Data Management and Backups

lowFAT stores application data, uploaded files, workflow information, and user-submitted content related to Fellowship administration.

Backups and data management are therefore an important part of maintaining a deployment safely and responsibly.

Backup Support

lowFAT includes support for database and media backups using django-dbbackup.

Typical backup operations include:

  • database backups,
  • uploaded media backups,
  • encrypted backup archives,
  • and scheduled backup jobs.

Encryption

The project supports encrypted backups using GPG.

Runtime backup behaviour and encryption settings are configured through the Django settings and deployment environment.

Media and Uploaded Files

Uploaded files and media content are typically stored separately from the application source code.

This may include:

  • uploaded receipts,
  • supporting documents,
  • profile images,
  • and related workflow files.

Operational Responsibility

Production backup, restore, retention, and disaster-recovery procedures are operational responsibilities and should be maintained separately from the public contributor documentation.

Deployment maintainers should ensure that:

  • backups are performed regularly,
  • backup data is stored securely,
  • encrypted backups are handled safely,
  • restore procedures are periodically tested,
  • and sensitive information is protected appropriately.

Backup-related configuration may involve:

  • django-dbbackup
  • Django settings
  • storage locations
  • scheduled tasks
  • and deployment-specific infrastructure configuration

Do not publish production backup paths, secrets, encryption keys, credentials, or operational recovery procedures in the public documentation.

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