The Overleaf toolkit needs to store persistent data, such as the files required to compile LaTeX projects, and the contents of the MongoDB database. This is achieved by mounting a few directories from the host machine into the docker containers, and writing the data to those directories.
The Overleaf contaner requires a directory in which to store data relating to LaTeX compiles. This directory is set with the SHARELATEX_DATA_PATH variable in config/overleaf.rc.
The MongoDB container, if it is enabled, requires a directory in which to store it's database files, and the same is true of the Redis container. These directories can also be configured in config/overleaf.rc.
Because docker runs as root, the data directories will end up being owned by the root user, even if the toolkit is being used by a non-root user. This is not a problem, but is worth being aware of, if you intend to alter the persistent data from outside of the containers.
The recommended backup procedure is as follows:
- Shut down the docker services with
bin/stop - For each of the data directories, make a copy of that directory
to another safe location
- (We recommend using
rsyncfor this)
- (We recommend using
- Start the services again with
bin/start