JetBackup – What is it and how do I use it?

JetBackup is the backup and restore tool in your Hostworld cPanel. Use it from cPanel: open JetBackup, go to Restore & Download and choose the items you need. Restore Selected Items overwrites the live data for whatever you have selected, so check the scope and date before you click it. Download Selected Items is the non-destructive option: it queues a .tar.gz you can fetch from the Downloads page.

Before you start

• Log in to the correct cPanel account for the site you want to restore or download.
• Make sure the cPanel account is not suspended. Restores fail while suspended.
• Decide the date and scope you need. Full Account overwrites everything in that cPanel account.

Step 1: Open JetBackup in cPanel

In cPanel, open JetBackup. In the JetBackup user panel you will see sections named Restore & Download, Downloads and Queue.

Step 2: Choose what to restore or download

Go to Restore & Download. Pick the item tab you need: Full Account, Home Directory Files, Databases, Database Users, Email Accounts, FTP Accounts, Cron Jobs, DNS Zones or SSL Certificates.

• Pick the backup point you want. If you are restoring databases, also include the matching Database Users. If you miss the users, applications will not be able to log in.
• For files: file or folder selection only appears on Incremental Home Directory backups. Compressed Home Directory backups restore or download the whole home directory.
• For restores: consider enabling Merge live account data with backup data if you need to keep newer files or mail. Live data takes precedence when Merge is enabled.
• Click Restore Selected Items to overwrite the live data for those items, or Download Selected Items to create an archive. Both actions are queued.
• Avoid Full Account unless you intend to overwrite everything in the account: files, databases, mailboxes, cron, DNS and SSL.

Step 3: Monitor the Queue and complete the action

• Open Queue and wait for the job to reach Completed. Hosts can limit how many jobs run at once, so it may wait before starting.
• If you queued a download, go to Downloads when the job completes. Click Direct Download to fetch the archive, which is named like download_XXX_XXX.tar.gz.
• If you queued a restore, check your site and application after the job reaches Completed.

Step 4: Undo or roll back if you changed the wrong thing

• If you restored the wrong data or date: return to Restore & Download and run another restore from the correct backup point. Use the same item scope you changed before.
• For a mistaken Full Account restore, running Full Account again from the date you meant is the way back. Read this before you click: a second Full Account restore overwrites every component of the account again, including files, databases, mailboxes, cron, DNS and SSL. Anything created since the first restore is overwritten too. If you are not sure the earlier backup point is the one you want, open a support ticket before you run it.
• If you intended a download but clicked Restore: wait for the restore to complete, then use Download Selected Items on the same items to create an archive you can keep.

If it does not work

• Clicked Restore when you meant to download: follow Step 4 to restore again from the correct date, then use Download Selected Items. If you are unsure which backup date to choose, open a support ticket and tell us the job ID and time you started it.
• Database restored but the site still errors: restore the matching Database Users as well as the Database. Re-run the restore including both items.
• Job is Pending for a long time or fails: check the cPanel account is not suspended. Restores cannot run while suspended. If it is not suspended and the job still fails, open a support ticket with the job ID from the Queue.

What next

If you want the bigger picture on when to restore individual items versus a full account, see our backup guides, which explain the choices and the risks in more depth. For broader backup and migration planning at server level, see our VPS guides.