simple_backup

A simple backup script

Description

simple_backup is a Python script that allows you to backup your files. Parameters like input files/directories, output directory etc. can be specified in a configuration file, or on the command line. Run:

simple_backup -h

to print all possible command line options.

Dependencies

The script uses rsync to actually run the backup, so you will have to install it on your system. For example on Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -Syu rsync

Install

To install the program, first clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Fuxino/simple_backup.git

Install tools required to build and install the package:

pip install --upgrade build installer wheel

Then run:

cd simple_backup
python -m build --wheel
python -m installer dist/*.whl

For Arch Linux, a PKGBUILD that automates this process is provided.

After installing, copy simple_backup.conf (if you used the PKGBUILD on Arch, it will be in /etc/simple_backup/) to $HOME/.config/simple_backup and edit is as needed.

Remote backup

Warning

This feature is experimental

It's possible to use a remote server as destination for the backup. Just use the --username (or -u) and --host arguments (or set them in the configuration file). For this to work, rsync must be installed on the server too.

Server authentication

Right now only authentication using SSH key works. If an ssh-agent is running on your system, available ssh keys will be used automatically. Otherwise, it's possible to specify the key location with --keyfile or in the configuration file. Note that if no ssh agent is running, it might be necessary to unlock the private key more than once.

To be able to connect to the user authentication agent when running simple_backup with sudo, use:

sudo --preserve-env=SSH_AUTH_SOCK -s simple_backup [options]