SYNOPSIS

~/.config/backintime/config
/etc/backintime/config

DESCRIPTION

Back In Time was developed as pure GUI program and so most functions are only useable with backintime-qt4. But it is possible to use Back In Time e.g. on a headless server. You have to create the configuration file (~/.config/backintime/config) manually. Look inside /usr/share/doc/backintime-common/examples/ for examples.

The configuration file has the following format:
keyword=arguments

Arguments don't need to be quoted. All characters are allowed except '='.

Run 'backintime check-config' to verify the configfile, create the snapshot folder and crontab entries.

POSSIBLE KEYWORDS

global.hash_collision

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Internal value used to prevent hash collisions on mountpoints. Do not change this.

Default: 0

global.use_flock

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Prevent multiple snapshots (from different profiles or users) to be run at the same time

Default: false

profile<N>.name

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Name of this profile.

Default: Main profile

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_anacron_period

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
How many units to wait between new snapshots with anacron? Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 25|27

Default: 1

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_anacron_unit

Type: int Allowed Values: 10|20|30|40
Units to wait between new snapshots with anacron.
10 = hours
20 = days
30 = weeks
40 = months
Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 25|27

Default: 20

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_day

Type: int Allowed Values: 1-28
Which day of month the cronjob should run? Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode >= 40

Default: 1

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode

Type: int Allowed Values: 0|1|2|4|7|10|12|14|16|18|19|20|25|27|30|40|80
Which schedule used for crontab. The crontab entry will be generated with 'backintime check-config'.

 0 = Disabled

 1 = at every boot

 2 = every 5 minute

 4 = every 10 minute

 7 = every 30 minute
10 = every hour
12 = every 2 hours
14 = every 4 hours
16 = every 6 hours
18 = every 12 hours
19 = custom defined hours
20 = every day
25 = daily anacron
27 = when drive get connected
30 = every week
40 = every month
80 = every year

Default: 0

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_time

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-24
What time the cronjob should run? Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode >= 20

Default: 0

profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_weekday

Type: int Allowed Values: 1 = monday - 7 = sunday
Which day of week the cronjob should run? Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 30

Default: 7

profile<N>.snapshots.backup_on_restore.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Rename existing files before restore into FILE.backup.YYYYMMDD

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.bwlimit.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Limit rsync bandwidth usage over network. Use this with mode SSH. For mode Local you should rather use ionice.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.bwlimit.value

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Bandwidth limit in KB/sec.

Default: 3000

profile<N>.snapshots.check_for_changes

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Perform a dry-run before taking snapshots. Don't take a new snapshot if nothing has changed. Only valid with profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync = false

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.continue_on_errors

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Continue on errors. This will keep incomplete snapshots rather than deleting and start over again.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.copy_links

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
When symlinks are encountered, the item that they point to (the reference) is copied, rather than the symlink.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.copy_unsafe_links

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
This tells rsync to copy the referent of symbolic links that point outside the copied tree. Absolute symlinks are also treated like ordinary files.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.cron.ionice

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run cronjobs with 'ionice -c2 -n7'. This will give BackInTime the lowest IO bandwidth priority to not interupt any other working process.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.cron.nice

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run cronjobs with 'nice -n 19'. This will give BackInTime the lowest CPU priority to not interupt any other working process.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.cron.redirect_stderr

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
redirect stderr to /dev/null in cronjobs

Default: False

profile<N>.snapshots.cron.redirect_stdout

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
redirect stdout to /dev/null in cronjobs

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.custom_backup_time

Type: str Allowed Values: comma separated int (8,12,18,23) or */3
Custom hours for cronjob. Only valid for profile<N>.snapshots.automatic_backup_mode = 19

Default: 8,12,18,23

profile<N>.snapshots.dont_remove_named_snapshots

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Keep snapshots with names during smart_remove.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.bysize.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Enable exclude files by size.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.bysize.value

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Exclude files bigger than value in MiB. With 'Full rsync mode' disabled this will only affect new files because for rsync this is a transfer option, not an exclude option. So big files that has been backed up before will remain in snapshots even if they had changed.

Default: 500

profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.<I>.value

Type: str Allowed Values: file, folder or pattern (relative or absolute)
Exclude this file or folder. <I> must be a counter starting with 1

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.size

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Quantity of profile<N>.snapshots.exclude.<I> entries.

Default: -1

profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Full rsync mode. May be faster but snapshots are not read-only anymore and destination file-system must support all linux attributes (date, rights, user, group...)

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync.take_snapshot_regardless_of_changes

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Create a new snapshot regardless if there were changes or not. Only valid with profile<N>.snapshots.full_rsync = true

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.gnu_find_suffix_support

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Remote SSH host support GNU find suffix (find -exec COMMAND {} +).

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.type

Type: int Allowed Values: 0|1
Specify if profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.value is a folder (0) or a file (1).

Default: 0

profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I>.value

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
Include this file or folder. <I> must be a counter starting with 1

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.include.size

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Quantity of profile<N>.snapshots.include.<I> entries.

Default: -1

profile<N>.snapshots.keep_only_one_snapshot.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
NOT YET IMPLEMENTED. Remove all snapshots but one.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.local.nocache

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run rsync on local machine with 'nocache'. This will prevent files from being cached in memory.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.local_encfs.path

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
Where to save snapshots in mode 'local_encfs'.

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.log_level

Type: int Allowed Values: 1-3
Log level used during take_snapshot.
1 = Error
2 = Changes
3 = Info

Default: 3

profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Remove snapshots until profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.value free inodes in % is reached.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_inodes.value

Type: int Allowed Values: 1-15
Keep at least value % free inodes.

