dgraph-io/dgraph · error

another backup operation is already running

Error message

another backup operation is already running

What it means

Raised in startTaskAtTs (worker/draft.go:159) when a backup is requested while another backup is already running. Backup cancels all other operation kinds but is not allowed to run concurrently with another backup.

Source

Thrown at worker/draft.go:159

		go posting.IncrRollup.Process(closer, State.GetTimestamp)
	case opRestore:
		// Restores cancel all other operations, except for other restores since
		// only one restore operation should be active any given moment.
		for otherId, otherOp := range n.ops {
			if otherId == opRestore {
				return nil, errors.Errorf("another restore operation is already running")
			}
			// Remove from map and signal the closer to cancel the operation.
			delete(n.ops, otherId)
			otherOp.SignalAndWait()
		}
	case opBackup:
		// Backup cancels all other operations, except for other backups since
		// only one backup operation should be active any given moment. Also, indexing at higher
		// timestamp can also run concurrently with backup.
		for otherId, otherOp := range n.ops {
			if otherId == opBackup {
				return nil, errors.Errorf("another backup operation is already running")
			}
			// Remove from map and signal the closer to cancel the operation.
			delete(n.ops, otherId)
			otherOp.SignalAndWait()
		}
	case opIndexing:
		for otherId, otherOp := range n.ops {
			switch otherId {
			case opBackup:
				if otherOp.ts < ts {
					// If backup is running at higher timestamp, then indexing can't be executed.
					continue
				}
				return nil, errors.Errorf("operation %s is already running", otherId)
			case opRollup:
				// Remove from map and signal the closer to cancel the operation.
				delete(n.ops, otherId)
				otherOp.SignalAndWait()

View on GitHub (pinned to 759e242be6)

Solutions

1. Wait for the running backup to finish; check its status first.
2. Widen the backup schedule interval so it exceeds the longest observed backup duration.
3. Add a distributed lock / job queue so only one backup request is ever in flight.
4. Restart the node if a stale backup entry is blocking new backups.

Example fix

// before
cron.AddFunc("0 * * * *", doBackup)
// after: guard with in-flight check
if !backupInFlight.Load() {
    backupInFlight.Store(true)
    defer backupInFlight.Store(false)
    doBackup()
}

if backupRunning(cluster) { return; }
scheduleBackup()

When it happens

Trigger: Calling startTask(opBackup) (POST /backup or backup gRPC) while a previous backup is still tracked in n.ops for the group.

Common situations: Overlapping scheduled backups (e.g. hourly cron on clusters where a backup takes longer than an hour); manual backup triggered while automated backup is running.

Related errors

• another operation is already running
• another restore operation is already running
• operation %s is already running
• while retrieving manifests
• illegal rune found "%c", expecting {

AI-assisted analysis of dgraph-io/dgraph@759e242be6 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/68e3d9d1858af278. Report an issue: GitHub.