1backintime-config(1) USER COMMANDS backintime-config(1)
2
6 config - BackInTime configuration files.
7
9 ~/.config/backintime/config
10 /etc/backintime/config
11
13 Back In Time was developed as pure GUI program and so most functions
14 are only useable with backintime-qt4. But it is possible to use Back In
15 Time e.g. on a headless server. You have to create the configuration
16 file (~/.config/backintime/config) manually. Look inside
17 /usr/share/doc/backintime-common/examples/ for examples.
18 The configuration file has the following format:
20 keyword=arguments
21 Arguments don't need to be quoted. All characters are allowed except
23 '='.
24 Run 'backintime check-config' to verify the configfile, create the
26 snapshot folder and crontab entries.
27
29 global.hash_collision
30 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
31 Internal value used to prevent hash collisions on mountpoints. Do
32 not change this.
33 Default: 0
35 global.use_flock
38 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
39 Prevent multiple snapshots (from different profiles or users) to
40 be run at the same time
41 Default: false
43 profile<N>.name
46 Type: str Allowed Values: text
47 Name of this profile.
48 Default: Main profile
50 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_anacron_period
53 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
54 How many units to wait between new snapshots with anacron? Only
55 valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 25|27
56 Default: 1
58 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_anacron_unit
61 Type: int Allowed Values: 10|20|30|40
62 Units to wait between new snapshots with anacron.
63 10 = hours
64 20 = days
65 30 = weeks
66 40 = months
67 Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 25|27
68 Default: 20
70 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_day
73 Type: int Allowed Values: 1-28
74 Which day of month the cronjob should run? Only valid for pro‐
75 file<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode >= 40
76 Default: 1
78 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode
81 Type: int Allowed Values:
82 0|1|2|4|7|10|12|14|16|18|19|20|25|27|30|40|80
83 Which schedule used for crontab. The crontab entry will be gener‐
84 ated with 'backintime check-config'.
85 0 = Disabled
86 1 = at every boot
87 2 = every 5 minute
88 4 = every 10 minute
89 7 = every 30 minute
90 10 = every hour
91 12 = every 2 hours
92 14 = every 4 hours
93 16 = every 6 hours
94 18 = every 12 hours
95 19 = custom defined hours
96 20 = every day
97 25 = daily anacron
98 27 = when drive get connected
99 30 = every week
100 40 = every month
101 80 = every year
102 Default: 0
104 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_time
107 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-24
108 What time the cronjob should run? Only valid for profile<N>.snap‐
109 shots.automatic_backup_mode >= 20
110 Default: 0
112 profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_weekday
115 Type: int Allowed Values: 1 = monday - 7 = sunday
116 Which day of week the cronjob should run? Only valid for pro‐
117 file<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 30
118 Default: 7
120 profile<N>.snapshots.backup_on_restore.enabled
123 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
124 Rename existing files before restore into FILE.backup.YYYYMMDD
125 Default: true
127 profile<N>.snapshots.bwlimit.enabled
130 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
131 Limit rsync bandwidth usage over network. Use this with mode SSH.
132 For mode Local you should rather use ionice.
133 Default: false
135 profile<N>.snapshots.bwlimit.value
138 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
139 Bandwidth limit in KB/sec.
140 Default: 3000
142 profile<N>.snapshots.check_for_changes
145 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
146 Perform a dry-run before taking snapshots. Don't take a new snap‐
147 shot if nothing has changed. Only valid with profile<N>.snap‐
148 shots.full_rsync = false
149 Default: true
151 profile<N>.snapshots.continue_on_errors
154 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
155 Continue on errors. This will keep incomplete snapshots rather
156 than deleting and start over again.
157 Default: true
159 profile<N>.snapshots.copy_links
162 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
163 When symlinks are encountered, the item that they point to
164 (the reference) is copied, rather than the symlink.
165 Default: false
167 profile<N>.snapshots.copy_unsafe_links
170 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
171 This tells rsync to copy the referent of symbolic links that
172 point outside the copied tree. Absolute symlinks are also
173 treated like ordinary files.
174 Default: false
176 profile<N>.snapshots.cron.ionice
179 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
180 Run cronjobs with 'ionice -c2 -n7'. This will give BackInTime the
181 lowest IO bandwidth priority to not interupt any other working
182 process.
183 Default: true
185 profile<N>.snapshots.cron.nice
188 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
189 Run cronjobs with 'nice -n 19'. This will give BackInTime the
190 lowest CPU priority to not interupt any other working process.
191 Default: true
193 profile<N>.snapshots.cron.redirect_stderr
196 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
197 redirect stderr to /dev/null in cronjobs
198 Default: False
200 profile<N>.snapshots.cron.redirect_stdout
203 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
204 redirect stdout to /dev/null in cronjobs
205 Default: true
207 profile<N>.snapshots.custom_backup_time
210 Type: str Allowed Values: comma separated int (8,12,18,23)
211 or */3
212 Custom hours for cronjob. Only valid for profile<N>.snap‐
213 shots.automatic_backup_mode = 19
214 Default: 8,12,18,23
216 profile<N>.snapshots.dont_remove_named_snapshots
219 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
220 Keep snapshots with names during smart_remove.
221 Default: true
223 profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.bysize.enabled
226 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
227 Enable exclude files by size.
228 Default: false
230 profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.bysize.value
233 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
234 Exclude files bigger than value in MiB. With 'Full rsync mode'
235 disabled this will only affect new files because for rsync this
236 is a transfer option, not an exclude option. So big files that
237 has been backed up before will remain in snapshots even if they
238 had changed.
