diff --git a/templates/squashkiwi/_backup.sh b/templates/squashkiwi/_backup.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c527ea8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/squashkiwi/_backup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+source "$(dirname "$0")/_common.sh"
+load_env "$1" || die "Failed to load environment variables"
+
+# Get backup file path from second argument
+BACKUP_FILE="$2"
+if [ -z "$BACKUP_FILE" ]; then
+    die "Backup file path not provided"
+fi
+
+# Check if backup file already exists
+if [ -f "$BACKUP_FILE" ]; then
+    die "Backup file $BACKUP_FILE already exists"
+fi
+
+# Stop container before backup
+_stop_container "$CONTAINER_NAME"
+
+# Create backup of data folder
+echo "Creating backup of $DATA_FOLDER..."
+if ! tar zcvf "$BACKUP_FILE" -C "$DATA_FOLDER" .; then
+    _start_container "$CONTAINER_NAME"
+    die "Failed to create backup"
+fi
+
+# Start container after backup
+_start_container "$CONTAINER_NAME"
+
+echo "Backup created successfully: $BACKUP_FILE"
diff --git a/templates/squashkiwi/_status.sh b/templates/squashkiwi/_status.sh
index e4a2c70..0a82bd2 100644
--- a/templates/squashkiwi/_status.sh
+++ b/templates/squashkiwi/_status.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-
-# Source common functions
-source "$(dirname "$0")/_dockerhelper.sh"
 source "$(dirname "$0")/_common.sh"
-
-# Load environment variables
-load_env "$1" || exit 1
+load_env "$1" || die "Failed to load environment variables"
 
 # check if the service is running
 _is_container_running $CONTAINER_NAME || die "Service is not running - did not find container $CONTAINER_NAME."