feat: add automated backup system with retention and verification

[dreamgene]

closes #127

What was added

• Added a PostgreSQL backup script at backend/scripts/backup.js
• Added a backend CLI entrypoint via npm run backup:db
• Added backup-related environment variables to backend/.env.example
• Added operational backup documentation and a daily cron example in backend/DATABASE_SETUP.md
• Added focused Jest coverage for backup naming, verification, retention, and config handling

Database backup strategy chosen and why

This backend is configured for PostgreSQL in backend/knexfile.js, so the backup implementation uses PostgreSQL’s native tooling instead of ORM-level exports.

The script uses pg_dump with PostgreSQL custom format (--format=custom) because it is production-suitable, supports reliable verification, and preserves schema and data more safely than application-level JSON exports.

Retention policy

• Backups are written with UTC timestamped filenames
• The default retention is 7 days via BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS
• Retention is env-driven and deterministic
• Old backups are pruned only after a new backup has been created and verified successfully

Verification approach

• The script rejects missing, empty, and invalid backup files
• It checks the PostgreSQL custom dump header
• It runs pg_restore --list against the generated dump to verify the archive is readable
• If verification fails, the new backup is removed and the process exits with failure

Scheduling approach

This repository does not include an existing PM2, systemd, root Docker scheduler, or GitHub Actions schedule for backend maintenance jobs, so the smallest correct repo-native approach is:

• provide a documented CLI command: npm run backup:db
• document a daily host cron entry in backend/DATABASE_SETUP.md

Example:

0 2 * * * cd /path/to/payCrypt_v2/backend && npm run backup:db >> /var/log/taggedpay-backup.log 2>&1

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check and resolve conflicts in

backend/.env.example
backend/DATABASE_SETUP.md

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
pay-crypt-v2	Ready	Preview, Comment	Mar 25, 2026 8:30am