Server backups, recovery and security

What's stored where

Everything is in the data folder (the zomello-data volume in Docker, /data inside the container):

Path	What
zomello.db	Accounts, boards and cards (a SQLite database)
attachments/	Files attached to cards
backups/	A copy of the database every day; the last 14 are kept
tls/	The server's own certificate, if ZOMELLO_TLS is self
settings.env	Settings (without Docker)

Backups

• Daily, automatic: a copy of the database lands in backups/ every day.

• Any time: Admin > Download a backup now.

• Everything, files included: back up the whole data folder or volume. With Docker:

  docker run --rm -v zomello-data:/data -v "$PWD":/out alpine tar czf /out/zomello-data.tgz -C /data .

Keep a copy somewhere other than the server (another computer, a USB drive, a cloud drive).

Restoring

1. Stop Zomello (docker compose stop, or stop the program).
2. Put the backup file in the data folder as zomello.db (replace the old one).
3. Start Zomello again.

Forgotten password or locked out

Run these on the server.

Command	Does
zomello-server reset-password <username>	Sets a new password (asks for it), turns the account back on and signs it out everywhere
zomello-server create-admin <username>	Adds a new admin account

With Docker, put docker exec -it zomello in front, e.g. docker exec -it zomello zomello-server reset-password alex.

Security

• Passwords are stored as Argon2 hashes, never as plain text.
• After 5 wrong passwords, signing in pauses for a minute. The answer never reveals whether a username exists.
• Sign-ins end after 60 days without use. Changing a password or turning an account off signs that account out everywhere.
• Requests from other websites are refused.
• Attached files can only be opened by people on a board that uses them.
• Calendar feeds are only fetched from addresses saved on a board.
• Admins can see and manage every board on the server, so only make people admins you trust with everything.