diff --git a/inventory/service/host_vars/etherpad01.opendev.org.yaml b/inventory/service/host_vars/etherpad01.opendev.org.yaml
index 836990ce04..c7bd142b12 100644
--- a/inventory/service/host_vars/etherpad01.opendev.org.yaml
+++ b/inventory/service/host_vars/etherpad01.opendev.org.yaml
@@ -5,3 +5,6 @@ letsencrypt_certs:
     - etherpad01.opendev.org
     - etherpad.openstack.org
 etherpad_redirect_vhost: etherpad.openstack.org
+borg_backup_excludes_extra:
+  # live db; we store daily dumps
+  - /var/etherpad/*