# Backing up a DynamoDB table
<a name="Backup.Tutorial"></a>

This section describes how to use the Amazon DynamoDB console or the AWS Command Line Interface to back up a table.

**Topics**

## Creating a table backup (console)
<a name="backup_console"></a>

Follow these steps to create a backup named `MusicBackup` for an existing `Music` table using the AWS Management Console.

**To create a table backup**

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the DynamoDB console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/).

1. You can create a backup by doing one of the following:
   + On the **Backups** tab of the `Music` table, choose **Create backup**.
   + In the navigation pane on the left side of the console, choose **Backups**. Then choose **Create backup**.

1. Make sure that `Music` is the table name, and enter **MusicBackup** for the backup name. Then, choose **Create backup** to create the backup.  
![\[Create backup console screen with the table name and backup name filled in.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/images/confirm_createbackup.png)
**Note**  
If you create backups using the **Backups** section in the navigation pane, the table isn't preselected for you. You have to manually choose the source table name for the backup.

   While the backup is being created, the backup status is set to **Creating**. After the backup is complete, the backup status changes to **Available**.  
![\[On-demand backups console page. Status of MusicBackup is showing as Available.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/images/confirm_backup.png)

## Creating a table backup (AWS CLI)
<a name="backup_cli"></a>

Follow these steps to create a backup for an existing table `Music` using the AWS CLI.

**To create a table backup**
+ Create a backup with the name `MusicBackup` for the `Music` table.

  ```
  aws dynamodb create-backup --table-name Music \
   --backup-name MusicBackup
  ```

   While the backup is being created, the backup status is set to `CREATING`.

  ```
  {
      "BackupDetails": {
          "BackupName": "MusicBackup", 
          "BackupArn": "arn:aws:dynamodb:us-east-1:123456789012:table/Music/backup/01489602797149-73d8d5bc", 
          "BackupStatus": "CREATING", 
          "BackupCreationDateTime": 1489602797.149
      }
  }
  ```

After the backup is complete, its `BackupStatus` should change to `AVAILABLE`. To confirm this, use the `describe-backup` command. You can get the input value of `backup-arn` from the output of the previous step or by using the `list-backups` command.

```
aws dynamodb describe-backup \
--backup-arn arn:aws:dynamodb:us-east-1:123456789012:table/Music/backup/01489173575360-b308cd7d
```

 To keep track of your backups, you can use the `list-backups` command. It lists all your backups that are in `CREATING` or `AVAILABLE` status.

```
aws dynamodb list-backups
```

 The `list-backups` command and the `describe-backup` command are useful to check information about the source table of the backup.