Generate Backup File with Timestamp using Batch Script

In this guide, you’ll see the full steps to create a backup file with a timestamp using a batch script.

Batch Script to Generate a Backup File with Timestamp

Here is the batch script that you can use to generate your backup file:

@echo off

for /f "delims=" %%a in ('wmic OS Get localdatetime ^| find "."') do set DateTime=%%a

set Yr=%DateTime:~0,4%
set Mon=%DateTime:~4,2%
set Day=%DateTime:~6,2%
set Hr=%DateTime:~8,2%
set Min=%DateTime:~10,2%
set Sec=%DateTime:~12,2%

set BackupName=File Name__%Yr%-%Mon%-%Day%_(%Hr%-%Min%-%Sec%)

copy "Path where your file is stored\File Name.File Type" "Path where your backup file will be stored\%BackupName%.File Type"

You may customize the following parts in the code based on your needs:

Example with the Steps to Create the Batch Script

Here are the steps to create a batch script to backup a CSV file called ‘Products‘ where the file type is “.csv“

(1) First, open Notepad

(2) Then, type/copy the code below into Notepad. You’ll need to modify:

• The source path to the location where your original file is stored
• The target path to the location where you want to store the backup file

Don’t forget to add the file type at the end of the paths (here, the file type is “.csv“):

@echo off

for /f "delims=" %%a in ('wmic OS Get localdatetime ^| find "."') do set DateTime=%%a

set Yr=%DateTime:~0,4%
set Mon=%DateTime:~4,2%
set Day=%DateTime:~6,2%
set Hr=%DateTime:~8,2%
set Min=%DateTime:~10,2%
set Sec=%DateTime:~12,2%

set BackupName=Backup_Products__%Yr%-%Mon%-%Day%_(%Hr%-%Min%-%Sec%)

copy "C:\Users\Ron\Desktop\Test\Products.csv" "C:\Users\Ron\Desktop\Test\%BackupName%.csv"

(3) Save the Notepad with “.bat” extension. For example, save the file as ‘Backup.bat‘

(4) Once you double-click on the batch file, the backup with the timestamp will be created at your target path.

Finally, check the following source that contains additional guides about batch scripts.