If you recently installed or upgraded Backup and Migrate on Drupal 11 and noticed that the Backup Source dropdown is empty, the Database option is missing, or the Status Report shows warnings about Backup Source and related entity types, you’re not alone.

In our case, we encountered a situation where Backup and Migrate appeared to be installed, but no backup sources were available. The issue initially looked like a database update problem, a schema issue, or even a Drupal 11 compatibility bug.

Fortunately, the fix was simple once the root cause was identified.

The problem

After installing Backup and Migrate on a Drupal 11 website, the Backup page displayed an empty Backup Source dropdown.

Expected:

  • Database
  • Files
  • Other available backup sources

Actual:

  • Empty dropdown
  • No selectable backup sources
Missing Backup Sources options such as Database, Files directory, and Entire site
Missing Backup Sources options such as Database, Files directory, and Entire site

At the same time, the Drupal Status Report displayed several warnings similar to:

  • The Backup Source entity type needs to be installed.
  • The Backup Destination entity type needs to be installed.
  • The Schedule entity type needs to be installed.
  • The Settings Profile entity type needs to be installed.
Status Report Mismatched Entity/Field Definitions
Status Report Mismatched Entity/Field Definitions

This naturally led us to believe that:

  • Database updates had not been executed
  • Entity schema installation had failed
  • Backup and Migrate was not fully compatible with Drupal 11
  • Additional modules or plugins were missing

Quick fix

Before spending time troubleshooting entity schemas, database updates, or configuration issues, check whether the Backup and Migrate module is actually enabled.

Run:

drush pml | grep backup

If the result shows:

Backup and Migrate (backup_migrate) Disabled

simply enable the module:

drush en backup_migrate -y

Then clear Drupal caches:

drush cr

After enabling the module:

  • The Backup Source dropdown should display Database and other available sources.
  • Entity type warnings should disappear.
  • Backup and Migrate should function normally.

Initial troubleshooting steps we performed

Before discovering the actual cause, we checked several common Drupal troubleshooting areas.

Checking for pending database updates

First, we verified whether Drupal had any outstanding database updates:

drush updatedb:status

Result:

No database updates required.

This ruled out the possibility that the entity definitions simply needed a pending update.

Verifying the installed module version

Next, we confirmed that Backup and Migrate was installed through Composer:

composer show drupal/backup_migrate

Result:

Version: 5.1.4

This confirmed that the module files were present on the server.

Checking whether Drupal recognized the Backup Source entity

We then checked if Drupal could detect the Backup Source entity definition:

drush php:eval "var_dump(\Drupal::entityTypeManager()->hasDefinition('backup_source'));"

Result:

bool(false)

This indicated that Drupal had not registered the Backup Source entity type.

At this point, it appeared to be a schema or installation issue.

What actually happened

The root cause was that Backup and Migrate was installed in the codebase but was not currently enabled in Drupal.

This is an important distinction:

Installed in code

Composer had successfully downloaded the module:

composer show drupal/backup_migrate

The module existed in:

/modules/contrib/backup_migrate

Disabled in Drupal

However, Drupal’s module system reported:

drush pml | grep backup

Output:

Backup and Migrate (backup_migrate) Disabled

Because the module was disabled:

  • Drupal did not register Backup Source entities.
  • Drupal did not register Backup Destination entities.
  • Drupal did not register Backup Schedule entities.
  • Drupal did not register Settings Profile entities.
  • The Backup Source dropdown remained empty.

The module interface was partially accessible, making the issue appear more complicated than it really was.

Why the entity warnings appeared

Drupal only loads entity definitions from enabled modules.

When Backup and Migrate was disabled:

backup_source
backup_destination
backup_schedule
backup_migrate_settings_profile

were not available to Drupal.

The Status Report therefore displayed warnings indicating that these entity types needed to be installed.

Those warnings were symptoms of the disabled module, not the root cause.

How we confirmed the fix

After enabling the module:

drush en backup_migrate -y

and rebuilding caches:

drush cr

the following check returned the expected result:

drush php:eval "var_dump(\Drupal::entityTypeManager()->hasDefinition('backup_source'));"

Result:

bool(true)

The Backup Source dropdown immediately displayed available backup sources, including Database.

Additional lessons learned

When troubleshooting Drupal modules that appear partially functional:

Check module status first

drush pml | grep module_name

Check entity registration

drush php:eval "var_dump(\Drupal::entityTypeManager()->hasDefinition('entity_type'));"

Check pending database updates

drush updatedb:status

These three checks can often save hours of unnecessary debugging.

Conclusion

If Backup and Migrate on Drupal 11 shows an empty Backup Source dropdown, missing Database backup options, or warnings about Backup Source and related entity types, don’t assume it’s a database update or compatibility issue.

First verify that the module is actually enabled:

drush pml | grep backup

If it is disabled:

drush en backup_migrate -y
drush cr

In our case, that simple fix immediately restored all backup source options and resolved the entity type warnings.