Backup
also: backups, back up, backed up, database backup
A saved copy of your data that you can restore if something goes wrong, like a bad change or an accidental deletion.
A copy of a database from a point in time, such as a full dump, a snapshot, or continuous point-in-time recovery, stored separately so data can be restored. A backup is only trustworthy once restoring from it has been tested.
A photocopy of your passport kept at home. If the original is lost abroad, the copy gets you going again. It only helps if it's recent and you can actually find it.
Before any risky database change, a fresh backup turns a disaster into an inconvenience. Agents won't always take one unless asked, and some hosting plans back up less often than you'd assume.
Before applying this migration, I recommend a backup. Your provider's last automatic backup was 21 hours ago.
Take a backup of the production database and confirm it finished before running anything that changes data. Then tell me how we'd restore it.
Thinking Git backs up your data. Git saves your code, not what's stored in your production database.