line of code. It’s ideal for regular backups or moving your database from one place to another.

Features

Back up the full database or just selected tables
Restore from .sql files quickly and safely
Export backups with readable SQL structure
Automatically names backup files using date/time
Optionally compress backups into .zip format
Designed for use with CodeIgniter 4

Requirements

To use this library, make sure you have:

PHP 8.0 or higher
CodeIgniter 4
ZipArchive extensions enabled
A working MySQL database
Composer installed

Installation

Install it with Composer:

composer require zaiblab/mysql-backup

If needed, make sure Composer knows where to find the classes:

"autoload": {
    "psr-4": {
        "DatabaseBackupManager\\": "vendor/zaiblab/mysql-backup/src/"
    }
}

Then refresh the autoload files:

composer dump-autoload

Usage

1. Set it up

use DatabaseBackupManager\MySQLBackup;

$db = db_connect(); // CI4's database connection
$backup = new MySQLBackup($db, WRITEPATH . 'backups');

2. Back up your database

// Back up everything
$info = $backup->backup();

// Back up only specific tables
$info = $backup->backup(['users', 'orders']);

// Only save table structure (no data)
$info = $backup->backup(null, false);

// Create a zipped version of the backup
$info = $backup->backup(null, true, true);

if ($info) {
    echo "Backup file created: " . $info['file_name'] . "\n";
    echo "File size: " . $info['file_size'] . " bytes\n";
}

3. Restore from a backup

// Path to your backup file
$path = WRITEPATH . 'backups/backup_mydb-2025-06-21_081400.sql';

// Restore the backup
$restored = $backup->restore($path);

// Optionally: remove old tables before restoring
$restored = $backup->restore($path, true);

if ($restored) {
    echo "Database restored successfully!";
}

Disclaimer

This tool is shared in good faith, but please test everything before using it in production. Every setup is different, and it's always a good idea to double-check before relying on any tool for critical tasks.

By using this library, you agree that you're responsible for any outcomes related to your data or systems.

Last updated: June 21, 2025

Contributing

Suggestions, improvements, and bug reports are always welcome! Open an issue or create a pull request on GitHub.

Authors

Ramazan Çetinkaya — @ramazancetinkaya
Shahzaib — @zaiblab (Maintainer for CodeIgniter 4 version)

License

This project uses the MIT License. You’re free to use, modify, and share it however you'd like.

zaiblab / mysql-backup

Maintainers

Details