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Overview

fjall restore restores AWS resources from AWS Backup recovery points. It supports S3 buckets, EBS volumes, RDS databases, and EC2 instances.

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Usage

fjall restore [resource] [options]

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Arguments

ArgumentDescriptionRequired
resourceResource type to restore: s3, ebs, rds, or ec2No (interactive picker if omitted)

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Options

OptionDescriptionExample
--recovery-point <arn>Recovery point ARN (required in non-interactive mode)--recovery-point arn:aws:backup:...
-n, --name <name>Name for the restored resource--name restored-db
-y, --yesSkip the dry-run and start the restore immediately-y
-v, --verboseEnable verbose logging-v
--non-interactiveForce plain CLI output (no interactive UI)--non-interactive

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Agent flags

These flags shape output for AI-agent and scripted callers.
FlagDescription
--agentEnable agent output mode
--budget <level>Output budget: minimal, compact, or a token count
--fields <fields>Request additional fields in output
--fullDisable content truncation

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Resource Types

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S3 Bucket

Restore an S3 bucket from backup: 
fjall restore s3 --recovery-point arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123

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EBS Volume

Restore an EBS volume: 
fjall restore ebs --recovery-point arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123

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RDS Database

Restore an RDS instance or Aurora cluster: 
fjall restore rds --recovery-point arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123

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EC2 Instance

Restore an EC2 instance: 
fjall restore ec2 --recovery-point arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123

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Interactive Mode

Run fjall restore with no recovery point to walk through a guided picker chain: 
fjall restore
The picker steps through:
  1. Resource category (What type of resource would you like to restore?): Compute or Storage.
  2. Resource type (Select compute resource type: for EC2, or Select storage resource type: for S3, EBS, RDS).
  3. Backup vault (Select backup vault (N available):): each vault shows its recovery-point count.
  4. Resource (Select resource to restore (N available):): shows the backup count and latest backup date.
  5. Recovery point (Select a backup to restore (N available for <resource>):): the most recent backup is labelled (Latest).
  6. Confirmation (Start restore job?): shown after a summary of the restore.
RDS restores additionally prompt for the DB instance name and port before the confirmation step. Once confirmed, the restore job starts and the CLI prints the job ID and a console link to track progress: 
Restoring RDS from AWS Backup
  Recovery Point: arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123

  Starting restore job...
  Restore job ID: A1B2C3D4-5678-90AB-CDEF-EXAMPLE11111

Restore job started successfully!

Next steps:
  • View progress: https://console.aws.amazon.com/backup/home?region=ap-southeast-2#/jobs

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Non-Interactive Mode

For CI/CD or scripting, pass every required option and --yes to skip the dry-run: 
fjall restore rds \
  --recovery-point arn:aws:backup:ap-southeast-2:123456789:recovery-point:abc-123 \
  --yes \
  --non-interactive

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Finding Recovery Points

Find recovery points in:
  1. AWS Console: Backup > Protected resources > select a resource.
  2. AWS CLI: 
    aws backup list-recovery-points-by-resource \
  --resource-arn arn:aws:rds:ap-southeast-2:123456789:db:myapp-database

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Post-Restore Steps

After a restore completes:
  1. Verify the restored resource in the AWS Console.
  2. Update application configuration if the restored resource has a new name or endpoint.
Importing an existing AWS resource back into a Fjall application (fjall import) is not yet available. Track restored resources manually until import ships.

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Troubleshooting

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Permission Denied

Error: Access denied

Ensure you have the following permissions:
  - backup:StartRestoreJob
  - iam:PassRole (for the restore role)
Solution: Grant your IAM role the AWS Backup permissions listed in Required Permissions.

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Recovery Point Not Found

Error: Recovery point not found

Verify the recovery point ARN is correct
Solution: Confirm the ARN is valid and the recovery point exists: 
aws backup describe-recovery-point \
  --backup-vault-name Default \
  --recovery-point-arn arn:aws:backup:...

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Restore Failed

If a restore job fails, check the AWS Backup console for details:
  1. Go to AWS Console > Backup > Jobs.
  2. Find the failed job.
  3. Read the status message for the failure reason.

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Required Permissions

The restore command requires these IAM permissions: 
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "backup:StartRestoreJob",
        "backup:DescribeRestoreJob",
        "backup:ListRecoveryPointsByResource"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "iam:PassRole",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:iam::*:role/AWSBackupDefaultServiceRole"
    }
  ]
}

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Next Steps

fjall list

List the resources defined in an application’s infrastructure.

fjall deploy

Deploy application changes to AWS.

fjall tunnel

Open a secure tunnel to a restored database.

fjall connect

Connect an AWS account before restoring its resources.