Restic Backup Suite for Ubuntu Servers

Automated, self-contained backup system for Ubuntu servers using:

• Restic to Backblaze B2
• Systemd timer (Mon & Thu @ 04:00)
• Self-hosted ntfy notifications (success / warning / failure)
• Optional heartbeat URL
• MOTD warnings for backup issues
• Pre-backup hook scripts (e.g., MySQL dumps)
• Idempotent curl-install
• Safe config handling (never overwritten unless requested)

This repo provides the scripts that the installer fetches and deploys automatically.

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Installation

Run on any Ubuntu server:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/caseodilla/restique/main/install.sh | sudo bash

The installer will:

• Install dependencies (restic, curl)
• Prompt for:
  • B2 key ID / application key
  • Restic repo password
  • Self-hosted ntfy URL + auth key
  • Optional heartbeat URL
• Create /etc/restic-backup/
• Install backup script + systemd service + timer
• Install MOTD warning hook
• Install example MySQL pre-backup hook
• Generate /etc/restic-backup/README.md with version info
• Enable and start the timer

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First-time initialization

After installation, before the first backup, run:

sudo /etc/restic-backup/init.sh

This will:

• Verify access to the Backblaze B2 repository.
• Initialize the restic repository if needed.
• Enable and start the restic-backup.timer systemd timer.

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Using restic manually

To open a restic-ready root shell:

sudo /etc/restic-backup/restic-shell.sh

This sources the connection variables automatically.

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Repo Contents

install.sh (installer) backup.sh (main backup script) systemd/restic-backup.service (systemd service) systemd/restic-backup.timer (systemd timer) motd/90-restic-backup-status (MOTD hook script) examples/10-mysql-dump-example.sh (pre-backup hook example)

Installed system locations:

/etc/restic-backup/ /usr/local/bin/restic-backup.sh /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.service /etc/systemd/system/restic-backup.timer /etc/update-motd.d/90-restic-backup-status

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Features

Automated backups

Runs twice weekly at 04:00, with Persistent=true so missed runs trigger after boot.

Notifications via ntfy

• Success: priority 1
• Warning: priority 3
• Failure: priority 5

Optional heartbeat support

If configured, heartbeat URL is pinged on success or warning.

Pre-backup hooks

Any executable .sh script in /etc/restic-backup/pre-backup.d/ will run before backup.

MOTD error display

Warnings and failures appear in MOTD. Success clears the MOTD entry.

Pruning policy

--keep-last 5
--keep-weekly 4
--keep-monthly 3

Runs only after successful or warning backups.

Idempotent installer

Re-running install.sh updates scripts, not config, unless --force-config is used.

Dry-run mode

restic-backup.sh --dry-run
restic-backup.sh -n

Simulates backup and prune without notifying or modifying state.

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Manual backup & logs

Run manually:

sudo systemctl start restic-backup.service

Check logs:

journalctl -u restic-backup.service

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Quick Restore Instructions

See /etc/restic-backup/README.md for complete details.

Source config:

source /etc/restic-backup/config

List snapshots:

restic snapshots

Restore a directory:

restic restore --target /restore --include /etc

Restore a file:

restic restore --target /restore --include /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

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Contributions

PRs welcome.