#backuip — Public Fediverse posts

Cronopete: A Time Machine like backup for Linux

There are lots of ways to backup Linux. One of them is using the ‘tar’ command which was the first method I used many years ago when I was a Linux newbie. Later I used ‘rsync’ to backup a mail server that was running on RHEL 2.1. Linux is like a Swiss Army knife when it comes to bacup options. I’m no longer backing up file servers. These days I’m backing up my workstation or the laptop I used to write most of the articles I write. I had been using DejaDup when a fellow blogger suggested I try Cronopete. He said it was a lot like Time Machine on macOS. Having used Time Machine in the past I was familiar with the interface and the general idea.

Cronopete is one of the gems of the open source world and I’ve often wished that it were available for more than Linux. The current version is 4.19.0 and the easiest way to get it is to go to the Rastersoft website and download it for your Linux distribution. The project provides packages for ‘rpm’ and ‘deb’ based systems. You can choose to build it from source if you need a different solution. I downloaded the ‘rpm’ package for Fedora because that’s what I needed. Once the package is in my download folder I double click and it’s ready to install.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After the software is installed the program creates a shortcut on the task bar at the lower right of the display.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Click on that icon and you have the option to ‘Configure the backups’. Immediately an intuitive graphic appears that’s very easy to configure options for your particular backup needs.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

At the top right of the configuration panel you are given the option to store the backups in a local folder or in an external drive. I have a one terabyted external drive for my workstation and a smaller thumb drive for the laptop. In the middle of the configuration panel there is an option to change the backup destination. Next to that is a button to choose what folders to backup. The program defaults to ‘/home/user’. Cronopete is not designed to backup an entire computer along with configuration files like Timeshift on Linux Mint. Be sure to ‘Enable backups’ at the lower left of the configuration panel.

According to the project, “As a backup utility, it makes periodically a copy of all the user files in a separate hard disk, thus allowing to recover them in case of accidentally deleting a file, or if the main hard disk gets damaged. Each copy is stored separately (one copy per hour is kept for the last 24 hours, one daily copy for the last 15 days, and one weekly copy for the rest), which means that the user can choose which copy to restore. Files that do not change between backups are stored as hard links, and thus each new copy uses much less disk space than a true full copy. Internally, it uses RSync to do all the backup work.”

Configure what you are going to backup is the next process and the interval for those backups if desired. There are advanced options which include backing up hidden files and folders and extended attributes.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Once the configuration is complete I am ready to perform the backup. I am going to choose the first option to ‘Back Up Now.’ If this is your first backup Cronopete will provide you with the option of formatting the backup drive.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

If your drive is already formated choose ‘Mount and Open’ and now you are ready to begin your first backup. When the home directory is backing up the ‘anaCronopete’ icon on the task bar will appear green. When the process is complete it will return to a gray color.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After backing up the files you can open your file manager and you will find a folder marked ‘cronopete.’ Opening that folder you will find subfolders each date and time stamped for the backup that occurred.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Restoring from backup is just as easy. Return to the ‘Cronopete’ icon on the taskbar at the lower right of the display and choose ‘Restore files.’ You will be presented with a graphic of your backed up files each with a time stamp of when the backup occurred. Use the two blue arrows at the top right to find the particular backup time and either select all or select the folder and/or the file you want to restore. Highlight the file or folder and click on ‘Restore files’ at the top left of the display.

Cronopete is open source with a GPL v 3.0 license.

#backuip #cronopete #Linux

Cronopete: A Time Machine like backup for Linux

There are lots of ways to backup Linux. One of them is using the ‘tar’ command which was the first method I used many years ago when I was a Linux newbie. Later I used ‘rsync’ to backup a mail server that was running on RHEL 2.1. Linux is like a Swiss Army knife when it comes to bacup options. I’m no longer backing up file servers. These days I’m backing up my workstation or the laptop I used to write most of the articles I write. I had been using DejaDup when a fellow blogger suggested I try Cronopete. He said it was a lot like Time Machine on macOS. Having used Time Machine in the past I was familiar with the interface and the general idea.

