Home Assistant Backup Readiness Checklist
Check each item honestly. A green dashboard and a recent backup timestamp do not prove that you can recover the system.
1. The backup completed recently
You know the date, size, and result—not only that an automation was supposed to run.
2. A copy exists off the Home Assistant host
A dead SSD, corrupted filesystem, or failed machine cannot take the only copy with it.
3. At least one copy is offsite
Fire, theft, surge damage, and accidental deletion should not remove every recovery point.
4. You can decrypt or unlock the backup
The encryption key, password, recovery code, and account access are documented outside the failed system.
5. You know what the backup does not include
External Docker containers, databases, media, certificates, scripts, and host files may need separate protection.
6. USB radios and network dependencies are inventoried
Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, serial paths, static IPs, DNS, MQTT, and reverse proxies are recorded.
7. Cloud integrations and credentials are recoverable
You know which integrations may require reauthentication and where the credentials or recovery methods live.
8. You have a restore target
You know what hardware, VM, spare drive, or temporary system could accept the restore.
9. You have tested the restore path
You have opened the restore workflow or completed a controlled drill before an emergency.
10. You have a post-restore validation list
Automations, radios, remote access, notifications, cameras, DNS, and critical integrations are checked individually.
Start with the location of your newest backup and make a second copy.
Turn the checklist into a tested recovery plan.
The Backup & Recovery Kit adds the three-layer backup model, restore drill, migration inventory, integration re-auth tracker, and complete printable Vol. 9 guide.
See the $9.99 kit →