rdiff-backup

Reverse differential backup with file history

TLDR

Backup a local directory to a local destination

$ rdiff-backup [source/] [backup/]

Backup a local directory to a remote host over SSH

$ rdiff-backup [source/] [user@host::backup/]

Restore the latest version from a backup

$ rdiff-backup -r now [backup/] [restore/]

Restore files from a specific time ago

$ rdiff-backup -r [3D] [backup/] [restore/]

List all backup increments and their dates

$ rdiff-backup --list-increments [backup/]

Remove backup increments older than a given period

$ rdiff-backup --remove-older-than [2W] [backup/]

Verify the integrity of a backup repository

$ rdiff-backup --verify [backup/]

Backup excluding specific patterns

$ rdiff-backup --exclude '[**/*.tmp]' [source/] [backup/]

SYNOPSIS

rdiff-backup [-r time] [options] source destination

rdiff-backup creates incremental backups using reverse diffs. The destination mirrors current state while storing history.Each backup stores only differences from previous. Space-efficient for frequent backups.Restoration from any point in history is possible. Diffs are applied to reconstruct old states.Remote backup works over SSH. No special server needed, just rdiff-backup on both ends.Retention policies remove old increments. Balance history depth against storage.

PARAMETERS

-r, --restore-as-of TIME

Restore from time.

--list-increments

Show backup history.

--remove-older-than TIME

Delete old increments.

--verify

Verify backup integrity.

--include PATTERN

Include files.

--exclude PATTERN

Exclude files.

-v, --verbosity N

Verbosity level.

--force

Force operation, even if destination is not empty or increments are corrupt.

--print-statistics

Print file transfer statistics after backup.

TIME FORMATS

now - Current3D - 3 days ago2W - 2 weeks ago1M - 1 month ago2025-01-15 - Specific date2025-01-15T14:30:00 - Specific date and time

CAVEATS

Requires rdiff-backup installed on both local and remote machines for remote backups. The initial full backup can be large and time-consuming. Metadata changes (permissions, ownership) trigger incremental updates even if file contents are unchanged.

HISTORY

rdiff-backup combines rsync-style mirroring with reverse-diff versioning. It provides space-efficient incremental backup while maintaining easy restoration.