Repository URLs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Local filesystem** (or locally mounted network filesystem): ``/path/to/repo`` - filesystem path to repo directory, absolute path ``path/to/repo`` - filesystem path to repo directory, relative path Also, stuff like ``~/path/to/repo`` or ``~other/path/to/repo`` works (this is expanded by your shell). Note: you may also prepend a ``file://`` to a filesystem path to get URL style. **Remote repositories** accessed via ssh user@host: ``user@host:/path/to/repo`` - remote repo, absolute path ``ssh://user@host:port/path/to/repo`` - same, alternative syntax, port can be given **Remote repositories with relative pathes** can be given using this syntax: ``user@host:path/to/repo`` - path relative to current directory ``user@host:~/path/to/repo`` - path relative to user's home directory ``user@host:~other/path/to/repo`` - path relative to other's home directory Note: giving ``user@host:/./path/to/repo`` or ``user@host:/~/path/to/repo`` or ``user@host:/~other/path/to/repo`` is also supported, but not required here. **Remote repositories with relative pathes, alternative syntax with port**: ``ssh://user@host:port/./path/to/repo`` - path relative to current directory ``ssh://user@host:port/~/path/to/repo`` - path relative to user's home directory ``ssh://user@host:port/~other/path/to/repo`` - path relative to other's home directory If you frequently need the same repo URL, it is a good idea to set the ``BORG_REPO`` environment variable to set a default for the repo URL: :: export BORG_REPO='ssh://user@host:port/path/to/repo' Then just leave away the repo URL if only a repo URL is needed and you want to use the default - it will be read from BORG_REPO then. Use ``::`` syntax to give the repo URL when syntax requires giving a positional argument for the repo (e.g. ``borg mount :: /mnt``). Repository / Archive Locations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many commands want either a repository (just give the repo URL, see above) or an archive location, which is a repo URL followed by ``::archive_name``. Archive names must not contain the ``/`` (slash) character. For simplicity, maybe also avoid blanks or other characters that have special meaning on the shell or in a filesystem (borg mount will use the archive name as directory name). If you have set BORG_REPO (see above) and an archive location is needed, use ``::archive_name`` - the repo URL part is then read from BORG_REPO. Type of log output ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The log level of the builtin logging configuration defaults to WARNING. This is because we want Borg to be mostly silent and only output warnings, errors and critical messages, unless output has been requested by supplying an option that implies output (eg, --list or --progress). Log levels: DEBUG < INFO < WARNING < ERROR < CRITICAL Use ``--debug`` to set DEBUG log level - to get debug, info, warning, error and critical level output. Use ``--info`` (or ``-v`` or ``--verbose``) to set INFO log level - to get info, warning, error and critical level output. Use ``--warning`` (default) to set WARNING log level - to get warning, error and critical level output. Use ``--error`` to set ERROR log level - to get error and critical level output. Use ``--critical`` to set CRITICAL log level - to get critical level output. While you can set misc. log levels, do not expect that every command will give different output on different log levels - it's just a possibility. .. warning:: Options --critical and --error are provided for completeness, their usage is not recommended as you might miss important information. Return codes ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Borg can exit with the following return codes (rc): :: 0 = success (logged as INFO) 1 = warning (operation reached its normal end, but there were warnings - you should check the log, logged as WARNING) 2 = error (like a fatal error, a local or remote exception, the operation did not reach its normal end, logged as ERROR) 128+N = killed by signal N (e.g. 137 == kill -9) If you use ``--show-rc``, the return code is also logged at the indicated level as the last log entry. .. _env_vars: Environment Variables ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Borg uses some environment variables for automation: General: BORG_REPO When set, use the value to give the default repository location. If a command needs an archive parameter, you can abbreviate as `::archive`. If a command needs a repository parameter, you can either leave it away or abbreviate as `::`, if a positional parameter is required. BORG_PASSPHRASE When set, use the value to answer the passphrase question for encrypted repositories. It is used when a passphrase is needed to access an encrypted