The most basic form of the command is executed from the terminal:
/export
This command dumps the entire configuration (excluding default or hardware-specific settings) to the terminal screen. For a router with a complex configuration, this can be thousands of lines long. To make it useful, you typically want to save it to a file. mikrotik export configuration
| Feature | .backup file | export file |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Format | Binary (not readable) | Plain text (readable/editable) |
| Restore target | Same RouterOS version & hardware | Any RouterOS device (any version/hardware) |
| Editing | Not possible | Yes (e.g., change IPs or interfaces) |
| Automation | Difficult | Easy (use with scripts/Ansible) | The most basic form of the command is
Key Takeaway: Use .backup for full disaster recovery of the exact same unit. Use export for documentation, migration, and troubleshooting. mikrotik export configuration
/export file=ether1-config from=/interface/ether1