--- title: "Gateway Backups" --- # Gateway Backups > It is a good idea to create backups anytime you make changes to Ignition. You can create an Ignition backup in three different ways: - From the Gateway webpage - From the Gateway Control Utility (GCU) - [Schedule Automated Backups](gateway/making-backups-and-restoring/gateway-automatic-backups.md) ## To Create a Backup in the Gateway Webpage 1. Go to the Configure section of the Gateway webpage. 2. Click on System > Backup/Restore. The System Backup/Restore page is displayed. 3. Click the Download Backup button. By default, this downloads a .gwbk file to your local file system in your Downloads folder. The Gateway backup includes everything in Gateway, that is, all projects, Ignition Tags, security profiles, global resources, database connections, OPC and Device connections, and all the Gateway settings. The only things that are not included in a Gateway backup are modules and the data stored in other programs (like databases). You can backup information stored in other software separately. :::note On 7.9.11 and higher, your Gateway Backup filename will default to this format: **GatewayName_Ignition-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMM.gwbk** On versions older than 7.9.11, the format is: **Ignition-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMM.gwbk** without the Gateway Name. In both cases, **YYYYMMDD-HHMM** represents the timestamp of when the file was created. ::: ![" "](gateway-backup3.png) ## To Create a Backup using the Gateway Control Utility (GCU) 1. Open the Gateway control Utility (GCU). 2. Click on **Gateway Backup** to create the Gateway backup `.gwbk` file. Your Gateway backup will be automatically saved to your default **Downloads** folder (based on your web browser) unless you select another location. :::note You can **ONLY** access the GCU from the machine that the Gateway is installed on and if you have Administrator access. ::: ![" "](making-bkups-gcu.png)