repo as well as when a new passphrase should be initially set when initializing an encrypted repo. See also BORG_NEW_PASSPHRASE. BORG_PASSCOMMAND When set, use the standard output of the command (trailing newlines are stripped) to answer the passphrase question for encrypted repositories. It is used when a passphrase is needed to access an encrypted repo as well as when a new passphrase should be initially set when initializing an encrypted repo. If BORG_PASSPHRASE is also set, it takes precedence. See also BORG_NEW_PASSPHRASE. BORG_NEW_PASSPHRASE When set, use the value to answer the passphrase question when a **new** passphrase is asked for. This variable is checked first. If it is not set, BORG_PASSPHRASE and BORG_PASSCOMMAND will also be checked. Main usecase for this is to fully automate ``borg change-passphrase``. BORG_DISPLAY_PASSPHRASE When set, use the value to answer the "display the passphrase for verification" question when defining a new passphrase for encrypted repositories. BORG_HOSTNAME_IS_UNIQUE=no Borg assumes that it can derive a unique hostname / identity (see ``borg debug info``). If this is not the case or you do not want Borg to automatically remove stale locks, set this to *no*. BORG_LOGGING_CONF When set, use the given filename as INI_-style logging configuration. BORG_RSH When set, use this command instead of ``ssh``. This can be used to specify ssh options, such as a custom identity file ``ssh -i /path/to/private/key``. See ``man ssh`` for other options. BORG_REMOTE_PATH When set, use the given path as borg executable on the remote (defaults to "borg" if unset). Using ``--remote-path PATH`` commandline option overrides the environment variable. BORG_FILES_CACHE_TTL When set to a numeric value, this determines the maximum "time to live" for the files cache entries (default: 20). The files cache is used to quickly determine whether a file is unchanged. The FAQ explains this more detailed in: :ref:`always_chunking` TMPDIR where temporary files are stored (might need a lot of temporary space for some operations) Some automatic "answerers" (if set, they automatically answer confirmation questions): BORG_UNKNOWN_UNENCRYPTED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK=no (or =yes) For "Warning: Attempting to access a previously unknown unencrypted repository" BORG_RELOCATED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK=no (or =yes) For "Warning: The repository at location ... was previously located at ..." BORG_CHECK_I_KNOW_WHAT_I_AM_DOING=NO (or =YES) For "Warning: 'check --repair' is an experimental feature that might result in data loss." BORG_DELETE_I_KNOW_WHAT_I_AM_DOING=NO (or =YES) For "You requested to completely DELETE the repository *including* all archives it contains:" BORG_RECREATE_I_KNOW_WHAT_I_AM_DOING=NO (or =YES) For "recreate is an experimental feature." Note: answers are case sensitive. setting an invalid answer value might either give the default answer or ask you interactively, depending on whether retries are allowed (they by default are allowed). So please test your scripts interactively before making them a non-interactive script. Directories and files: BORG_KEYS_DIR Default to '~/.config/borg/keys'. This directory contains keys for encrypted repositories. BORG_KEY_FILE When set, use the given filename as repository key file. BORG_SECURITY_DIR Default to '~/.config/borg/security'. This directory contains information borg uses to track its usage of NONCES ("numbers used once" - usually in encryption context) and other security relevant data. BORG_CACHE_DIR Default to '~/.cache/borg'. This directory contains the local cache and might need a lot of space for dealing with big repositories). Building: BORG_OPENSSL_PREFIX Adds given OpenSSL header file directory to the default locations (setup.py). BORG_LZ4_PREFIX Adds given LZ4 header file directory to the default locations (setup.py). BORG_LIBB2_PREFIX Adds given prefix directory to the default locations. If a 'include/blake2.h' is found Borg will be linked against the system libb2 instead of a bundled implementation. (setup.py) Please note: - be very careful when using the "yes" sayers, the warnings with prompt exist for your / your data's security/safety - also be very careful when putting your passphrase into a script, make sure it has appropriate file permissions (e.g. mode 600, root:root). .. _INI: https://docs.python.org/3.4/library/logging.config.html#configuration-file-format .. _file-systems: File systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~ We strongly recommend against using Borg (or any other database-like software) on non-journaling file systems like FAT, since it is not possible to assume any consistency in case of power failures (or a sudden disconnect of an external drive or similar