Default: 2

profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Remove snapshots until profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.value free space is reached.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.unit

Type: int Allowed Values: 10|20
10 = MB
20 = GB

Default: 20

profile<N>.snapshots.min_free_space.value

Type: int Allowed Values: 1-99999
Keep at least value + unit free space.

Default: 1

profile<N>.snapshots.mode

Type: str Allowed Values: local|local_encfs|ssh|ssh_encfs
Use mode (or backend) for this snapshot. Look at 'man backintime' section 'Modes'.

Default: local

profile<N>.snapshots.<MODE>.password.save

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Save password to system keyring (gnome-keyring or kwallet). <MODE> must be the same as profile<N>.snapshots.mode

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.<MODE>.password.use_cache

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Cache password in RAM so it can be read by cronjobs. Security issue: root might be able to read that password, too. <MODE> must be the same as profile<N>.snapshots.mode

Default: true if home is not encrypted

profile<N>.snapshots.no_on_battery

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Don't take snapshots if the Computer runs on battery.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.notify.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Display notifications (errors, warnings) through libnotify.

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.path

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
Where to save snapshots in mode 'local'. This path must contain a folderstructure like 'backintime/<HOST>/<USER>/<PROFILE_ID>'

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.path.host

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Set Host for snapshot path

Default: local hostname

profile<N>.snapshots.path.profile

Type: str Allowed Values: 1-99999
Set Profile-ID for snapshot path

Default: current Profile-ID

profile<N>.snapshots.path.user

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Set User for snapshot path

Default: local username

profile<N>.snapshots.path.uuid

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Devices uuid used to automatically set up udev rule if the drive is not connected.

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.preserve_acl

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Preserve ACL. The source and destination systems must have compatible ACL entries for this option to work properly.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.preserve_xattr

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Preserve extended attributes (xattr).

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Remove all snapshots older than value + unit

Default: true

profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.unit

Type: int Allowed Values: 20|30|80
20 = days
30 = weeks
80 = years

Default: 80

profile<N>.snapshots.remove_old_snapshots.value

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Snapshots older than this times units will be removed

Default: 10

profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Past additional options to rsync

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.value

Type: str Allowed Values: text
rsync options. Options must be quoted e.g. --exclude-from="/path/to/my exclude file"

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run smart_remove to clean up old snapshots after a new snapshot was created.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_all

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Keep all snapshots for X days.

Default: 2

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_day

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Keep one snapshot per day for X days.

Default: 7

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_month

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Keep one snapshot per month for X month.

Default: 24

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.keep_one_per_week

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999
Keep one snapshot per week for X weeks.

Default: 4

profile<N>.snapshots.smart_remove.run_remote_in_background

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
If using mode SSH or SSH-encrypted, run smart_remove in background on remote machine

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.cipher

Type: str Allowed Values: default | aes192-cbc | aes256-cbc | aes128-ctr | aes192-ctr | aes256-ctr | arcfour | arcfour256 | arcfour128 | aes128-cbc | 3des-cbc | blowfish-cbc | cast128-cbc
Cipher that is used for encrypting the SSH tunnel. Depending on the environment (network bandwidth, cpu and hdd performance) a different cipher might be faster.

Default: default

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.host

Type: str Allowed Values: IP or domain address
Remote host used for mode 'ssh' and 'ssh_encfs'.

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.ionice

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'ionice -c2 -n7'

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.max_arg_length

Type: int Allowed Values: 0, >700
Maximum argument length of commands run on remote host. This can be tested with 'python3 /usr/share/backintime/common/sshMaxArg.py USER@HOST'.
0 = unlimited

Default: 0

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.nice

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'nice -n 19'

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.nocache

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run rsync on remote host with 'nocache'. This will prevent files from being cached in memory.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.path

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute or relative path
Snapshot path on remote host. If the path is relative (no leading '/') it will start from remote Users homedir. An empty path will be replaced with './'.

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.port

Type: int Allowed Values: 0-65535
SSH Port on remote host.

Default: 22

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.prefix.enabled

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Add prefix to every command which run through SSH on remote host.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.prefix.value

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Prefix to run before every command on remote host. Variables need to be escaped with \$FOO. This doesn't touch rsync. So to add a prefix for rsync use profile<N>.snapshots.rsync_options.value with --rsync-path="FOO=bar:\$FOO /usr/bin/rsync"

Default: 'PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:\$PATH'

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.private_key_file

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path to private key file
Private key file used for password-less authentication on remote host.

Default: ~/.ssh/id_dsa

profile<N>.snapshots.ssh.user

Type: str Allowed Values: text
Remote SSH user

Default: local users name

profile<N>.snapshots.take_snapshot.<STEP>.user.script

Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path
Run this scrip on events defined by <STEP>.
Possible events for <STEP>:

  before

  after

  new_snapshot

  error

Default: ''

profile<N>.snapshots.use_checksum

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Use checksum to detect changes rather than size + time.

Default: false

profile<N>.snapshots.user_backup.ionice

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Run BackInTime with 'ionice -c2 -n7' when taking a manual snapshot. This will give BackInTime the lowest IO bandwidth priority to not interupt any other working process.

Default: false

profile<N>.user_callback.no_logging

Type: bool Allowed Values: true|false
Do not catch std{out|err} from user-callback script. The script will only write to current TTY. Default is to catch std{out|err} and write it to syslog and TTY again.

Default: false

profiles

Type: str Allowed Values: int separated by colon (e.g. 1:3:4)
All active Profiles (<N> in profile<N>.snapshots...).

Default: 1

profiles.version

Type: int Allowed Values: 1
Internal version of profiles config.

Default: 1

AUTHOR

This manual page was written by BIT Team(<[email protected]>).