Automated backups and restore for UniFi

The UniFi MCP Server gives your AI assistant the ability to manage the full backup lifecycle for your UniFi controller—creating backups on demand, scheduling automated runs, downloading backup files with integrity verification, and restoring from a previous backup when needed. Every destructive operation is protected by mandatory confirmation and dry-run preview.

Restore operations are destructive and will overwrite your current configuration. They may also cause the controller to restart and temporarily disconnect devices. Always use dry_run=True to preview a restore, and let the server create a pre-restore backup (enabled by default) so you can roll back if needed.

What you can do

Manual backups

Trigger network or full system backups on demand with configurable retention.

Automated scheduling

Set up daily, weekly, or monthly backup schedules with custom retention policies.

Download and verify

Download backup files to local storage with SHA-256 checksum verification.

Restore

Restore from any listed backup with automatic pre-restore safety backup.

Backup types

UniFi supports two backup types:

Type	Contents	Typical size	Use case
`network`	Network settings and device configs	Under 10 MB	Regular configuration backups
`system`	Full OS, application, and device configs	10–100 MB+	Full disaster recovery

For most environments, network backups are sufficient and faster to create and restore.

Creating a manual backup

Example prompts:

“Create a backup of the network configuration”
“Back up the controller now before I make changes”

Preview the backup

preview = await mcp.call_tool("trigger_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_type": "network",
    "retention_days": 30,
    "dry_run": True
})

Response:

{
  "dry_run": true,
  "would_create": {
    "backup_type": "network",
    "retention_days": 30,
    "estimated_size": "<10 MB"
  }
}

Create the backup

result = await mcp.call_tool("trigger_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_type": "network",
    "retention_days": 30,
    "confirm": True
})

Response:

{
  "backup_id": "backup_20260422_030000",
  "filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
  "download_url": "/data/backup/backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
  "backup_type": "network",
  "created_at": "2026-04-22T03:00:00",
  "retention_days": 30,
  "status": "completed"
}

Pass retention_days: -1 to keep a backup indefinitely.

Listing and inspecting backups

Example prompts:

“List all available backups”
“Show me details about the backup from April 20th”

backups = await mcp.call_tool("list_backups", {
    "site_id": "default"
})

Response:

[
  {
    "backup_id": "backup_20260422_030000",
    "filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
    "backup_type": "NETWORK",
    "created_at": "2026-04-22T03:00:00Z",
    "size_bytes": 4096000,
    "version": "8.5.6",
    "is_valid": true,
    "cloud_synced": false
  }
]

To see details about a specific backup file:

details = await mcp.call_tool("get_backup_details", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf"
})

Downloading a backup

The download_backup tool saves a backup file to your local filesystem and optionally computes a SHA-256 checksum to verify file integrity. Example prompt: “Download the latest backup to /tmp/unifi-backup.unf and verify it”

result = await mcp.call_tool("download_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
    "output_path": "/tmp/unifi-backup.unf",
    "verify_checksum": True
})

Response:

{
  "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
  "local_path": "/tmp/unifi-backup.unf",
  "size_bytes": 4096000,
  "checksum": "a3f5d2c1e9b8074f6d1e2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3",
  "download_time": "2026-04-22T03:15:00"
}

Store the checksum value alongside your backup file to verify integrity before a restore.

Validating a backup

Before restoring, you can validate a backup to check file size, validity flags, and version compatibility.

validation = await mcp.call_tool("validate_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf"
})

Response:

{
  "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-22_03-00-00.unf",
  "is_valid": true,
  "checksum_valid": true,
  "format_valid": true,
  "version_compatible": true,
  "backup_version": "8.5.6",
  "warnings": [],
  "errors": [],
  "size_bytes": 4096000,
  "validated_at": "2026-04-22T03:16:00"
}

Restoring from a backup

Restoring from a backup will overwrite your current UniFi configuration. The controller may restart and devices may temporarily disconnect during the restore process (typically 2–5 minutes). This operation requires confirm=True and cannot be undone without the pre-restore backup.

