Can you dump an aura database and then load it into desktop and run it locally?

Neo4j Graph Platform
, ,
6

Hey Dana, I can confirm that this works!

I ran into the same issue.

When the export format on AuraDB changed from *.dump to *.backup, my simple workflow for working locally broke.

I used to simply export a dump from an Aura instance and then create a local DBMS from that dump via Desktop’s UI (files pane). With *.backup files, that no longer works the same way.

There are two possible ways I’m aware of to solve this:

*Option A: Use the Neo4j-Admin tool to create a database from the .backup file with Desktop

Here are the steps I had to take:

  1. Create a new DBMS with Desktop.

  2. Open the DBMS’s terminal (from the DBMS's options dropdown).

  3. Run the following command, replacing --from-path with the actual path to the backup file:
    bin/neo4j-admin database restore --from-path=/path-to-backup-file --overwrite-destination=true
    This restores the backup into the DBMS’s default database, neo4j (hence the --overwrite-destination=true flag).
    There’s a somewhat confusing terminal warning about restoring metadata, but in my case, it could be ignored.

**Option B: Rename the .backup file to .dump

You can do this either before or after importing it into the project’s files folder. Once renamed, it will appear in the file pane, allowing you to create a new DBMS from it via the UI.

Option B is certainly easier since Option A requires navigating documentation that might be overwhelming for those less experienced with database administration.

@Dana – IMHO, it would be really beneficial if the docs were clearer about this! Or even better—could Desktop be updated to accept *.backup files in the files pane of a project, allowing us to create a DBMS from them?

Thanks!

Cheers,
Peter