---
title: "Manually back up a course"
slug: "manually-back-up-a-course"
tags: ["Totara Learn", "Content Creator", "How-to"]
updated: 2026-08-13T16:01:25Z
published: 2026-08-13T16:01:25Z
canonical: "totara.help/manually-back-up-a-course"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manually back up a course

Course backups can be used to save course data to be restored at a later date if required. Typically the Site Administrator sets a schedule of [automated course backups](/totara-20/docs/set-up-automated-course-backups) for the whole site, while a Trainer with editing privileges can create a manual course backup. Trainers can also download an existing backup for safe keeping or for use on another Totara site.

Alongside any automated backups that are run on your Totara site, it is sometimes necessary or advisable to perform a manual backup of an individual course (e.g. if you are going to make any significant changes to the course).

To complete a manual backup, follow these steps:

1. From the course page, click on **Backup** in the **Course** block*.*
2. On the **Initial settings** page, select the areas of the course you want to include in the backup. Then you have two options:
  - Click the **Next** button to select which activities and resources are included.
  - Click **Jump to final step** if you wish to include everything in the backup (in this case the backup will be performed immediately).
3. If you clicked **Next**, you will now see the **Schema settings** page. Here you can select specific items to include in backup, including specific topics and activities. Once you are done, click **Next**.
4. On the **Confirmation and review** page, check that the selected content is correct. Click **Previous** if you need to make any changes. If you are happy with the selected options, click **Perform backup**.
5. Once the backup has been performed you will see a confirmation message. Click **Continue** to finish.

We strongly recommend that you do not include quizzes with question banks in your course backups, as questions in the question bank will be duplicated. If **Include question bank** is disabled then quizzes will not be included in the backup.

The backup may take a few moments depending on the size of the course.

A backup file (with distinctive .mbz extension to avoid confusion with .zip files) is then saved in the course backup area. Backup file names are of the form **backup-totara-course-coursename-date-hour.mbz**, ending in **-nu.mbz** when backed up with no users and **-an.mbz** with anonymised names.

## Anonymising user information

Anonymise user information is a backup feature which protects user identities by making each user anonymous. If this box is checked in the backup **Initial settings**, Totara will substitute aliases for real names, substituting @doesntexist.com email addresses and so forth. For example 'Max Manager' might become 'anonfirstname4 anonlastname4'. This can only be done by users with appropriate permissions, such as Site Administrators and managers.

Additionally, users with these permissions can choose whether to include users, user role assignments, groups, groupings, user files, comments, user completion details, course logs, and grade history in the backup.

## Next steps

- [Restore a course from a backup](/totara-20/docs/restore-a-course-from-a-backup)

Join the [Totara Community](https://totara.community/) for more resources to help you get the most out of Totara.

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