--- name: "backintime-config" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "backintime-common" version: "1.5.5-1" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/backintime-config" --- # backintime-config(1) BackInTime configuration files. ## NAME config - BackInTime configuration files. ## SYNOPSIS \~/.config/backintime/config\ /etc/backintime/config ## DESCRIPTION Back In Time was developed as pure GUI program and so most functions are only usable with backintime-qt. 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.language* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Language code (ISO 639) used to translate the user interface. If empty the operating systems current local is used. If 'en' the translation is not active and the original English source strings are used. It is the same if the value is unknown. Default: '' - *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\.name* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Name of this profile. Default: Main profile - *profile\.schedule.custom\_time* Type: str Allowed Values: comma separated int (8,12,18,23) or \*/3\ Custom hours for cronjob. Only valid for *profile\.schedule.mode* = 19 Default: 8,12,18,23 - *profile\.schedule.day* Type: int Allowed Values: 1-28\ Which day of month the cronjob should run? Only valid for *profile\.schedule.mode* \>= 40 Default: 1 - *profile\.schedule.debug* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Enable debug output to system log for schedule mode. Default: false - *profile\.schedule.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\.schedule.repeatedly.period* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ How many units to wait between new snapshots with anacron? Only valid for *profile\.schedule.mode* = 25\|27 Default: 1 - *profile\.schedule.repeatedly.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\.schedule.mode* = 25\|27 Default: 20 - *profile\.schedule.time* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-2400\ Position-coded number with the format "hhmm" to specify the hour and minute the cronjob should start (eg. 2015 means a quarter past 8pm). Leading zeros can be omitted (eg. 30 = 0030). Only valid for *profile\.schedule.mode* = 20 (daily), 30 (weekly), 40 (monthly) and 80 (yearly) Default: 0 - *profile\.schedule.weekday* Type: int Allowed Values: 1 = monday - 7 = sunday\ Which day of week the cronjob should run? Only valid for *profile\.schedule.mode* = 30 Default: 7 - *profile\.snapshots.backup\_on\_restore.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Rename existing files before restore into FILE.backup.YYYYMMDD Default: true - *profile\.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\.snapshots.bwlimit.value* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Bandwidth limit in KB/sec. Default: 3000 - *profile\.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\.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\.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\.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 interrupt any other working process. Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.cron.nice* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Run cronjobs with 'nice -n19'. This will give BackInTime the lowest CPU priority to not interrupt any other working process. Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.cron.redirect\_stderr* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ redirect stderr to /dev/null in cronjobs Default: False - *profile\.snapshots.cron.redirect\_stdout* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ redirect stdout to /dev/null in cronjobs Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.dont\_remove\_named\_snapshots* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Keep snapshots with names during smart\_remove. Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.exclude.bysize.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Enable exclude files by size. Default: false - *profile\.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\.snapshots.exclude.\.value* Type: str Allowed Values: file, folder or pattern (relative or absolute)\ Exclude this file or folder. \ must be a counter starting with 1 Default: '' - *profile\.snapshots.exclude.size* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Quantity of profile\.snapshots.exclude.\ entries. Default: -1 - *profile\.snapshots.include.\.type* Type: int Allowed Values: 0\|1\ Specify if *profile\.snapshots.include.\.value* is a folder (0) or a file (1). Default: 0 - *profile\.snapshots.include.\.value* Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path\ Include this file or folder. \ must be a counter starting with 1 Default: '' - *profile\.snapshots.include.size* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Quantity of profile\.snapshots.include.\ entries. Default: -1 - *profile\.snapshots.keep\_only\_one\_snapshot.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ NOT YET IMPLEMENTED. Remove all snapshots but one. Default: false - *profile\.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\.snapshots.local\_encfs.path* Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path\ Where to save snapshots in mode 'local\_encfs'. Default: '' - *profile\.snapshots.log\_level* Type: int Allowed Values: 1-3\ Log level used during takeSnapshot.\ 1 = Error\ 2 = Changes\ 3 = Info Default: 3 - *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_inodes.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Remove snapshots until *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_inodes.value* free inodes in % is reached. Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_inodes.value* Type: int Allowed Values: 1-15\ Keep at least value % free inodes. Default: 2 - *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_space.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Remove snapshots until *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_space.value* free space is reached. Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_space.unit* Type: int Allowed Values: 10\|20\ 10 = MB\ 20 = GB Default: 20 - *profile\.snapshots.min\_free\_space.value* Type: int Allowed Values: 1-99999\ Keep at least value + unit free space. Default: 1 - *profile\.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\.snapshots.