Setting Up Automated Backups with Restic on Debian Linux
This article was created out of a convo with Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Backups are crucial, but they need to be automated and reliable to be truly effective. In this guide, we'll set up a robust backup system using restic on Debian Linux 12. We'll configure it to back up Docker volumes (/var/lib/docker/volumes), home directories (/home), and system configuration files (/etc), with snapshots every 12 hours and a sensible retention policy. We'll use systemd to schedule our backups, easily audit backups, and manually run a backup job when desired.
Prerequisites
- Debian 12 (or similar Linux distribution)
- restic installed (
apt install restic
) - root access or sudo privileges
- A backup destination (local disk, SFTP server, or S3 bucket)
The Setup Process
We'll create four files to handle our backup system:
- A backup script
- An environment file for credentials
- A systemd service
- A systemd timer
Let's build this system piece by piece.
1. Creating the Backup Script
Create a new file at /usr/local/bin/backup-script.sh
:
#!/bin/bash
# Exit on error
set -e
# Load environment variables
source /etc/restic-env
# Paths to backup
BACKUP_PATHS="/var/lib/docker/volumes \
/home \
/etc"
# Initialize the repository if it doesn't exist
restic snapshots || restic init
# Perform the backup
restic backup $BACKUP_PATHS
# Keep the last 6 snapshots (72 hours worth, given 12-hour frequency)
# Keep 1 snapshot per week for all other snapshots
restic forget --keep-last 6 --keep-weekly 1 --prune
Make the script executable: sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/backup-script.sh
2. Setting Up the Environment File
Create /etc/restic-env
to store your credentials and configuration:
# Repository location - adjust this to your needs
# Examples:
# export RESTIC_REPOSITORY="sftp:user@host:/srv/restic-repo"
# export RESTIC_REPOSITORY="s3:s3.amazonaws.com/bucket_name"
# export RESTIC_REPOSITORY="/path/to/local/repo"
export RESTIC_REPOSITORY="<YOUR_REPOSITORY_LOCATION>"
# Repository password
export RESTIC_PASSWORD="<YOUR_STRONG_PASSWORD>"
# If using S3:
# export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="<YOUR_ACCESS_KEY>"
# export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="<YOUR_SECRET_KEY>"
Secure the environment file: sudo chmod 600 /etc/restic-env
3. Creating the Systemd Service
Create /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.service:
[Unit]
Description=Restic backup service
After=network.target
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/backup-script.sh
User=root
Group=root
# Set reasonable security options
ProtectSystem=full
ProtectHome=read-only
PrivateTmp=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
4. Setting Up the Timer
Create /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.timer
:
[Unit]
Description=Run restic backup every 12 hours
[Timer]
OnCalendar=_-_-\* 00,12:00:00
RandomizedDelaySec=1800
Persistent=true
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
5. Activating the Backup System
Enable and start the timer:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable restic-backup.timer
sudo systemctl start restic-backup.timer
Backup Schedule and Retention
This setup:
- Creates backups every 12 hours (at midnight and noon)
- Adds a random delay of up to 30 minutes to avoid exact timing
- Keeps the last 72 hours of backups (6 snapshots)
- Maintains one weekly backup for older data
- Automatically prunes old snapshots
Useful Commands
- Check the timer status:
sudo systemctl list-timers restic-backup.timer
- Run a backup manually:
sudo systemctl start restic-backup.service
- View backup logs:
sudo journalctl -u restic-backup.service
- List all snapshots:
sudo bash -c 'source /etc/restic-env; restic snapshots'
- Restore files:
sudo restic restore latest --target /path/to/restoration/directory
Security Considerations
The setup includes several security measures:
- The environment file is restricted to root access only
- The systemd service runs with restricted privileges
- The backup script uses safe bash options
- File systems are mounted read-only during backups where possible
Testing Your Backups
Remember the cardinal rule of backups - they're only as good as your ability to restore from them. Regularly test your backup restoration process by:
- Creating a test directory
- Restoring a backup to it
- Verifying the restored files
Conclusion
You now have a robust, automated backup system that:
- Runs automatically every 12 hours
- Maintains a sensible backup history
- Includes important system directories
- Uses secure settings
- Can be easily monitored and managed
Remember to periodically verify your backups and adjust the retention policy based on your specific needs. Happy backing up!