How to Properly Back Up a Self-Hosted Spliit Instance Using PostgreSQL and S3

Self-hosting the expense-splitting app Spliit requires backing up three distinct components: a compressed PostgreSQL database dump, a copy of the S3 or MinIO bucket storing receipt images, and the environment file holding credentials and configuration. The PostgreSQL database contains all groups, expenses, participants, and splits, making it the most critical backup element, while receipt image blobs stored in S3 cannot be recreated from memory. A lesser-known data loss risk is the browser's local storage, which holds group link indexes and is entirely separate from the database. Backup needs vary by use case — casual users may need only nightly database dumps, while heavy users scanning receipts should prioritize bucket backups with dated retention windows. Experts recommend logical pg_dump over Docker volume snapshots for portability across version upgrades, and stress that any backup plan must include a rehearsed restore procedure to be considered reliable.