Restore a MySQL database from JetBackup 5 in cPanel

If an update, a bad plugin or an accidental bulk delete damaged your site's content, restoring yesterday's database usually fixes it in minutes. JetBackup 5 in cPanel keeps daily copies of each MySQL database on your account, and you can restore or download them yourself.

Before you start

• Find the database your site uses. For WordPress, open wp-config.php and read DB_NAME, e.g. cpuser_wp123.
• Understand that a restore replaces the whole database. Orders, comments, form entries and posts created after the backup date will be lost. For a busy shop, export the current database first in phpMyAdmin.

Restore the database

1. Open cPanel → JetBackup 5 → Database Backups.
2. Find your database in the list. Use the search box if you have many.
3. Choose the backup date you want. Pick one from before the problem.
4. Tick it and click Restore. Confirm the restore.
5. Open Queue and wait until the job shows Completed.

The database user and privileges stay as they are, so your site reconnects automatically.

Download a database dump

1. In Database Backups, select the database and date and click Download.
2. When the queue item finishes, open Downloads and download the archive. It contains a .sql file.
3. You can then import it into a new, empty database with phpMyAdmin to compare data or copy a single table back, without touching the live site.

Recover only some data

To bring back one deleted page or product without losing new orders:

1. Create a new empty database, e.g. cpuser_recover.
2. Import the downloaded dump into it.
3. In phpMyAdmin, find the rows you need (for WordPress, in wp_posts and wp_postmeta), export them, and import them into the live database. Or use the CMS's export/import tools on a temporary copy of the site.
4. Delete the recovery database when finished.

After the restore

• Purge caches (LiteSpeed Cache, CDN) so visitors see the restored content.
• Log in to the admin area and check recent content, settings and users.
• If the problem was a hack, change admin passwords and remove unknown admin users.

Troubleshooting

• Database missing from the list: it was created after the last backup, or it is a new name. Check the date of the newest backup.
• "Error establishing a database connection" afterwards: the database user password may have changed since; reset it in Manage My Databases and update wp-config.php. See fix database connection errors.
• Restore failed in the queue: the account may be over its disk quota; free space and try again, or contact support.

Next steps

• Restore website files
• Restore email
• Import and export with phpMyAdmin