Cronopete is one of the gems of the open source world and I’ve often wished that it were available for more than Linux. The current version is 4.19.0 and the easiest way to get it is to go to the Rastersoft website and download it for your Linux distribution. The project provides packages for ‘rpm’ and ‘deb’ based systems. You can choose to build it from source if you need a different solution. I downloaded the ‘rpm’ package for Fedora because that’s what I needed. Once the package is in my download folder I double click and it’s ready to install.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After the software is installed the program creates a shortcut on the task bar at the lower right of the display.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Click on that icon and you have the option to ‘Configure the backups’. Immediately an intuitive graphic appears that’s very easy to configure options for your particular backup needs.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

At the top right of the configuration panel you are given the option to store the backups in a local folder or in an external drive. I have a one terabyted external drive for my workstation and a smaller thumb drive for the laptop. In the middle of the configuration panel there is an option to change the backup destination. Next to that is a button to choose what folders to backup. The program defaults to ‘/home/user’. Cronopete is not designed to backup an entire computer along with configuration files like Timeshift on Linux Mint. Be sure to ‘Enable backups’ at the lower left of the configuration panel.

According to the project, “As a backup utility, it makes periodically a copy of all the user files in a separate hard disk, thus allowing to recover them in case of accidentally deleting a file, or if the main hard disk gets damaged. Each copy is stored separately (one copy per hour is kept for the last 24 hours, one daily copy for the last 15 days, and one weekly copy for the rest), which means that the user can choose which copy to restore. Files that do not change between backups are stored as hard links, and thus each new copy uses much less disk space than a true full copy. Internally, it uses RSync to do all the backup work.”

Configure what you are going to backup is the next process and the interval for those backups if desired. There are advanced options which include backing up hidden files and folders and extended attributes.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Once the configuration is complete I am ready to perform the backup. I am going to choose the first option to ‘Back Up Now.’ If this is your first backup Cronopete will provide you with the option of formatting the backup drive.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

If your drive is already formated choose ‘Mount and Open’ and now you are ready to begin your first backup. When the home directory is backing up the ‘anaCronopete’ icon on the task bar will appear green. When the process is complete it will return to a gray color.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After backing up the files you can open your file manager and you will find a folder marked ‘cronopete.’ Opening that folder you will find subfolders each date and time stamped for the backup that occurred.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Restoring from backup is just as easy. Return to the ‘Cronopete’ icon on the taskbar at the lower right of the display and choose ‘Restore files.’ You will be presented with a graphic of your backed up files each with a time stamp of when the backup occurred. Use the two blue arrows at the top right to find the particular backup time and either select all or select the folder and/or the file you want to restore. Highlight the file or folder and click on ‘Restore files’ at the top left of the display.

Cronopete is open source with a GPL v 3.0 license.

#backuip #cronopete #Linux

Cronopete: A Time Machine like backup for Linux

There are lots of ways to backup Linux. One of them is using the ‘tar’ command which was the first method I used many years ago when I was a Linux newbie. Later I used ‘rsync’ to backup a mail server that was running on RHEL 2.1. Linux is like a Swiss Army knife when it comes to bacup options. I’m no longer backing up file servers. These days I’m backing up my workstation or the laptop I used to write most of the articles I write. I had been using DejaDup when a fellow blogger suggested I try Cronopete. He said it was a lot like Time Machine on macOS. Having used Time Machine in the past I was familiar with the interface and the general idea.

Cronopete is one of the gems of the open source world and I’ve often wished that it were available for more than Linux. The current version is 4.19.0 and the easiest way to get it is to go to the Rastersoft website and download it for your Linux distribution. The project provides packages for ‘rpm’ and ‘deb’ based systems. You can choose to build it from source if you need a different solution. I downloaded the ‘rpm’ package for Fedora because that’s what I needed. Once the package is in my download folder I double click and it’s ready to install.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After the software is installed the program creates a shortcut on the task bar at the lower right of the display.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Click on that icon and you have the option to ‘Configure the backups’. Immediately an intuitive graphic appears that’s very easy to configure options for your particular backup needs.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

At the top right of the configuration panel you are given the option to store the backups in a local folder or in an external drive. I have a one terabyted external drive for my workstation and a smaller thumb drive for the laptop. In the middle of the configuration panel there is an option to change the backup destination. Next to that is a button to choose what folders to backup. The program defaults to ‘/home/user’. Cronopete is not designed to backup an entire computer along with configuration files like Timeshift on Linux Mint. Be sure to ‘Enable backups’ at the lower left of the configuration panel.

According to the project, “As a backup utility, it makes periodically a copy of all the user files in a separate hard disk, thus allowing to recover them in case of accidentally deleting a file, or if the main hard disk gets damaged. Each copy is stored separately (one copy per hour is kept for the last 24 hours, one daily copy for the last 15 days, and one weekly copy for the rest), which means that the user can choose which copy to restore. Files that do not change between backups are stored as hard links, and thus each new copy uses much less disk space than a true full copy. Internally, it uses RSync to do all the backup work.”

