Download GWS Backup

GWS Backup runs as a self-contained Node application. One platform is released today; the other two are built and in testing. Every file is listed with its size and a SHA-256, so you can check what you got before you run it.

v0.96 BETA · published 2026-08-31

gwsbackup-cpanel-0.96-app.zip 26.8 MB The application itself. Upload to your app root. 76041eeaad43bd7717839aaf974f6d7db5265a7ff2225fbd02c67cf612339b09
gwsbackup-cpanel-0.96-installer.php 14 KB The installer. Upload alongside the zip and run it once. d1e5fece5356d40824a8ea29ab3bf363fa32b6dfc36c0e874b2e6569d81a3053
gwsbackup-cpanel-0.96-readme.txt 18 KB Offline copy of the install steps. 43c3d7a01fb387ae05ad66c8647d2fe22a4fa209c8fd971dd6215acb4bd28aa5

SHA256SUMS.txt — verify with shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS.txt

Installing

Create a randomly-named subdomain and run AutoSSL on it. Not backup.yourdomain.com — bots scan the obvious names.
Create the Node.js application with its root outside public_html and its startup file set to app.js. The application folder holds your encrypted credentials and recovery key; under the web root, one misconfiguration puts them within reach of anyone.
Upload both files into that folder and run the installer from cPanel’s Terminal. It backs up any existing database — including every per-client database — before it extracts anything.
Set NEXTAUTH_URL to your full https:// address, start the app, and finish setup in the browser.

Read the full install guide

Built and in testing. There is nothing to download yet, and we would rather be late than hand you an installer that eats an afternoon.

It will install the runtime, register the app as a service and handle its own updates — no terminal work. When it is ready it will appear here, be announced in the news section, and show up inside the app itself for anyone already running it.

v0.96 BETA · ghcr.io/kikosolutions-tech/gwsbackup

The image carries its own Node runtime, so there is nothing to install first and no version to check. Download the two files below into an empty directory, fill in two generated secrets, and start it.

gwsbackup-docker-0.96-compose.yml 4 KB Save as docker-compose.yml. Pinned to this version.
gwsbackup-docker-0.96-env.example 1 KB Save as .env and fill in the two secrets it asks for.
gwsbackup-docker-0.96-readme.txt 5 KB Install, where your data lives, how to back it up, and updating.

SHA256SUMS.txt

Installing

Generate the two secrets and put them in .env: openssl rand -hex 32 for ENCRYPTION_KEY, and openssl rand -base64 32 for NEXTAUTH_SECRET.
Start it: docker compose up -d. The image is pulled for you; there is nothing to build.
Open the console on port 3000, create your administrator account, save the recovery key, and paste in your licence key.

Keep .env safe, and separate from the server. ENCRYPTION_KEY decrypts every stored client credential. If it is lost, those credentials cannot be recovered by us or by anyone, and every client connection has to be set up again. The container refuses to start rather than quietly generating a replacement, so a mistake here shows up as a container that will not boot — not as silent data loss.

Read the full Docker install guide

Updating

Set GWSB_VERSION in .env to the new version, then docker compose pull && docker compose up -d. Your databases live in a Docker volume rather than in the image, so an update does not touch them.

Before you start

Two things stop the application dead if they are missing, and it is much less annoying to find out now than halfway through:

Node.js 22.5 or newer. GWS Backup uses the SQLite engine built into Node 22, so it will not start on Node 20 or older. On cPanel that means whichever versions your host offers in Setup Node.js App.
Your licence key. The software stays on the activation screen until a valid key is entered. Keys are free and issued personally for now — request one here.

The full list, including PHP and Google Workspace requirements, is on the minimum specs page.

Installing

Create a randomly-named subdomain and run AutoSSL on it. Not backup.yourdomain.com — bots scan the obvious names.
Create the Node.js application with its root outside public_html and its startup file set to app.js. The application folder holds your encrypted credentials and recovery key; under the web root, one misconfiguration puts them within reach of anyone.
Upload both downloaded files into that folder, then run the installer from cPanel’s Terminal — php gwsbackup-cpanel-0.96-installer.php, with whichever version you downloaded. It backs up any existing database before it extracts anything.
Set NEXTAUTH_URL to your full https:// address, start the app, and finish setup in the browser.

Read the full install guide

Updating an existing install? Upload the new -app.zip and its matching -installer.php, then run the installer. It refuses to extract a payload whose version does not match its own, and clears out installers from earlier releases once it has finished — so the only one left in the folder is always the current one.

Licence

Use of GWS Backup is subject to the GWS Backup Free Licence — free for up to ten client workspaces, personal and commercial use alike, including serving your own paying clients. It is not open source: no rebranding, reselling or redistribution.

You will be asked to accept the licence inside the application before you can use it, and your acceptance is recorded there with the version and date. Downloading is not acceptance; running it is.

Something wrong?

If a download fails, a checksum does not match, or the installer stops with an error, email support@gwsbackup.com and a person will read it. Support is free, and stays free for as long as we can manage it.