Backup a Course

Moodle allows a course instructor to create a packaged backup file of a course, which can contain all course materials, resources, student submissions, feedback, and grades. A Moodle course may be backed up for archival purposes, for use on another Moodle site, or for future reuse. Backups can be created with some or all of the course content by utilizing the Course Backup function within Moodle. While LITS staff backup the server, it is highly recommended that instructors create and download a backup copy of their course and save it upon completion of the course to preserve an archival copy of course materials, submissions, and student grades.

In this article, we will cover:

For more detailed information and instructions, see the Course Backup article on Moodle Docs.

Create a Backup of a course

Follow the steps given below to create and download a backup file of a single course. 

1. From the main course page, click on the More dropdown in the Course Management menu at the top of the course page.

2. Select Course Reuse from the menu.

3. In the Course Reuse menu page, select Backup.

4. On the Backup Settings page, review the options below and make your selections, then click the Next button.

   • If you want to create a full archival backup of the whole course, including all student submissions, feedback, grades, etc. be sure to check the Include Enrolled Users option.

   • If you only want to back up the course content, then uncheck the Include Enrolled Users option. Note that this will deselect multiple other boxes relating to student content and grades.

   • If you want a full course backup, you can choose to Jump to Final Step here and then continue to Step 7 below. If you only want to back up selected materials and content, then continue to Step 5.

5. On the Schema settings page, you can deselect any activities or resources that you do not want to back up. Once you have finished your selections, click Next.

   • By default, all the activities or resources are selected. 

6. On the Confirmation and Review screen, scroll to the bottom and click Perform Backup. A progress bar will appear depicting the status of the import.

   • Depending upon the size of the course, it could take several minutes for the import to complete.

   • Do not navigate away from this screen until the backup is completed, as it will corrupt the backup process and cause you to have to restart the process at the beginning.

7. Once the backup finishes, you will be redirected to the Backup Complete screen and can click Continue.

8. This will open the Restore Course screen.

   • Your file should be listed in the User Private Backup Area. Take note of the size of the file; this will be important whenever you need to Restore a Course.

9.  Click Download to download a copy of the file.

10. Once the backup file download finishes, use the steps below to delete the backup file from the Moodle server to conserve server storage space.

Delete a Backup File from Moodle

The Moodle server has limited storage, so we request that backup files be deleted from the server once you have downloaded a local copy. Follow the steps given below to delete a backup file from the Moodle server. 

1. Click the Manage Private Backups button below the User Private Backup Area.

2. Click on a backup file to select it.

3. A File Details pop-up window will open. Click Delete, and then click Update.

4. Click Save Changes.

   • Repeat steps 1-4 for any backup files remaining in the User Private Backup Area until there are no backup files remaining.

5. When you are done deleting backup files, you can click Course in the Course Management menu at the top to return to the course page.