--- title: Import a Repository description: A repository that continues to exist on disk, but has been deleted from the Backup Service, can be imported back into the Backup Service. pubDate: 2026-08-17T09:53:44.266Z antora: editUrl: https://github.com/couchbase/docs-server/edit/release/7.6/modules/rest-api/pages/backup-import-repository.adoc xref: xref:7.6@server:rest-api:backup-import-repository.adoc[] --- [Consult the llms.txt file for a full list of contents](/llms.txt) [View original HTML](/server/7.6/rest-api/backup-import-repository.html) # Import a Repository > A repository that continues to exist on disk, but has been deleted from the Backup Service, can be imported back into the Backup Service. ## [](#http-methods-and-uris)HTTP Methods and URIs POST /cluster/self/repository/import ## [](#description)Description Imports into the Backup Service of the host cluster a repository that was previously deleted, but which has continued to exist on disk, in a location accessible by the cluster's Backup-Service nodes. ## [](#curl-syntax)Curl Syntax curl -X POST http://:8097/cluster/self/repository/import -u -u : -d The `username` and `password` must be those of a user with the `Full Admin` role. The `repository-specification` must be a JSON document that provides the following: * The id under which the repository was saved to disk. For example, `quarterHourBackups`. * The name of the repository. For example, `5efb4b57-b033-4e84-9671-a35a0ac6dace`. * The location of the repository. For example, `/Users/user/Documents/archives/quarterHourRepo`. Syntactically, the `repository-specification` is as follows: { "id": , "repo": , "archive": } ### [](#cloud-specific-parameters)Cloud-Specific Parameters The following, additional parameters are provided, for defining a repository that uses cloud-based storage: * `cloud_credential_name`. A string that is a set of registered credentials for the cloud. If this is not specified, and cloud-storage is to be accessed, either the `cloud_credentials_key` or the `cloud_credentials_id` must be specified instead. * `cloud_staging_dir`. The location to be used as a staging directory. This _must_ be specified, if cloud storage is to be used. The location must be directory on the local file system that is large enough to accommodate approximately 10% of the data set that is to be backed up. A minimum of 50 GB is recommended. The pathname of the location must be accessible to all nodes in the cluster that are running the Backup Service; but the location itself must be _not_ be shared by NFS or any equivalent protocol. Instead, the location must be a non-shared directory on the local file system for the node. * `cloud_credentials_id`. An ID used to connect to object store. For AWS, this is the _access key id_. * `cloud_credentials_key`. A secret key used to connect to object store. For AWS, this is the _AWS secret access key_. * `cloud_region`. The AWS Region for the repository. For example, `us-east-1`, `us-west-2`. * `cloud_endpoint`. If provided, this overrides the default endpoint used for the cloud provider. * `cloud_force_path_style`. When provided, and using S3 or S3 compatible storages, this enforces the _old_ S3 path style. ## [](#responses)Responses Success returns `200 OK`. An improperly formatted `repository-specification` returns `400 Bad Request`, and a message such as the following: `{"status":400,"msg":"both archive and repository are required"}`. An otherwise malformed URI returns `404 Object Not Found`. Failure to authenticate returns `401 Unauthorized`. An internal error that prevents return or modification of the limits returns `500 Internal Server Error`. ## [](#examples)Examples The following call imports into the Backup Service the repository located at `/Users/user/Documents/archives/quarterHourRepo`: curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8097/api/v1/cluster/self/repository/import \ -u Administrator:password \ -d '{"id":"quarterHourRepo","repo":"5efb4b57-b033-4e84-9671-a35a0ac6dace","archive":"/Users/user/Documents/archives/quarterHourRepo"}' Success returns `200 OK`, and the repository is imported into the Backup Service. The following call imports into the Backup Service the cloud-based repository located at `s3://my-example-bucket/test_backups`: curl -v -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8097/api/v1/cluster/self/repository/import \ -u Administrator:password -d '{"id":"import_test_repository", "archive":"s3://my-example-bucket/test_backups", "repo":"43842820-7265-412c-aacd-9b8f209ff436", "cloud_staging_dir":"/backups_staging/test_backups_staging", "cloud_credentials_id":"AKxxx", "cloud_credentials_key":"sfxxx", "cloud_region":"us-west-2" }' Success returns `200 OK`, and the repository is imported into the Backup Service. ## [](#see-also)See Also An overview of the Backup Service is provided in [Backup Service](../learn/services-and-indexes/services/backup-service.md). A step-by-step guide to using Couchbase Web Console to configure and use the Backup Service is provided in [Manage Backup and Restore](../manage/manage-backup-and-restore/manage-backup-and-restore.md). For information on archiving a repository, see [Archive a Repository](backup-archive-a-repository.md). For information on deleting a repository from the Backup Service, see [Delete a Repository](backup-delete-repository.md).