Scheduled Backup Automation – Mailgun & Box

This workflow automatically schedules, packages, and uploads backups of your databases, files, or configuration exports to Box cloud storage, then sends a completion email via Mailgun. It is ideal for small-to-medium businesses or solo developers who want hands-off, verifiable backups without writing custom scripts.

Pre-conditions/Requirements

Prerequisites

• n8n instance (self-hosted or n8n.cloud)
• Box account with a folder dedicated to backups
• Mailgun account & verified domain
• Access to the target database/server you intend to back up
• Basic knowledge of environment variables to store secrets

Required Credentials

• Box OAuth2 – For uploading the backup file(s)
• Mailgun API Key – For sending backup status notifications
• (Optional) Database Credentials – Only if the backup includes a DB dump triggered from inside n8n

Specific Setup Requirements

How it works

This workflow automatically schedules, packages, and uploads backups of your databases, files, or configuration exports to Box cloud storage, then sends a completion email via Mailgun. It is ideal for small-to-medium businesses or solo developers who want hands-off, verifiable backups without writing custom scripts.

Key Steps:

• Webhook (Scheduler Trigger): Triggers the workflow on a CRON schedule or external call.
• Code (DB/File Dump): Executes bash or Node.js commands to create a tar/zip or SQL dump.
• Move Binary Data: Converts the created file into n8n binary format.
• Set: Attaches metadata (timestamp, file name).
• Split In Batches (optional): Splits multiple backup files for sequential uploads.
• Box Node: Uploads each backup file into the specified Box folder.
• HTTP Request (Verify Upload): Calls Box API to confirm upload success.
• If: Branches on success vs failure.
• Mailgun Node: Sends confirmation or error report email.
• Sticky Notes: Provide inline documentation inside the workflow canvas.

Set up steps

Setup Time: 15-20 minutes

1. Clone or import the workflow JSON into your n8n instance.
2. Create credentials:
   • Box OAuth2: paste Client ID, Client Secret, perform OAuth handshake.
   • Mailgun API: add Private API key and domain.
3. Update environment variables (BOX_FOLDER_ID, MAILGUN_DOMAIN, etc.) or edit the relevant Set node.
4. Modify the Code node to run your specific backup command, e.g.:

   pg_dump -U $DB_USER -h $DB_HOST $DB_NAME > /tmp/db_backup.sql
   tar -czf /tmp/full_backup_{{new Date().toISOString()}}.tar.gz /etc/nginx /var/www /tmp/db_backup.sql
   

5. Set the CRON schedule inside the Webhook node (or replace with a Cron node) to your desired frequency (daily, weekly, etc.).
6. Execute once manually to verify the Box upload and email notification.
7. Enable the workflow.

Node Descriptions

Core Workflow Nodes:

• Webhook / Cron – Acts as the time-based trigger for backups.
• Code – Creates the actual backup archive (tar, zip, SQL dump).
• Move Binary Data – Moves the generated file into binary property.
• Set – Adds filename and timestamp metadata for Box.
• Split In Batches – Handles multiple files when necessary.
• Box – Uploads the backup file to Box.
• HTTP Request – Optional re-check to ensure the file exists in Box.
• If – Routes the flow based on success or error.
• Mailgun – Sends success/failure notifications.
• Sticky Note – Explains credential handling and customization points.

Data Flow:

1. Webhook/Cron → Code → Move Binary Data → Set → Split In Batches → Box → HTTP Request → If → Mailgun

Customization Examples

Add Retention Policy (Auto-delete old backups)

// In a Code node before upload
const retentionDays = 30;
const cutoff = Date.now() - retentionDays * 24*60*60*1000;

items = items.filter(item => {
  return item.json.modifiedAt > cutoff; // keep only recent files
});
return items;

Parallel Upload to S3

// Duplicate the Box node, replace with AWS S3 node
// Use Merge node to combine results before the HTTP Request verification

Data Output Format

The workflow outputs structured JSON data:

{
  "fileName": "full_backup_2023-10-31T00-00-00Z.tar.gz",
  "boxFileId": "9876543210",
  "uploadStatus": "success",
  "timestamp": "2023-10-31T00:05:12Z",
  "emailNotification": "sent"
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. “Invalid Box Folder ID” – Verify BOX_FOLDER_ID and ensure the OAuth user has write permissions.
2. Mailgun 401 Unauthorized – Check that you used the Private API key and the domain is verified.
3. Backup file too large – Enable chunked upload in Box node or increase client_max_body_size on reverse proxy.

Performance Tips

• Compress backups with gzip or zstd to reduce upload time.
• Run the database dump on the same host as n8n to avoid network overhead.

Pro Tips:

• Store secrets as environment variables and reference them in Code nodes (process.env.MY_SECRET).
• Chain backups with version numbers (YYYYMMDD_HHmm) for easy sorting.
• Use n8n’s built-in execution logging to audit backup history.

This is a community workflow template provided “as-is” without warranty. Adapt and test in a safe environment before using in production.