\.password.save* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Save password to system keyring (gnome-keyring or kwallet). \ must be the same as *profile\.snapshots.mode* Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.\.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. \ must be the same as *profile\.snapshots.mode* Default: true if home is not encrypted - *profile\.snapshots.no\_on\_battery* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Don't take snapshots if the Computer runs on battery. Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.notify.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Display notifications (errors, warnings) through libnotify. Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.one\_file\_system* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Use rsync's "--one-file-system" to avoid crossing filesystem boundaries when recursing. Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.path* Type: str Allowed Values: absolute path\ Where to save snapshots in mode 'local'. This path must contain a folderstructure like 'backintime/\/\/\' Default: '' - *profile\.snapshots.path.host* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Set Host for snapshot path Default: local hostname - *profile\.snapshots.path.profile* Type: str Allowed Values: 1-99999\ Set Profile-ID for snapshot path Default: current Profile-ID - *profile\.snapshots.path.user* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Set User for snapshot path Default: local username - *profile\.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\.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\.snapshots.preserve\_xattr* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Preserve extended attributes (xattr). Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.remove\_old\_snapshots.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Remove all snapshots older than value + unit Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.remove\_old\_snapshots.unit* Type: int Allowed Values: 20\|30\|80\ 20 = days\ 30 = weeks\ 80 = years Default: 80 - *profile\.snapshots.remove\_old\_snapshots.value* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Snapshots older than this times units will be removed Default: 10 - *profile\.snapshots.rsync\_options.enabled* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Past additional options to rsync Default: false - *profile\.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\.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\.snapshots.smart\_remove.keep\_all* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Keep all snapshots for X days. Default: 2 - *profile\.snapshots.smart\_remove.keep\_one\_per\_day* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Keep one snapshot per day for X days. Default: 7 - *profile\.snapshots.smart\_remove.keep\_one\_per\_month* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Keep one snapshot per month for X month. Default: 24 - *profile\.snapshots.smart\_remove.keep\_one\_per\_week* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-99999\ Keep one snapshot per week for X weeks. Default: 4 - *profile\.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\.snapshots.ssh.check\_commands* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Check if all commands (used during takeSnapshot) work like expected on the remote host. Default: true - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.check\_ping* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Check if the remote host is available before trying to mount. Default: true - *profile\.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\.snapshots.ssh.host* Type: str Allowed Values: IP or domain address\ Remote host used for mode 'ssh' and 'ssh\_encfs'. Default: '' - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.ionice* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'ionice -c2 -n7' Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.max\_arg\_length* Type: int Allowed Values: 0, \>700\ Maximum command length of commands run on remote host. This can be tested for all ssh profiles in the configuration with 'python3 /usr/share/backintime/common/sshMaxArg.py LENGTH'.\ 0 = unlimited Default: 0 - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.nice* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Run rsync and other commands on remote host with 'nice -n19' Default: false - *profile\.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\.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\.snapshots.ssh.port* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-65535\ SSH Port on remote host. Default: 22 - *profile\.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\.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\.snapshots.rsync\_options.value* with --rsync-path="FOO=bar:\\$FOO /usr/bin/rsync" Default: 'PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:\\$PATH' - *profile\.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\.snapshots.ssh.proxy\_host* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Proxy host used to connect to remote host. Default: IP or domain address - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.proxy\_host\_port* Type: int Allowed Values: 0-65535\ Proxy host port used to connect to remote host. Default: 22 - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.proxy\_user* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Remote SSH user Default: the local users name - *profile\.snapshots.ssh.user* Type: str Allowed Values: text\ Remote SSH user Default: local users name - *profile\.snapshots.take\_snapshot\_regardless\_of\_changes* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Create a new snapshot regardless if there were changes or not. Default: false - *profile\.snapshots.use\_checksum* Type: bool Allowed Values: true\|false\ Use checksum to detect changes rather than size + time. Default: false - *profile\.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 interrupt any other working process. Default: false - *profile\.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 (\ in profile\.snapshots...). Default: 1 - *profiles.version* Type: int Allowed Values: 1\ Internal version of profiles config. Default: 1 ## SEE ALSO backintime, backintime-qt. Back In Time also has a website: https://github.com/bit-team/backintime ## AUTHOR This manual page was written by BIT Team(\).