What is Backup used for?

Backup is a free, MIT-licensed Ruby gem for scripting backup jobs on Linux and macOS, with built-in support for databases, cloud storage, encryption and notifications. It is a good fit for scripted server backups on Linux or macOS and database backup automation.

Is Backup open source?

Yes. Backup is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at backup/backup and is written mainly in Ruby.

Yes. Backup is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

What are some alternatives to Backup?

Similar open-source tools in the File Storage & Sharing category include rclone, restic and Zerobyte. SaaS products in the same category include Arq, pCloud and Synology Drive.

Is Backup actively maintained?

The most recent commit to Backup was on 3 July 2024, and the latest release is 4.3.0, published on 3 July 2016. The project has 4.9k stars on GitHub.

Backup: open-source file storage & sharing

About Backup

Backup is a system utility distributed as a RubyGem that lets administrators script backup operations for Linux and macOS systems. It gives developers an elegant Ruby DSL for describing what to back up and where to send it, instead of writing ad hoc shell scripts for each job.

It has built-in support for various databases, storage protocols and services such as S3, syncers, compressors, encryptors and notifiers, including Slack notifications, and these pieces can be mixed and matched for a given backup job. Supported databases mentioned in the project topics include MySQL, PostgreSQL and MongoDB.

The README states the project is not under active development, though the maintainers continue to support existing users and are looking for new contributors and maintainers to take it further. It is released under the MIT license and installs as a standard Ruby gem.

Key features

Ruby DSL for defining backup jobs
Database backup support (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
Cloud storage destinations including S3
Built-in encryption and compression
Slack and other notification integrations

Good fit for

→Scripted server backups on Linux or macOS
→Database backup automation

Built with: Ruby; MySQL; PostgreSQL; MongoDB
Tags: backup; ruby; database-backup; encryption; self-hosted; s3; automation

Backup: questions and answers

What is Backup used for?: Backup is a free, MIT-licensed Ruby gem for scripting backup jobs on Linux and macOS, with built-in support for databases, cloud storage, encryption and notifications. It is a good fit for scripted server backups on Linux or macOS and database backup automation.
Is Backup open source?: Yes. Backup is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at backup/backup and is written mainly in Ruby.
Is Backup free?: Yes. Backup is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
What are some alternatives to Backup?: Similar open-source tools in the File Storage & Sharing category include rclone, restic and Zerobyte. SaaS products in the same category include Arq, pCloud and Synology Drive.
Is Backup actively maintained?: The most recent commit to Backup was on 3 July 2024, and the latest release is 4.3.0, published on 3 July 2016. The project has 4.9k stars on GitHub.