Configure what you are going to backup is the next process and the interval for those backups if desired. There are advanced options which include backing up hidden files and folders and extended attributes.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Once the configuration is complete I am ready to perform the backup. I am going to choose the first option to ‘Back Up Now.’ If this is your first backup Cronopete will provide you with the option of formatting the backup drive.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

If your drive is already formated choose ‘Mount and Open’ and now you are ready to begin your first backup. When the home directory is backing up the ‘anaCronopete’ icon on the task bar will appear green. When the process is complete it will return to a gray color.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After backing up the files you can open your file manager and you will find a folder marked ‘cronopete.’ Opening that folder you will find subfolders each date and time stamped for the backup that occurred.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Restoring from backup is just as easy. Return to the ‘Cronopete’ icon on the taskbar at the lower right of the display and choose ‘Restore files.’ You will be presented with a graphic of your backed up files each with a time stamp of when the backup occurred. Use the two blue arrows at the top right to find the particular backup time and either select all or select the folder and/or the file you want to restore. Highlight the file or folder and click on ‘Restore files’ at the top left of the display.

Cronopete is open source with a GPL v 3.0 license.

#backuip #cronopete #Linux

Cronopete: A Time Machine like backup for Linux

There are lots of ways to backup Linux. One of them is using the ‘tar’ command which was the first method I used many years ago when I was a Linux newbie. Later I used ‘rsync’ to backup a mail server that was running on RHEL 2.1. Linux is like a Swiss Army knife when it comes to bacup options. I’m no longer backing up file servers. These days I’m backing up my workstation or the laptop I used to write most of the articles I write. I had been using DejaDup when a fellow blogger suggested I try Cronopete. He said it was a lot like Time Machine on macOS. Having used Time Machine in the past I was familiar with the interface and the general idea.

Cronopete is one of the gems of the open source world and I’ve often wished that it were available for more than Linux. The current version is 4.19.0 and the easiest way to get it is to go to the Rastersoft website and download it for your Linux distribution. The project provides packages for ‘rpm’ and ‘deb’ based systems. You can choose to build it from source if you need a different solution. I downloaded the ‘rpm’ package for Fedora because that’s what I needed. Once the package is in my download folder I double click and it’s ready to install.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After the software is installed the program creates a shortcut on the task bar at the lower right of the display.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Click on that icon and you have the option to ‘Configure the backups’. Immediately an intuitive graphic appears that’s very easy to configure options for your particular backup needs.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

At the top right of the configuration panel you are given the option to store the backups in a local folder or in an external drive. I have a one terabyted external drive for my workstation and a smaller thumb drive for the laptop. In the middle of the configuration panel there is an option to change the backup destination. Next to that is a button to choose what folders to backup. The program defaults to ‘/home/user’. Cronopete is not designed to backup an entire computer along with configuration files like Timeshift on Linux Mint. Be sure to ‘Enable backups’ at the lower left of the configuration panel.

According to the project, “As a backup utility, it makes periodically a copy of all the user files in a separate hard disk, thus allowing to recover them in case of accidentally deleting a file, or if the main hard disk gets damaged. Each copy is stored separately (one copy per hour is kept for the last 24 hours, one daily copy for the last 15 days, and one weekly copy for the rest), which means that the user can choose which copy to restore. Files that do not change between backups are stored as hard links, and thus each new copy uses much less disk space than a true full copy. Internally, it uses RSync to do all the backup work.”

Configure what you are going to backup is the next process and the interval for those backups if desired. There are advanced options which include backing up hidden files and folders and extended attributes.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Once the configuration is complete I am ready to perform the backup. I am going to choose the first option to ‘Back Up Now.’ If this is your first backup Cronopete will provide you with the option of formatting the backup drive.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

If your drive is already formated choose ‘Mount and Open’ and now you are ready to begin your first backup. When the home directory is backing up the ‘anaCronopete’ icon on the task bar will appear green. When the process is complete it will return to a gray color.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

After backing up the files you can open your file manager and you will find a folder marked ‘cronopete.’ Opening that folder you will find subfolders each date and time stamped for the backup that occurred.

Screen picture by Don Watkins CC by SA 4.0

Restoring from backup is just as easy. Return to the ‘Cronopete’ icon on the taskbar at the lower right of the display and choose ‘Restore files.’ You will be presented with a graphic of your backed up files each with a time stamp of when the backup occurred. Use the two blue arrows at the top right to find the particular backup time and either select all or select the folder and/or the file you want to restore. Highlight the file or folder and click on ‘Restore files’ at the top left of the display.

Cronopete is open source with a GPL v 3.0 license.

#backuip #cronopete #Linux