Back up files

Create a snapshot of a directory in an existing repository.

Before you begin

• Create a repository. This topic uses /tmp/restic-demo-repo.

Steps

1. Create a sample directory that contains one file:

   bash mkdir ~/docpilot-sample echo "hello" > ~/docpilot-sample/notes.txt

2. Run the backup command:

   bash restic backup ~/docpilot-sample --repo /tmp/restic-demo-repo

3. Enter the repository password when prompted.

   Restic prints a summary of new and changed files, then snapshot followed by the new snapshot ID and the word saved.

4. List the snapshots to confirm the backup:

   bash restic snapshots --repo /tmp/restic-demo-repo

   The table has the columns ID, Time, Host, Tags, Paths and Size, and lists one snapshot.

Exclude files from a backup

Add the --exclude flag to skip files that match a pattern:

restic backup ~/docpilot-sample --exclude "*.tmp" --repo /tmp/restic-demo-repo

Next steps

Continue with Restore a snapshot.