The previous file-backup workflow only LOOKED UP an existing database
dump via getDatabaseBackupInfo() and silently shipped a files-only
manifest when none was found. Admins clicking "Run Backup Now" (or
relying on the schedule) got an apparent success that omitted every
customer / quote / invoice / contract / payment-log row. The
data-loss footgun was discovered 2026-05-29 when an admin who'd been
"backing up" for weeks via the UI lost the entire CRM after a routine
docker compose down -v — every produced manifest had database:
{ backup_file: null, size: 0, tables: {} }.
Changes to runBackupInternal:
1. Inline pg_dump (or SQLite copy) before the file scan, via
databaseBackupService.backup(). Result lands in
database_backup_runs and is picked up by the existing
getDatabaseBackupInfo lookup that writes the manifest.
2. Fail-loud guard after the dump step: if no usable dump file is
reachable (path missing, 0 bytes, or never existed), throw —
the existing catch block marks the backup_runs row failed with
the error_message and emails the admin if configured. No more
silent files-only manifests.
3. Opt-out: `backup_database_inline_dump = false` skips the inline
dump for admins who already run their own scheduled
`backup_database_schedule`. The fail-loud guard still applies,
so an opted-out install with no recent dump still aborts loudly
instead of producing a partial backup. Default ON is encoded
as "skip only when explicitly false" — undefined (existing
installs upgrading) falls through to the safe-default ON path.
Test suite covers: default-on happy path, dump-throws-aborts-run,
opt-out + recent dump + proceeds, opt-out + no-dump + fail-loud,
opt-out + 0-byte dump + fail-loud. Mocks
databaseBackupService.backup so the tests don't depend on pg_dump
or sqlite3 CLI binaries being installed.
Stage A of three-stage backup hardening plan. Stage B (config-driven
walker) and Stage C (audit + diagnostic UI) follow in separate
commits.
Luca