failures). While Borg uses a data store that is resilient against these failures when used on journaling file systems, it is not possible to guarantee this with some hardware -- independent of the software used. We don't know a list of affected hardware. If you are suspicious whether your Borg repository is still consistent and readable after one of the failures mentioned above occured, run ``borg check --verify-data`` to make sure it is consistent. Units ~~~~~ To display quantities, Borg takes care of respecting the usual conventions of scale. Disk sizes are displayed in `decimal `_, using powers of ten (so ``kB`` means 1000 bytes). For memory usage, `binary prefixes `_ are used, and are indicated using the `IEC binary prefixes `_, using powers of two (so ``KiB`` means 1024 bytes). Date and Time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We format date and time conforming to ISO-8601, that is: YYYY-MM-DD and HH:MM:SS (24h clock). For more information about that, see: https://xkcd.com/1179/ Unless otherwise noted, we display local date and time. Internally, we store and process date and time as UTC. Resource Usage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Borg might use a lot of resources depending on the size of the data set it is dealing with. If one uses Borg in a client/server way (with a ssh: repository), the resource usage occurs in part on the client and in another part on the server. If one uses Borg as a single process (with a filesystem repo), all the resource usage occurs in that one process, so just add up client + server to get the approximate resource usage. CPU client: borg create: does chunking, hashing, compression, crypto (high CPU usage) chunks cache sync: quite heavy on CPU, doing lots of hashtable operations. borg extract: crypto, decompression (medium to high CPU usage) borg check: similar to extract, but depends on options given. borg prune / borg delete archive: low to medium CPU usage borg delete repo: done on the server It won't go beyond 100% of 1 core as the code is currently single-threaded. Especially higher zlib and lzma compression levels use significant amounts of CPU cycles. Crypto might be cheap on the CPU (if hardware accelerated) or expensive (if not). CPU server: It usually doesn't need much CPU, it just deals with the key/value store (repository) and uses the repository index for that. borg check: the repository check computes the checksums of all chunks (medium CPU usage) borg delete repo: low CPU usage CPU (only for client/server operation): When using borg in a client/server way with a ssh:-type repo, the ssh processes used for the transport layer will need some CPU on the client and on the server due to the crypto they are doing - esp. if you are pumping big amounts of data. Memory (RAM) client: The chunks index and the files index are read into memory for performance reasons. Might need big amounts of memory (see below). Compression, esp. lzma compression with high levels might need substantial amounts of memory. Memory (RAM) server: The server process will load the repository index into memory. Might need considerable amounts of memory, but less than on the client (see below). Chunks index (client only): Proportional to the amount of data chunks in your repo. Lots of chunks in your repo imply a big chunks index. It is possible to tweak the chunker params (see create options). Files index (client only): Proportional to the amount of files in your last backups. Can be switched off (see create options), but next backup might be much slower if you do. The speed benefit of using the files cache is proportional to file size. Repository index (server only): Proportional to the amount of data chunks in your repo. Lots of chunks in your repo imply a big repository index. It is possible to tweak the chunker params (see create options) to influence the amount of chunks being created. Temporary files (client): Reading data and metadata from a FUSE mounted repository will consume up to the size of all deduplicated, small chunks in the repository. Big chunks won't be locally cached. Temporary files (server): None. Cache files (client only): Contains the chunks index and files index (plus a collection of single- archive chunk indexes which might need huge amounts of disk space, depending on archive count and size - see FAQ about how to reduce). Network (only for client/server operation): If your repository is remote, all deduplicated (and optionally compressed/ encrypted) data of course has to go over the connection (ssh: repo url). If you use a locally mounted network filesystem, additionally some copy operations used for transaction support also go over the connection. If you backup multiple sources to one target repository, additional traffic happens for cache resynchronization.