Configuring backups to storage accounts

[rnadupal]

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Hello,

I was going thru the documentation for configuring the backups using the GH backup utilities. I was thinking of storing the backups in the azure storage accounts. Is it possible?

[irfan-sec]

Hi @rnadupal,

Yes, you can store GitHub Enterprise Server backups in Azure Storage accounts using the GitHub Backup Utilities. Here’s how you can do it:

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1. Supported Storage Options

GitHub Backup Utilities let you back up to any destination that is accessible from your server—including Azure Blob Storage—by using supported tools like azcopy or mounting the storage as a file system.

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2. Common Approaches

A. Use AzCopy to Upload Backups

1. Run your usual backup command (e.g., ghe-backup).
2. Use AzCopy to upload the backup directory to your Azure storage account:

   azcopy copy "/path/to/github/backup" "https://<storage-account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>/<path>?<SAS-token>" --recursive

B. Mount Azure File Share

• Mount an Azure File Share to your server using SMB, and configure your backup utility to write directly to the mounted path.

C. Use Azure Blobfuse (Linux Only)

• Blobfuse lets you mount Azure Blob Storage as a filesystem on Linux, so you can back up directly to it.

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3. References

• GitHub Backup Utilities Docs
• Azure Storage Documentation
• How to use AzCopy

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[whatsupsumit]

Hello,

Yes, it’s possible to store GitHub backups in Azure Storage. Most GitHub backup utilities allow you to export backups to a custom location or script the process. You can:

Use the utility to create the backup locally.

Upload the backup to Azure Blob Storage using:

Azure CLI (az storage blob upload)

AzCopy (azcopy copy)

Or automate it in a script after each backup.

There isn’t a native GitHub → Azure integration, but with a simple script, you can reliably store your backups in Azure.

[Jamonygr]

Yes, you can use Azure Storage for this. I would just avoid making Blob storage the live working directory for backup-utils.

The pattern I would use is:

1. Run the GHES backup locally on the backup host.
2. After the backup finishes, copy the completed backup folder to Azure Blob with azcopy.
3. Put retention controls on the container, for example versioning, immutability, or lifecycle rules.

Rough shape:

ghe-backup
azcopy sync /data/ghes-backups "https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>/<path>?<sas>" --recursive

If the backup host is an Azure VM, I would use managed identity with azcopy login --identity and give it Storage Blob Data Contributor on the container. That is cleaner than leaving a long-lived SAS on the box.

One note for new setups: GitHub is moving newer GHES versions toward Backup Service, with Backup Utilities being phased out later. If this is a fresh design, I would check Backup Service first. If you are already on backup-utils, local backup plus AzCopy is a solid Azure approach.