Back up databases and files to Box with Mailgun email notifications

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

Variable	Example	Purpose
BOX_FOLDER_ID	1234567890	ID of the Box folder that stores backups
MAILGUN_DOMAIN	mg.example.com	Mailgun domain used for sending email
MAILGUN_FROM	Backups <[email protected]>	“From” address in status emails
NOTIFY_EMAIL	[email protected]	Recipient of backup status emails

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.

1. Update environment variables (BOX_FOLDER_ID, MAILGUN_DOMAIN, etc.) or edit the relevant Set node.
2. 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

1. Set the CRON schedule inside the Webhook node (or replace with a Cron node) to your desired frequency (daily, weekly, etc.).
2. Execute once manually to verify the Box upload and email notification.
3. 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.

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