MikroTik routers have a backup feature that allows to save and restore a system configuration.
This is one of the most important features in MikroTik as it allows to restore the device’s configuration after a software crash or to re-apply the same configuration on a backup device (with the same model name and number) after a hardware failure.
This note shows how to backup and restore the MikroTik routers through a command-line interface (CLI), WinBox and WebFig.
Cool Tip: Factory reset of a MikroTik router! Read more →
MikroTik Backup & Restore
Backup MikroTik Router
To backup the MikroTik route from the terminal, execute:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system backup save - sample output - Saving system configuration Configuration backup saved
If you want, you can also encrypt the backup file by setting a password:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system backup save password=<myPassword>
⚠️ Warning: In RouterOS older than v6.43, if the password is not provided, then the backup file will be encrypted with the current user’s password, except if the dont-encrypted=yes property is used or the current user’s password is empty. Starting from RouterOS v6.43, if the password is not provided, the backup file will be unencrypted.
To backup the MikroTik route using WinBox/WebFig, go to the 📁 Files menu and click on “Backup”:
The backup file will appear under the /file menu:
[admin@MikroTik] > /file print - sample output - Columns: NAME, TYPE, SIZE, CREATION-TIME # NAME TYPE SIZE CREATION-TIME 0 MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup backup 44.9KiB jun/27/2023 20:49:12
From the command-line interface it can be downloaded over FTP or SFTP, for example:
C:\> sftp admin@192.168.88.1:MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup
- sample output -
Connected to 192.168.88.1.
Fetching /MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup to MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup
/MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup 100% 45KB 1.4MB/s 00:00
To downloaded it through WinBox/WebFig, go to the 📁 Files menu, right-click on the backup file and then click on “Download”:
Restore MikroTik Router
Check if the backup file is on the MikroTik route:
[admin@MikroTik] > /file print - sample output - Columns: NAME, TYPE, SIZE, CREATION-TIME # NAME TYPE SIZE CREATION-TIME 0 MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup backup 44.9KiB jun/27/2023 20:49:12
Upload it, if it is not there.
To restore the MikroTik route from the backup file, execute:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system backup load name=<backupFileName> - for example - [admin@MikroTik] > /system backup load name=MikroTik-20230627-2049.backup - sample output - password: # enter the password if the backup is encrypted, otherwise just hit Enter Restore and reboot? [y/N]: y Restoring system configuration System configuration restored, rebooting now
To restore the MikroTik router through WinBox/WebFig, go to the 📁 Files menu, double-click on the backup file and then click on “Restore”:
