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restic

お任せ Omakase

restic is a command-line backup program for Linux, macOS, Windows and BSD. It stores encrypted, deduplicated snapshots in a repository on a local disk, an SFTP server, or S3-compatible and other cloud storage. You can restore single files or whole snapshots. restic has no built-in scheduler, so regular backups are set up with cron, systemd timers or Task Scheduler.

Code Fireworks render of the restic repository, as of Nov 2026
As of Nov 2026Code Fireworks ↗

Why it fits

It is licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License. Free to install and run for private backups; the storage target can be your own disk or server, so no third-party service is required.

Getting started

5 steps · clarity 3/5

Prerequisites (from the official docs):

  • A Linux, macOS, Windows or BSD computer and a terminal
  • A place for the backup repository: a local or USB disk, an SFTP server, or S3-compatible or other supported cloud storage
  • A way to schedule runs, such as cron, a systemd timer or Windows Task Scheduler

Steps:

  1. Install restic from your package manager or as an official binary.
  2. Create a repository with restic init and store the password safely.
  3. Run your first backup with restic backup <paths>.
  4. Check that a restore works with restic restore or by mounting a snapshot.
  5. Schedule regular backups and a forget/prune policy with your system scheduler.

Official installation docs: https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/020_installation.html

Backing up and scheduling: https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/040_backup.html

Notes

CLI only; graphical front ends are separate community projects and are not covered here.

Sources

  1. restic.net
  2. github.com/restic/restic/blob/master/LICENSE
  3. github.com/restic/restic/blob/master/README.md
  4. restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/020_installation.html
  5. restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/040_backup.html

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