Linux essentials
The tools behind every server backup: tar, rsync, rsnapshot, rclone, restic, Borg, Kopia, Duplicati, GPG, etckeeper, dd images, LVM, ZFS and Btrfs snapshots, Proxmox, SSH keys, cron and systemd timers, plus cPanel, Contabo, Hostinger, OVHcloud, Oracle Cloud and Scaleway servers.
How to back up files and directories with tar
Create compressed tar backups on Linux, leave out caches and logs, check the archive is readable, restore to a safe directory, and run incremental backups with GNU tar.
9 min read · TestedHow to back up a server with rsync
Back up directories locally or over SSH with rsync, keep a complete copy for every day with --link-dest, use --delete without losing data, and restore and verify the result.
8 min read · TestedHow to schedule backups with cron
Schedule backups that run on time and fail loudly: crontab syntax, /etc/cron.d versus crontab -e, the PATH and % traps, logging, overlap protection with flock, testing and timezones.
9 min readThe find command: a practical guide with examples
Find files on Linux by name, type, size, age, owner and permissions, act on the results safely with -exec and xargs, and delete old backups without removing the wrong thing.
9 min read · TestedHow to back up a server with rclone to S3-compatible storage
Install a current rclone, connect it to an S3-compatible bucket, back up with copy or sync without losing deleted files, encrypt client-side, verify, restore, and run it from cron.
10 min readHow to back up a Linux server with restic to S3-compatible storage
Install a current restic, create an encrypted repository in an S3-compatible bucket, back up with excludes and tags, keep a retention policy with forget --prune, check and restore, clear stale locks, and run it from a systemd timer.
10 min readHow to back up a server with BorgBackup
Set up BorgBackup 1.4 to send encrypted, deduplicated backups over SSH to a second server, export the key, prune and compact old archives, check and restore, make the repository append-only, and run it from cron.
9 min readHow to encrypt backups on Linux with GPG and age
Encrypt server backups before they leave the machine with GPG or age: a public key the server cannot decrypt with, a passphrase file for simple scripts, streaming tar through encryption, decrypting, verifying, and keeping the keys safe.
8 min read · TestedHow to move a server to a new cloud provider with minimal downtime
Move a Linux server to another cloud with minutes of downtime: inventory, a matching build, two rsync passes, database dumps, a lowered DNS TTL, checks and a way back.
10 min readWhat to back up on a Linux server: a checklist
The files, databases and settings to back up on a Linux server, the command that captures each one, what to leave out, and a printable checklist.
10 min read · TestedHow to back up a cPanel & WHM server
Set up WHM's scheduled backups, send copies to Amazon S3, Backblaze B2 or SFTP, archive one account with pkgacct, restore accounts and single files, move accounts with the Transfer Tool, and test a restore.
9 min readHow to back up a Contabo VPS
What Contabo's snapshots and Auto Backup add-on keep and for how long, why neither is an off-site backup, and how to send files and database dumps from a Contabo VPS to storage at another provider and restore them on any server.
8 min readHow to take consistent backups with LVM snapshots
Freeze a logical volume at one instant with lvcreate --snapshot, back it up with tar or restic from a read-only mount, keep the snapshot from filling up, remove it, and roll a volume back with lvconvert --merge.
10 min readHow to back up with ZFS snapshots and zfs send/receive
Take atomic ZFS snapshots, restore files from .zfs/snapshot, copy snapshots to another machine with zfs send and receive over SSH, send incrementals, resume broken transfers, keep encrypted data encrypted, and prune old snapshots.
9 min readHow to back up a server before an Ubuntu release upgrade
Prepare an Ubuntu server for do-release-upgrade: a snapshot plus database and file copies, a record of packages and services, a safe upgrade over SSH, the checks to run afterwards, and how to roll back.
9 min readHow to set up SSH key authentication and turn off passwords
Create an Ed25519 key, install it with ssh-copy-id or by hand, keep it unlocked with ssh-agent, turn off SSH password logins on Ubuntu without locking yourself out, and fix the errors people hit.
