Taking a backup.
THE PROCEDURE
- Select the database in the left panel.
- Export tab.
- Quick export, SQL format, is sufficient for most cases.
- Go. The file downloads.
WHEN TO USE CUSTOM
To exclude large tables, such as statistics or logs To export specific tables only To add DROP TABLE statements, so re-importing replaces cleanly
That last option is genuinely useful: it means the import removes the existing tables rather than colliding with them.
WHAT THE FILE CONTAINS
SQL statements that recreate the structure and reinsert the data.
It is plain text and can be opened in an editor.
COMPRESSION
Choose gzip for large databases. Considerably smaller and faster to download.
THE LIMITATION
phpMyAdmin times out on large databases. If the download stops partway, the file is truncated and will not import correctly.
For anything substantial, use the command line or cPanel partial backups.
CHECKING THE FILE
Open it and confirm it ends cleanly rather than stopping mid-statement.