239 Default: 500
241 profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.<I>.value
244 Type: str Allowed Values: file, folder or pattern (relative
245 or absolute)
246 Exclude this file or folder. <I> must be a counter starting with
247 1
248 Default: ''
250 profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.size
253 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
254 Quantity of profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.<I> entries.
255 Default: -1
257 profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync
260 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
261 Full rsync mode. May be faster but snapshots are not read-only
262 anymore and destination file-system must support all linux
263 attributes (date, rights, user, group...)
264 Default: false
266 profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync.take_snapshot_regardless_of_changes
269 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
270 Create a new snapshot regardless if there were changes or not.
271 Only valid with profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync = true
272 Default: false
274 profile<N>.snapshots.gnu_find_suffix_support
277 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
278 Remote SSH host support GNU find suffix (find -exec COMMAND {}
279 +).
280 Default: true
282 profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.type
285 Type: int Allowed Values: 0|1
286 Specify if profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.value is a folder (0)
287 or a file (1).
288 Default: 0
290 profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.value
293 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
294 Include this file or folder. <I> must be a counter starting with
295 1
296 Default: ''
298 profile<N>.snapshots.include.size
301 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
302 Quantity of profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I> entries.
303 Default: -1
305 profile<N>.snapshots.keep_only_one_snapshot.enabled
308 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
309 NOT YET IMPLEMENTED. Remove all snapshots but one.
310 Default: false
312 profile<N>.snapshots.local.nocache
315 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
316 Run rsync on local machine with 'nocache'. This will prevent
317 files from being cached in memory.
318 Default: false
320 profile<N>.snapshots.local_encfs.path
323 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
324 Where to save snapshots in mode 'local_encfs'.
325 Default: ''
327 profile<N>.snapshots.log_level
330 Type: int Allowed Values: 1-3
331 Log level used during take_snapshot.
332 1 = Error
333 2 = Changes
334 3 = Info
335 Default: 3
337 profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.enabled
340 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
341 Remove snapshots until profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.value
342 free inodes in % is reached.
343 Default: true
345 profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.value
348 Type: int Allowed Values: 1-15
349 Keep at least value % free inodes.
350 Default: 2
352 profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.enabled
355 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
356 Remove snapshots until profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.value
357 free space is reached.
358 Default: true
360 profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.unit
363 Type: int Allowed Values: 10|20
364 10 = MB
365 20 = GB
366 Default: 20
368 profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.value
371 Type: int Allowed Values: 1-99999
372 Keep at least value + unit free space.
373 Default: 1
375 profile<N>.snapshots.mode
378 Type: str Allowed Values: local|local_encfs|ssh|ssh_encfs
379 Use mode (or backend) for this snapshot. Look at 'man backintime'
380 section 'Modes'.
381 Default: local
383 profile<N>.snapshots.<MODE>.password.save
386 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
387 Save password to system keyring (gnome-keyring or kwallet).
388 <MODE> must be the same as profile<N>.snapshots.mode
389 Default: false
391 profile<N>.snapshots.<MODE>.password.use_cache
394 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
395 Cache password in RAM so it can be read by cronjobs. Security
396 issue: root might be able to read that password, too. <MODE> must
397 be the same as profile<N>.snapshots.mode
398 Default: true if home is not encrypted
400 profile<N>.snapshots.no_on_battery
403 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
404 Don't take snapshots if the Computer runs on battery.
405 Default: false
407 profile<N>.snapshots.notify.enabled
410 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
411 Display notifications (errors, warnings) through libnotify.
412 Default: true
414 profile<N>.snapshots.path
417 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
418 Where to save snapshots in mode 'local'. This path must contain a
419 folderstructure like 'backintime/<HOST>/<USER>/<PROFILE_ID>'
420 Default: ''
422 profile<N>.snapshots.path.host
425 Type: str Allowed Values: text
426 Set Host for snapshot path
427 Default: local hostname
429 profile<N>.snapshots.path.profile
432 Type: str Allowed Values: 1-99999
433 Set Profile-ID for snapshot path
434 Default: current Profile-ID
436 profile<N>.snapshots.path.user
439 Type: str Allowed Values: text
440 Set User for snapshot path
441 Default: local username
443 profile<N>.snapshots.path.uuid
446 Type: str Allowed Values: text
447 Devices uuid used to automatically set up udev rule if the drive
448 is not connected.
449 Default: ''
451 profile<N>.snapshots.preserve_acl
454 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
455 Preserve ACL. The source and destination systems must have
456 compatible ACL entries for this option to work properly.
