---
name: "amanda"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "amanda-common"
version: "1:3.5.4-2"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/amanda"
---

# amanda(8)

The Open Source Backup Platform

## NAME

amanda - The Open Source Backup Platform

## DESCRIPTION

This manual page gives an overview of the Amanda commands and configuration files for quick reference.

### COMMANDS

Here are all the Amanda commands. Each one has its own manual page. See them for all the gory details.

• [**amaddclient**(8)](/amaddclient/8.md),

• [**amadmin**(8)](/amadmin/8.md),

• [**amaespipe**(8)](/amaespipe/8.md),

• [**amarchiver**(8)](/amarchiver/8.md),

• [**amcheck**(8)](/amcheck/8.md),

• [**amcheckdb**(8)](/amcheckdb/8.md),

• [**amcheckdump**(8)](/amcheckdump/8.md),

• [**amcleanup**(8)](/amcleanup/8.md),

• [**amcrypt-ossl-asym**(8)](/amcrypt-ossl-asym/8.md),

• [**amcrypt-ossl**(8)](/amcrypt-ossl/8.md),

• [**amcrypt**(8)](/amcrypt/8.md),

• [**amcryptsimple**(8)](/amcryptsimple/8.md),

• [**amdevcheck**(8)](/amdevcheck/8.md),

• [**amdump**(8)](/amdump/8.md),

• [**amfetchdump**(8)](/amfetchdump/8.md),

• [**amflush**(8)](/amflush/8.md),

• [**amgetconf**(8)](/amgetconf/8.md),

• [**amgpgcrypt**(8)](/amgpgcrypt/8.md),

• [**amgtar**(8)](/amgtar/8.md),

• [**amlabel**(8)](/amlabel/8.md),

• [**amoverview**(8)](/amoverview/8.md),

• [**ampgsql**(8)](/ampgsql/8.md),

• [**amplot**(8)](/amplot/8.md),

• [**amraw**(8)](/amraw/8.md),

• [**amrecover**(8)](/amrecover/8.md),

• [**amreindex**(8)](/amreindex/8.md),

• [**amreport**(8)](/amreport/8.md),

• [**amrestore**(8)](/amrestore/8.md),

• [**amrmtape**(8)](/amrmtape/8.md),

• [**amsamba**(8)](/amsamba/8.md),

• [**amserverconfig**(8)](/amserverconfig/8.md),

• [**amservice**(8)](/amservice/8.md),

• [**amstar**(8)](/amstar/8.md),

• [**amstatus**(8)](/amstatus/8.md),

• [**amsuntar**(8)](/amsuntar/8.md),

• [**amtape**(8)](/amtape/8.md),

• [**amtapetype**(8)](/amtapetype/8.md),

• [**amtoc**(8)](/amtoc/8.md),

• [**amvault**(8)](/amvault/8.md),

• [**amzfs-sendrecv**(8)](/amzfs-sendrecv/8.md),

• [**amzfs-snapshot**(8)](/amzfs-snapshot/8.md),

• [**script-email**(8)](/script-email/8.md),

### CONFIGURATION FILES

• [**amanda.conf**(5)](/amanda.conf/5.md),

• [**amanda-client.conf**(5)](/amanda-client.conf/5.md),

• [**amanda-security.conf**(5)](/amanda-security.conf/5.md),

• [**disklist**(5)](/disklist/5.md),

• [**tapelist**(5)](/tapelist/5.md),

### DATA FORMATS

• [**amanda-archive-format**(5)](/amanda-archive-format/5.md),

• [**amanda-command-file**(5)](/amanda-command-file/5.md),

### CONCEPTS

• [**amanda-applications**(7)](/amanda-applications/7.md),

• [**amanda-auth**(7)](/amanda-auth/7.md),

• [**amanda-auth-ssl**(7)](/amanda-auth-ssl/7.md),

• [**amanda-changers**(7)](/amanda-changers/7.md),

• [**amanda-compatibility**(7)](/amanda-compatibility/7.md),

• [**amanda-devices**(7)](/amanda-devices/7.md),

• [**amanda-interactivity**(7)](/amanda-interactivity/7.md),

• [**amanda-match**(7)](/amanda-match/7.md),

• [**amanda-scripts**(7)](/amanda-scripts/7.md),

• [**amanda-taperscan**(7)](/amanda-taperscan/7.md),

## CONFIGURATION FILES

There are five user-editable files that control the behavior of Amanda.

The first two are [**amanda.conf**(5)](/amanda.conf/5.md) and [**amanda-client.conf**(5)](/amanda-client.conf/5.md), the main configuration files for the server and client, respectively. They contain parameters to customize Amanda for the site.

Next is the [**disklist**(5)](/disklist/5.md) file, which lists hosts and disk partitions to back up.

Last is the seldom-edited [**tapelist**(5)](/tapelist/5.md) file, which lists tapes that are currently active. These files are described in more detail in the following sections.

All configuration files are stored in individual configuration directories, usually under /etc/amanda/. A site will often have more than one configuration. For example, it might have a *normal* configuration for everyday backups and an *archive* configuration for infrequent full archival backups. The configuration files would be stored under directories /etc/amanda/normal/ and /etc/amanda/archive/, respectively. Part of the job of an Amanda administrator is to create, populate and maintain these directories.

Most Amanda applications take a "config" parameter; this is generally the (unqualified) name of the configuration directory, e.g., normal. If the parameter is . (dot), the current directory is used. This feature is present for backward compatibility, but is not commonly used.

### Configuration Override

Most commands allow the override of specific configuration options on the command line, using the -o option. This option has the form -o*name*=*value*. An optional space is allowed after the -o. Each configuration option should be specified in a separate command-line option.

For global options, *name* is simply the name of the option, e.g.,

```
amdump -oruntapes=2
```

For options in a named section of the configuration, *name* has the form *SECTION*:*section\_name*:*name*, where *SECTION* is one of TAPETYPE, DUMPTYPE, HOLDINGDISK, or INTERFACE, and *section\_name* is the name of the tapetype, dumptype, holdingdisk, or interface. Examples:

```
amdump -o TAPETYPE:HP-DAT:length=2000m
amdump -o DUMPTYPE:no-compress:compress="server fast"
amdump -o HOLDINGDISK:hd1:use="-100 mb"
amdump -o INTERFACE:local:use="2000 kbps"
```

When overriding device properties, one must carefully quote the command line to simulate the syntax of real configuration files. The following example should serve as a guide:

```
amdump -o 'device-property="PROPERTY_MAX_VOLUME_USAGE" "100000"'
```

Note that configuration overrides are not effective for tape changers, which supply a tapedev based on their own configuration. In order to override *tapedev*, you must also disable any changer:

```
amdump -otapedev=/dev/nst1 -otpchanger=''
```

## AUTHORS

**James da Silva** \<jds@amanda.org\>

**Stefan G. Weichinger** \<sgw@amanda.org\>
