🔧 Automatic Backup with Firebird (Windows Batch Script)

📋 Requirements

Before you begin, make sure that:

• Firebird (e.g. version 4.0) is installed on your system,

• you have write permissions for the backup folder,

• the file gbak.exe exists (usually in the Firebird installation path),

• and the Windows Task Scheduler is available.

💻 Firebird Silent Automatic Backup Script

Filename: portier_backup.bat

@echo offsetlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion:: ================== Settings ==================set "FBPATH=C:\Program Files (x86)\Firebird\Firebird_4_0\gbak.exe"set "DBPATH=C:\portier\vision5\PORTIERVISION.GDB"set "BKPATH=C:\portier\Backup"set "USER=SYSDBA"set "PASS=masterkey"set "RETENTION_DAYS_BACKUPS=14"set "RETENTION_DAYS_LOGS=30":: ====================================================:: --- Pre-checks & create folder ---if not exist "%BKPATH%" mkdir "%BKPATH%" 2>nulif not exist "%BKPATH%" exit /b 2if not exist "%DBPATH%" exit /b 3if not exist "%FBPATH%" exit /b 4:: --- Timestamp for unique filenames ---for /f %%i in ('powershell -NoProfile -Command "(Get-Date).ToString(\"yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss\")"') do set "STAMP=%%i"set "BKFILE=%BKPATH%\portier_%STAMP%.fbk"set "LOGFILE=%BKPATH%\backup_log_%STAMP%.txt"( echo ================================================== echo Backup started: %DATE% %TIME% echo gbak: "%FBPATH%" echo DB : "%DBPATH%" echo Target: "%BKFILE%" echo ==================================================)>>"%LOGFILE%":: --- Execute backup silently ---"%FBPATH%" -b -v -user %USER% -pas %PASS% "%DBPATH%" "%BKFILE%" >>"%LOGFILE%" 2>&1set "RC=%ERRORLEVEL%"if "%RC%"=="0" ( echo [%DATE% %TIME%] Backup OK >>"%LOGFILE%") else ( echo [%DATE% %TIME%] ERROR, Code %RC% >>"%LOGFILE%"):: --- Cleanup old backups ---echo.>>"%LOGFILE%"echo [%DATE% %TIME%] Cleaning: *.fbk older than %RETENTION_DAYS_BACKUPS% days >>"%LOGFILE%"forfiles /p "%BKPATH%" /m *.fbk /d -%RETENTION_DAYS_BACKUPS% /c "cmd /c del /q /f @path" 2>>"%LOGFILE%":: --- Cleanup old logs ---echo [%DATE% %TIME%] Cleaning: Logs older than %RETENTION_DAYS_LOGS% days >>"%LOGFILE%"forfiles /p "%BKPATH%" /m backup_log_*.txt /d -%RETENTION_DAYS_LOGS% /c "cmd /c del /q /f @path" 2>>"%LOGFILE%"echo ==================================================>>"%LOGFILE%"echo Backup completed. >>"%LOGFILE%"endlocal & exit /b %RC%

🧠 Explanation of Key Sections

Section | Description

Settings | Defines paths and credentials for Firebird, database, and backup folder, as well as file retention days.

Pre-checks | Verifies required folders and files exist; exits with an error code if not.

Timestamp | Generates a unique timestamp (yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss) for each backup and log file.

Silent Backup Execution | Runs gbak.exe silently, logging all output instead of displaying it on screen.

Error Handling | Writes success or failure (with return code) to the log file.

Cleanup Routine | Automatically deletes old backups and log files older than the defined retention period.

Exit Codes | Returns an exit code to the system (0 = OK, 3 = database missing, etc.), useful for monitoring tools.

🧾 Example Log Output

==================================================Backup started: 13.10.2025 07:00:01gbak: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Firebird\Firebird_4_0\gbak.exe"DB : "C:\portier\vision5\PORTIERVISION.GDB"Target: "C:\portier\Backup\portier_2025-10-13_07-00-01.fbk"==================================================Starting backup...gbak: creating file C:\portier\Backup\portier_2025-10-13_07-00-01.fbkgbak: writing data...gbak: finishing, closing, and going home[13.10.2025 07:01:12] Backup OK

🕒 How to Run It Automatically (Windows Task Scheduler)

To run the backup automatically (for example, every night at 2:00 AM):

1. Open Windows Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc)

2. Click Create Task

3. Under General:Name: portier Firebird Backup SilentCheck Run with highest privilegesCheck Run whether user is logged on or not

4. Under Triggers:New → Daily → Time: 02:00

5. Under Actions:Start a program → Path: C:\portier\backup\portier_backup_silent.bat

6. Save and test the task with Right-click → Run.

✅ The script will now run silently in the background — no console, no confirmation, just logs.

✅ Conclusion

This silent Firebird backup script provides a simple and reliable way to protect your database automatically — without user interaction.
It logs every operation, removes old files automatically, and can be scheduled to run unattended through the Windows Task Scheduler.