Downloads all resources from your Tinybird workspace as native datafiles (.datasource, .pipe, .connection). Useful for backup, migration, or inspecting cloud resources.
Syntax Basic Usage Pull to Current Directory
Pull to Specific Directory
Overwrite Existing Files
How It Works
Authenticates with your Tinybird workspace
Fetches all datasources, pipes, and connections
Converts each resource to native datafile format
Writes files to output directory
Reports what was downloaded
Output Example Pulling resources from workspace: my-workspace Downloaded: Datasources: • events.datasource • page_views.datasource • sessions.datasource Pipes: • top_pages.pipe • analytics.pipe • user_funnel.pipe Connections: • kafka.connection • s3.connection ✓ Pulled 8 resources in 1.2s
Options --output-dir <path>Specify output directory:
tinybird pull --output-dir tinybird-backup
Default: Current directory (.)
--forceOverwrite existing files:
Without --force, pull fails if files already exist.
Downloaded Files Each resource becomes a separate file:
Datasource Files SCHEMA > timestamp DateTime, event_name LowCardinality(String), user_id Nullable(String) ENGINE "MergeTree" ENGINE_SORTING_KEY "event_name, timestamp"
Pipe Files DESCRIPTION > Get the most visited pages NODE aggregated SQL > SELECT pathname, count() AS views FROM page_views GROUP BY pathname ORDER BY views DESC LIMIT {{Int32(limit, 10)}}
Connection Files TYPE kafka KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS kafka.example.com:9092 KAFKA_SECURITY_PROTOCOL SASL_SSL
File Organization By default, all files are saved flat in the output directory:
tinybird pull --output-dir backup/
backup/ ├── events.datasource ├── page_views.datasource ├── sessions.datasource ├── top_pages.pipe ├── analytics.pipe ├── kafka.connection └── s3.connection
Organize manually if needed:
mkdir -p tinybird/{datasources,pipes,connections} mv * .datasource tinybird/datasources/ mv * .pipe tinybird/pipes/ mv * .connection tinybird/connections/
Use Cases Backup Resources Regularly backup your workspace:
# Create dated backup BACKUP_DIR = "backups/$( date +%Y%m%d)" mkdir -p " $BACKUP_DIR " tinybird pull --output-dir " $BACKUP_DIR "
Inspect Cloud Resources Download to review what’s in production:
tinybird pull --output-dir cloud-snapshot cat cloud-snapshot/events.datasource
Migrate to TypeScript Pull datafiles, then migrate to TypeScript:
# Pull from cloud tinybird pull --output-dir legacy # Migrate to TypeScript tinybird migrate legacy/ --out src/tinybird.ts
Clone Workspace Copy resources from one workspace to another:
# Pull from source workspace TINYBIRD_TOKEN = source_token tinybird pull --output-dir temp # Push to destination workspace # (convert to TypeScript or use Tinybird CLI push command)
Examples Pull to Custom Directory tinybird pull --output-dir datafiles
✓ Pulled 8 resources to: datafiles/
Update Existing Backup tinybird pull --output-dir backup --force
⚠ Overwriting 8 existing files ✓ Pulled 8 resources
Pull Specific Branch Pull from a branch (requires branch token):
# Get branch token first tinybird branch status # Use branch token TINYBIRD_TOKEN = branch_token tinybird pull
Integration with Config Use pulled datafiles in your config:
# Pull resources tinybird pull --output-dir tinybird # Add to config
{ "include" : [ "tinybird/**/*.datasource" , "tinybird/**/*.pipe" , "tinybird/**/*.connection" ] }
Now tinybird build and tinybird dev include pulled resources.
Filtering Resources Pull downloads all resources. To filter:
# Pull all tinybird pull --output-dir all # Keep only datasources rm all/ * .pipe all/ * .connection mv all/ * .datasource datasources/
File Conflicts Without --force, pull fails on existing files:
Error: File already exists: events.datasource Use --force to overwrite existing files.
Options:
Use --force to overwrite
Use different --output-dir
Delete existing files first
Secrets in Connections Connection files exclude secret values:
TYPE kafka KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS kafka.example.com:9092 KAFKA_KEY *** # Secret not included KAFKA_SECRET *** # Secret not included
You must re-add secrets when pushing to a new workspace.
Comparing with Cloud Diff local and cloud resources:
# Pull cloud resources tinybird pull --output-dir cloud # Compare with local diff -r tinybird/ cloud/
Shows differences between local and production.
Automation Scheduled Backups # Backup daily at midnight 0 0 * * * cd /app && tinybird pull --output-dir "backups/$( date + \% Y \% m \% d)" --force
CI/CD Snapshots .github/workflows/backup.yaml
name : Backup Tinybird on : schedule : - cron : '0 0 * * 0' # Weekly jobs : backup : runs-on : ubuntu-latest steps : - uses : actions/checkout@v4 - run : npx tinybird pull --output-dir backup --force - run : git add backup/ - run : git commit -m "Backup $(date)" - run : git push env : TINYBIRD_TOKEN : ${{ secrets.TINYBIRD_TOKEN }}
Output Statistics Pull reports counts by resource type:
Pulled 15 resources: Datasources: 5 Pipes: 8 Connections: 2 Output directory: backup/
Troubleshooting No Resources Found Warning: No resources found in workspace
Workspace is empty or token has no permissions.
Authentication Failed Run tinybird login to refresh credentials.
Permission Denied Error: Permission denied: /path/to/output
Ensure write permissions for output directory:
mkdir -p output-dir chmod u+w output-dir
File Already Exists Error: File already exists: events.datasource
Use --force or delete existing files:
rm * .datasource * .pipe * .connection tinybird pull
migrate : Convert pulled datafiles to TypeScriptbuild : Deploy resources back to Tinybirddeploy : Deploy to production
Pulled datafiles are read-only snapshots. They don’t include data, only resource definitions.
Connection files don’t include secret values. Back up secrets separately.