457 Default: false
459 profile<N>.snapshots.preserve_xattr
462 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
463 Preserve extended attributes (xattr).
464 Default: false
466 profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.enabled
469 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
470 Remove all snapshots older than value + unit
471 Default: true
473 profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.unit
476 Type: int Allowed Values: 20|30|80
477 20 = days
478 30 = weeks
479 80 = years
480 Default: 80
482 profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.value
485 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
486 Snapshots older than this times units will be removed
487 Default: 10
489 profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.enabled
492 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
493 Past additional options to rsync
494 Default: false
496 profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.value
499 Type: str Allowed Values: text
500 rsync options. Options must be quoted e.g. --exclude-
501 from="/path/to/my exclude file"
502 Default: ''
504 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove
507 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
508 Run smart_remove to clean up old snapshots after a new snapshot
509 was created.
510 Default: false
512 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_all
515 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
516 Keep all snapshots for X days.
517 Default: 2
519 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_day
522 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
523 Keep one snapshot per day for X days.
524 Default: 7
526 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_month
529 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
530 Keep one snapshot per month for X month.
531 Default: 24
533 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_week
536 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
537 Keep one snapshot per week for X weeks.
538 Default: 4
540 profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.run_remote_in_background
543 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
544 If using mode SSH or SSH-encrypted, run smart_remove in back‐
545 ground on remote machine
546 Default: false
548 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.cipher
551 Type: str Allowed Values: default | aes192-cbc | aes256-cbc
552 | aes128-ctr | aes192-ctr | aes256-ctr | arcfour | arcfour256 |
553 arcfour128 | aes128-cbc | 3des-cbc | blowfish-cbc | cast128-cbc
554 Cipher that is used for encrypting the SSH tunnel. Depending on
555 the environment (network bandwidth, cpu and hdd performance) a
556 different cipher might be faster.
557 Default: default
559 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.host
562 Type: str Allowed Values: IP or domain address
563 Remote host used for mode 'ssh' and 'ssh_encfs'.
564 Default: ''
566 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.ionice
569 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
570 Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'ionice -c2 -n7'
571 Default: false
573 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.max_arg_length
576 Type: int Allowed Values: 0, >700
577 Maximum argument length of commands run on remote host. This can
578 be tested with 'python3 /usr/share/backintime/common/sshMaxArg.py
579 USER@HOST'.
580 0 = unlimited
581 Default: 0
583 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.nice
586 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
587 Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'nice -n 19'
588 Default: false
590 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.nocache
593 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
594 Run rsync on remote host with 'nocache'. This will prevent files
595 from being cached in memory.
596 Default: false
598 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.path
601 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute or relative path
602 Snapshot path on remote host. If the path is relative (no leading
603 '/') it will start from remote Users homedir. An empty path will
604 be replaced with './'.
605 Default: ''
607 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.port
610 Type: int Allowed Values: 0-65535
611 SSH Port on remote host.
612 Default: 22
614 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.prefix.enabled
617 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
618 Add prefix to every command which run through SSH on remote host.
619 Default: false
621 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.prefix.value
624 Type: str Allowed Values: text
625 Prefix to run before every command on remote host. Variables need
626 to be escaped with \$FOO. This doesn't touch rsync. So to add a
627 prefix for rsync use profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.value
628 with --rsync-path="FOO=bar:\$FOO /usr/bin/rsync"
629 Default: 'PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:\$PATH'
631 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.private_key_file
634 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path to private key file
635 Private key file used for password-less authentication on remote
636 host.
637 Default: ~/.ssh/id_dsa
639 profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.user
642 Type: str Allowed Values: text
643 Remote SSH user
644 Default: local users name
646 profile<N>.snapshots.take_snapshot.<STEP>.user.script
649 Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
650 Run this scrip on events defined by <STEP>.
651 Possible events for <STEP>:
652 before
653 after
654 new_snapshot
655 error
656 Default: ''
658 profile<N>.snapshots.use_checksum
661 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
662 Use checksum to detect changes rather than size + time.
663 Default: false
665 profile<N>.snapshots.user_backup.ionice
668 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
669 Run BackInTime with 'ionice -c2 -n7' when taking a manual snap‐
670 shot. This will give BackInTime the lowest IO bandwidth priority
671 to not interupt any other working process.
672 Default: false
674 profile<N>.user_callback.no_logging
677 Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
678 Do not catch std{out|err} from user-callback script. The script
679 will only write to current TTY. Default is to catch std{out|err}
680 and write it to syslog and TTY again.
681 Default: false
683 profiles
686 Type: str Allowed Values: int separated by colon (e.g.
687 1:3:4)
688 All active Profiles (<N> in profile<N>.snapshots...).
689 Default: 1
691 profiles.version
694 Type: int Allowed Values: 1
695 Internal version of profiles config.
696 Default: 1
698
700 backintime, backintime-qt4.
701 Back In Time also has a website: https://github.com/bit-team/backintime
703
705 This manual page was written by BIT Team(<bit-team@lists.launch‐
706 pad.net>).
707version 1.1.24 Dec 2015 backintime-config(1)