This article explains how to restore a TestRail backup in case you need to recover from a hardware failure if you want to move a TestRail installation to a new server or to migrate a TestRail Cloud account to a local instance. In all these cases you should have a logical (SQL) database backup as well as copies of all attachments and reports if any.
If you are just moving your TestRail installation and don’t have a backup yet, please read the guide on how to backup TestRail. If you want to migrate a TestRail Cloud account to a local instance, please create and download a backup in TestRail under Administration > Subscription.
Install TestRail on a new server
To restore a TestRail backup you first need to install TestRail on the new server. Installing TestRail on the new server ensures that the server meets all requirements and that all file permissions and database connections are set correctly. You can read the installation instructions of TestRail in our Administration manual.
Please install the exact same version or a newer version of TestRail than the version you used to create the backup. Using the exact same version is recommended. You can download older TestRail versions from our customer portal, or you can contact us.
If you have customized any defect plugins, authentication scripts, or other parts of TestRail, you will also need to copy the modified scripts (usually stored in thecustomdirectory of the installation/backup) to the new system.
Restore the database
After successfully installing TestRail, you need to restore your database. To do this you can simply use the tools provided by your database. Please see below for a brief explanation of restoring a database backup with MySQL and SQL Server.
MySQL
MySQL comes with a simple command-line tool to execute SQL commands. As a logical MySQL backup simply contains SQL commands to restore a database, you can execute your logical backup file against a database. To do this you would use the mysql command-line tool like this:
mysql -u <username> -p --default-character-set=utf8 <database> < backup.sql
Please replace <username> with the MySQL login, and <database> with your database name. Please note that all existing data in that database will be replaced with the backup, so make sure it’s a new, empty database from the above-mentioned installation. Double-check that this is the right database and machine before executing the command.
SQL Server
You can either execute the backup SQL file via the SQL Management Studio against your database (just make sure that the correct database is selected in the dropdown in the upper left corner before executing the script in Management Studio).
Or you can execute the script via the sqlcmd command-line tool like this:
sqlcmd -x -f 65001 -S localhost -U <username> -d <database> -i backup.sql
Please replace <username> with the MySQL login, and <database> with your database name. Please note that all existing data in that database will be replaced with the backup, so make sure it’s a new, empty database from the above-mentioned installation. Double-check that this is the right database and machine before executing the command.
Restore attachments & reports
You also need to copy all attachments and reports to the attachment and report directories you specified during the TestRail installation. Please also make sure that the permissions of the files allow the web server to read them. Please note that reports and the report directory are only available with TestRail 3.0 and later.
Update settings
After importing the database and restoring the attachments and reports, you might need to enter your license key and change a few settings under Administration > Site Settings when you first log in to TestRail, namely:
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Attachment Directory
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Installation URL
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Email Server
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Email From Address
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License Key
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Report Directory