11 min readHow to copy files between servers with scp and rsync
Copy files and directories between Linux servers over SSH with scp, rsync, tar and sftp: the flags that matter, server-to-server copies without agent forwarding, resuming large files and checking the result.
10 min read · TestedHow to make incremental backups with tar
Use GNU tar's --listed-incremental snapshot file for full and incremental or differential backups, restore the chain in the right order, read what each archive recorded, and avoid the snapshot-file, device-number and macOS traps.
12 min read · TestedHow to back up a Linux server with Duplicati
Install Duplicati 2.4 on Ubuntu, keep its web UI on localhost behind an SSH tunnel, back up encrypted to S3-compatible storage or Backblaze B2, choose retention, script runs with duplicati-cli, and restore even after losing the server.
9 min readHow to back up a Linux server with Kopia
Install Kopia from its apt repository, create an encrypted repository in an S3-compatible bucket or over SFTP, set retention, compression and ignore rules, restore and verify snapshots, understand who runs maintenance, and schedule it with a systemd timer.
11 min readrestic vs Borg vs Kopia: which backup tool for a Linux server
A sourced comparison of restic 0.19, Borg 1.4 (and the Borg 2 beta) and Kopia 0.23 as of October 2026: storage, encryption, compression, deletion protection, several servers per repository, restore and maintenance, with a pick for four common setups.
9 min readHow to back up Proxmox VE virtual machines and containers
Back up Proxmox VE guests with vzdump: pick snapshot, suspend or stop mode, compress with zstd, schedule jobs with retention, restore with qmrestore and pct restore, and keep a copy off the host with Proxmox Backup Server or rclone.
9 min readHow to make a full disk image of a server with dd
Image a whole server disk with dd from a rescue system, compress it with zstd and stream it over SSH, shrink it by zeroing free space, check it with fdisk and losetup, restore it, and read dd's messages and errors.
9 min read · TestedHow to back up a Hostinger VPS
What Hostinger's weekly and daily VPS backups and its one snapshot keep and for how long, how to take and restore them in hPanel or through the API, and how to add a nightly copy of files and databases at another provider that restores on any server.
9 min readHow to back up an OVHcloud VPS
What OVHcloud's Standard and Premium automated backups and its Snapshot option keep, where they are stored, how to restore, mount or download them, and how to keep a copy of your files and databases at another provider.
10 min readHow to schedule backups with systemd timers
Run a backup on a schedule with a systemd service and timer: OnCalendar, catch-up runs after downtime, random delays, logs in the journal, alerts with OnFailure=, safe credentials and a sandbox that still reads everything.
11 min read · TestedHow to back up with Btrfs snapshots
Take read-only Btrfs snapshots, copy them to another server with btrfs send and receive, send only the changes with -p, automate it with btrbk or snapper, restore files or a whole subvolume, and see what snapshots cost in space.
10 min readHow to back up an Oracle Cloud (OCI) compute instance
Back up an OCI instance with boot and block volume backups, by hand or on Bronze, Silver, Gold or your own policy, fit them into Always Free's five backups, copy them across regions, restore to a new instance, and keep a copy outside Oracle.
11 min readHow to back up a Scaleway Instance
What Scaleway's snapshots and images copy, which Instance types use Local or Block Storage, the scw commands that work in 2026, what snapshots cost, how to restore or export one as QCOW2, and how to keep a copy outside Scaleway.
9 min readHow to back up a server with rsnapshot
Set up rsnapshot on Debian or Ubuntu: rotating snapshots that store only changed files, a tab-separated config, read-only pulls over SSH, database dumps, scheduling, restores and common errors.
10 min readHow to track /etc changes with etckeeper
Keep /etc in git with etckeeper: automatic commits on every apt run and once a day, your own commits, reading history with git log and git diff, restoring a file with its permissions, secrets in remotes, and the errors you will see.
8 min read