By default, restore_backup automatically creates a safety backup of your current configuration before applying the restore. This gives you a rollback point if something goes wrong. Example prompt: “Restore the controller from the backup made on April 20th”

# Preview first
preview = await mcp.call_tool("restore_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-20_03-00-00.unf",
    "create_pre_restore_backup": True,
    "dry_run": True
})

Dry-run response:

{
  "dry_run": true,
  "would_restore_from": "backup_2026-04-20_03-00-00.unf",
  "would_create_pre_restore_backup": true,
  "warning": "Controller will restart during restore"
}

# Execute restore
result = await mcp.call_tool("restore_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-20_03-00-00.unf",
    "create_pre_restore_backup": True,
    "confirm": True
})

Response:

{
  "backup_filename": "backup_2026-04-20_03-00-00.unf",
  "status": "restore_initiated",
  "pre_restore_backup_id": "backup_20260422_031500",
  "can_rollback": true,
  "restore_time": "2026-04-22T03:15:00",
  "warning": "Controller may restart. Devices may temporarily disconnect."
}

Scheduling automated backups

The schedule_backups tool configures recurring backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. Example prompts:

“Schedule daily network backups at 3 AM”
“Set up weekly system backups on Sundays at 2 AM with 90-day retention”

Daily backups
Weekly backups
Monthly backups

result = await mcp.call_tool("schedule_backups", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_type": "network",
    "frequency": "daily",
    "time_of_day": "03:00",
    "retention_days": 30,
    "max_backups": 30,
    "confirm": True
})

# Weekly on Sundays (day_of_week=6) at 2 AM
result = await mcp.call_tool("schedule_backups", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_type": "system",
    "frequency": "weekly",
    "time_of_day": "02:00",
    "day_of_week": 6,
    "retention_days": 90,
    "max_backups": 12,
    "cloud_backup_enabled": True,
    "confirm": True
})

# Monthly on the 1st at midnight
result = await mcp.call_tool("schedule_backups", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_type": "system",
    "frequency": "monthly",
    "time_of_day": "00:00",
    "day_of_month": 1,
    "retention_days": 365,
    "max_backups": 12,
    "confirm": True
})

Schedule parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`frequency`	string	`daily`, `weekly`, or `monthly`
`time_of_day`	string	24-hour time in `HH:MM` format
`day_of_week`	integer	0=Monday, 6=Sunday (required for weekly)
`day_of_month`	integer	1–31 (required for monthly)
`retention_days`	integer	1–365 days
`max_backups`	integer	1–100 backups to retain
`cloud_backup_enabled`	boolean	Sync backups to UniFi cloud

View the current schedule

schedule = await mcp.call_tool("get_backup_schedule", {
    "site_id": "default"
})

Deleting a backup

result = await mcp.call_tool("delete_backup", {
    "site_id": "default",
    "backup_filename": "old_backup_2025-01-01.unf",
    "confirm": True
})

Backup deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Download the file first if you might need it later.

Safety summary

Operation	Requires `confirm=True`	Supports `dry_run=True`
List backups	No	No
Get details	No	No
Validate backup	No	No
Download backup	No	No
Trigger backup	Yes	Yes
Schedule backups	Yes	Yes
Delete backup	Yes	Yes
Restore from backup	Yes	Yes

Getting Started

Installation

MCP Client Setup

Features

Advanced

Automated backups and restore for UniFi

What you can do

Manual backups

Automated scheduling

Download and verify

Restore

Backup types

Creating a manual backup

Listing and inspecting backups

Downloading a backup

Validating a backup

Restoring from a backup

Scheduling automated backups

Schedule parameters

View the current schedule

Deleting a backup

Safety summary

​What you can do

Manual backups

Automated scheduling

Download and verify

Restore

​Backup types

​Creating a manual backup

​Listing and inspecting backups

​Downloading a backup

​Validating a backup

​Restoring from a backup

​Scheduling automated backups

​Schedule parameters

​View the current schedule

​Deleting a backup

​Safety summary

What you can do

Backup types

Creating a manual backup

Listing and inspecting backups

Downloading a backup

Validating a backup

Restoring from a backup

Scheduling automated backups

Schedule parameters

View the current schedule

Deleting a backup

Safety summary