backup-script-gen

What This Skill Does

The backup-script-gen skill is an intelligent utility designed to simplify the complex and often error-prone task of database administration. It acts as a specialized assistant that generates production-ready shell scripts for database backups, tailored specifically to your chosen database engine and storage destination. Whether you are dealing with relational databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL, or NoSQL options like MongoDB and Redis, this tool abstracts away the boilerplate code required for data dumping, compression, cloud provider authentication, and retention policy enforcement. By utilizing advanced prompt engineering, it translates your natural language requirements—such as "PostgreSQL daily to S3 with 30-day retention"—into robust, documented shell scripts. These scripts incorporate professional best practices, including proper error handling, logging, and automated cleanup of older archives to ensure your storage costs stay predictable.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your OpenClaw environment, use the provided package manager command. Ensure you have a valid OpenAI API key set in your environment variables, as the generation engine relies on LLM capabilities to structure the scripts. Run the following command in your terminal:

clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/lxgicstudios/backup-script-gen

Ensure you have Node.js 18 or higher installed on your system. No complex configuration files are required; the skill is designed to work immediately upon installation.

Use Cases

This skill is indispensable for DevOps engineers, solo developers, and sysadmins looking to automate infrastructure maintenance. Common use cases include:

• Setting up daily automated backups for production databases to prevent data loss.
• Standardizing backup procedures across a multi-project organization.
• Migrating legacy manual backup processes to modern cloud storage solutions like S3 or GCS.
• Creating ad-hoc disaster recovery plans for rapid restoration in side projects or MVPs.
• Ensuring compliance with data retention requirements via automated cleanup logic.

Example Prompts

1. "Generate a script to backup my production MySQL database every day at 2 AM, upload it to an AWS S3 bucket, and delete any backups older than 14 days."
2. "I need a MongoDB backup script that compresses the dump using gzip and pushes it to Google Cloud Storage. Include a script for restoring the database as well."
3. "Create a bash script for a Redis instance that creates a snapshot every 6 hours and saves it to a local folder named /var/backups/redis, rotating them so only the last 10 snapshots remain."

Tips & Limitations

• Security: While the tool generates the structure, ensure you are using IAM roles or environment variables for cloud credentials rather than hardcoding them into the generated files.
• Verification: Always verify the generated output. The tool provides the foundation, but testing the backup integrity via a mock restore process is a mandatory safety step.
• Dependencies: Ensure that the necessary CLI tools (like pg_dump, mongodump, or aws-cli) are pre-installed on the host machine where the script will run.
• Scheduling: The tool generates the backup script, but you will need to schedule its execution using system tools like cron or systemd timers.