# export
The .export() method for the SurrealDB Rust SDK dumps the database contents to a file.
**3.x**
Dumps the database contents to a file.
> [!NOTE]
> WebSocket connections currently do not support exports and imports. Be sure to use an HTTP endpoint and the `protocol-http` feature when using this method.
```rust title="Method Syntax"
db.export(target)
```
## Arguments
Argument
Description
resource
The table name or a record ID to select. Will also accept a tuple of record name and ID.
## Example usage
The `.export()` method can be used to save the contents of a database to a file.
```rust
use surrealdb::engine::any::connect;
use surrealdb::opt::auth::Root;
use surrealdb::opt::Resource;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> surrealdb::Result<()> {
let db = connect("http://localhost:8000").await?;
db.signin(Root {
username: "root".to_string(),
password: "secret".to_string(),
})
.await?;
db.use_ns("main").use_db("main").await?;
// Create a `person` record
db.create(Resource::from("person")).await?;
db.export("backup.surql").await?;
Ok(())
}
```
If an empty tuple is passed in for the file name, the `.export()` method will instead return an async stream of bytes.
```rust
use futures::StreamExt;
use surrealdb::engine::any::connect;
use surrealdb::opt::auth::Root;
use surrealdb::opt::Resource;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> surrealdb::Result<()> {
let db = connect("http://localhost:8000").await?;
db.signin(Root {
username: "root".to_string(),
password: "secret".to_string(),
})
.await?;
db.use_ns("main").use_db("main").await?;
// Create a `person` record
db.create(Resource::from("person")).await?;
let mut stream = db.export(()).await?;
while let Some(Ok(line)) = stream.next().await {
let content = String::from_utf8(line).unwrap();
println!("{content}");
}
Ok(())
}
```
The output for the above sample should look like the following.
```surql
-- ------------------------------
-- OPTION
-- ------------------------------
OPTION IMPORT;
-- ------------------------------
-- TABLE: person
-- ------------------------------
DEFINE TABLE person TYPE ANY SCHEMALESS PERMISSIONS NONE;
-- ------------------------------
-- TABLE DATA: person
-- ------------------------------
INSERT [ { id: person:bgq0b0rblnozrufizdjm } ];
```
## Export configuration
The [`Export`](https://docs.rs/surrealdb/latest/surrealdb/method/struct.Export.html) struct has a method called `.with_config()` that gives access to the configuration parameters for the export. These can be chained one after another inside a single line of code. The majority of these functions take a single `bool`:
* `.versions()`: whether to include [version information](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/select.md#the-version-clause) for the SurrealKV storage backend
* `.accesses()`: whether to include [`DEFINE ACCESS` statements](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/access/record.md)
* `.analyzers()`: whether to include [`DEFINE ANALYZER` statements](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/analyzer.md)
* `.functions()`: whether to include [`DEFINE FUNCTION` statements](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/function.md)
* `.apis()`: whether to include API definitions in the export
* `.buckets()`: whether to include bucket definitions
* `.modules()`: whether to include [`DEFINE MODULE`](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/module.md) statements
* `.configs()`: whether to include stored configuration definitions
* `.records()`: whether to include the existing records in the database
* `.params()`: whether to include [`DEFINE PARAM` statements](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/param.md)
* `.users()`: whether to include [`DEFINE USER` statements](/docs/reference/query-language/statements/define/user.md)
`.tables()` takes a `Vec` of strings in addition to a boolean.
* `.tables()`: a list of tables to export, as opposed to all of the tables in the database.
Example of export configuration:
```rust
use surrealdb::engine::any::connect;
use surrealdb::opt::auth::Root;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> surrealdb::Result<()> {
let db = connect("http://localhost:8000").await?;
db.signin(Root {
username: "root".to_string(),
password: "secret".to_string(),
})
.await?;
db.use_ns("ns").use_db("db").await?;
db.query(
"
DEFINE FUNCTION fn::get_cats() -> array