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

Neo4j Graph Platform
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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 Desktopā€™s UI (files pane). With *.backup files, that no longer works the same way.

There are two possible ways Iā€™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 DBMSā€™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 DBMSā€™s default database, neo4j (hence the --overwrite-destination=true flag).
    Thereā€™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 projectā€™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 ā€“ IMHO, it would be really beneficial if the docs were clearer about this! Or even betterā€”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