Simple Backup

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Systemd Deployment ​

This guide covers running simple-backup as a systemd service on Linux systems.

Prerequisites ​

  • Python 3.11 or higher
  • systemd-enabled Linux distribution
  • uv package manager (recommended) or pip

Installation ​

1. Install uv (Recommended) ​

bash
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Clone the Repository ​

bash
git clone https://github.com/reonokiy/simple-backup.git
cd simple-backup

3. Install Dependencies ​

Using uv:

bash
uv sync

Using pip:

bash
pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Create Environment File ​

Create /etc/simple-backup/backup.env with your configuration:

bash
sudo mkdir -p /etc/simple-backup
sudo nano /etc/simple-backup/backup.env
bash
BACKUP_SOURCE_PATH=/data
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=s3
BACKUP_COMPRESSION=tar.zst

S3_BUCKET=my-backup-bucket
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key

BACKUP_RETENTION_DAILY=7
BACKUP_RETENTION_WEEKLY=4
BACKUP_RETENTION_MONTHLY=6

Secure the environment file:

bash
sudo chmod 600 /etc/simple-backup/backup.env

Deployment Methods ​

This method runs backups on a schedule using systemd timers instead of a long-running process.

Create the Service File ​

/etc/systemd/system/simple-backup.service:

ini
[Unit]
Description=Simple Backup Service
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
EnvironmentFile=/etc/simple-backup/backup.env
ExecStart=/home/user/simple-backup/.venv/bin/python /home/user/simple-backup/main.py
User=backup
Group=backup
WorkingDirectory=/home/user/simple-backup

StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=simple-backup

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Create the Timer File ​

/etc/systemd/system/simple-backup.timer:

ini
[Unit]
Description=Simple Backup Timer
Requires=simple-backup.service

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable and Start ​

bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable simple-backup.timer
sudo systemctl start simple-backup.timer

Check Status ​

bash
sudo systemctl status simple-backup.timer
sudo systemctl list-timers simple-backup.timer

View Logs ​

bash
journalctl -u simple-backup.service -f
journalctl -u simple-backup.service --since "1 hour ago"

User Setup ​

Create a dedicated user for running backups:

bash
sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false -d /home/backup -m backup
sudo chown -R backup:backup /home/user/simple-backup

If backing up system files, grant read permissions:

bash
sudo usermod -aG adm backup

Or configure sudo access for specific directories:

bash
sudo visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/simple-backup
backup ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/tar -czf * /var/lib/postgresql/*

Storage Configuration Examples ​

Local Filesystem ​

bash
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=fs
FS_ROOT=/mnt/backups

Ensure the backup user has write access:

bash
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/backups
sudo chown backup:backup /mnt/backups

AWS S3 ​

bash
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=s3
S3_BUCKET=my-backups
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

Azure Blob Storage ​

bash
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=azblob
AZURE_CONTAINER=backups
AZURE_ACCOUNT_NAME=myaccount
AZURE_ACCOUNT_KEY=mykey

Google Cloud Storage ​

bash
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=gcs
GCS_BUCKET=my-backups
GCS_CREDENTIAL=/etc/simple-backup/gcs-credentials.json

WebDAV ​

bash
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=webdav
WEBDAV_ENDPOINT=https://webdav.example.com
WEBDAV_USERNAME=myuser
WEBDAV_PASSWORD=mypass

Multiple Backup Jobs ​

Create multiple timer/service pairs with different configurations.

Create Instance-Specific Environment Files ​

/etc/simple-backup/database.env:

bash
BACKUP_SOURCE_PATH=/var/lib/postgresql
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=s3
S3_BUCKET=database-backups
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
BACKUP_RETENTION_DAILY=7

/etc/simple-backup/uploads.env:

bash
BACKUP_SOURCE_PATH=/var/www/uploads
BACKUP_DEST_SERVICE=s3
S3_BUCKET=uploads-backups
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
BACKUP_RETENTION_WEEKLY=8

Create Templated Service and Timer ​

/etc/systemd/system/simple-backup@.service:

ini
[Unit]
Description=Simple Backup Service (%i)
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
EnvironmentFile=/etc/simple-backup/%i.env
ExecStart=/home/user/simple-backup/.venv/bin/python /home/user/simple-backup/main.py
User=backup
Group=backup
WorkingDirectory=/home/user/simple-backup

StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=simple-backup-%i

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

/etc/systemd/system/simple-backup@.timer:

ini
[Unit]
Description=Simple Backup Timer (%i)
Requires=simple-backup@%i.service

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Enable Multiple Instances ​

bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable simple-backup@database.timer
sudo systemctl enable simple-backup@uploads.timer
sudo systemctl start simple-backup@database.timer
sudo systemctl start simple-backup@uploads.timer

View Status ​

bash
systemctl list-timers simple-backup@*
systemctl status simple-backup@*
journalctl -u simple-backup@database.service -f
journalctl -u simple-backup@uploads.service -f

Timer Schedule Examples ​

Customize the schedule by editing the OnCalendar directive in the timer file.

Daily at 2 AM:

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
Persistent=true

Every 6 hours:

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 00/6:00:00
Persistent=true

Weekly on Sunday at 3 AM:

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=Sun *-*-* 03:00:00
Persistent=true

Monthly on the 1st at 4 AM:

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-01 04:00:00
Persistent=true

Multiple schedules (daily at 2 AM + weekly Sunday at 3 AM):

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
OnCalendar=Sun *-*-* 03:00:00
Persistent=true

Using shorthand (equivalent to daily):

ini
[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

Available shorthands: minutely, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly

Test timer syntax:

bash
systemd-analyze calendar "Mon *-*-* 03:00:00"
systemd-analyze calendar "daily"

Monitoring and Maintenance ​

Check Service Health ​

bash
systemctl is-active simple-backup.service
systemctl is-enabled simple-backup.service
systemctl is-failed simple-backup.service

Manual Backup Trigger ​

bash
sudo systemctl start simple-backup.service

Log Rotation ​

Configure journald to rotate logs:

/etc/systemd/journald.conf:

ini
[Journal]
SystemMaxUse=1G
SystemMaxFileSize=100M
SystemMaxFiles=10

Restart journald:

bash
sudo systemctl restart systemd-journald

Resource Limits ​

Add resource limits to service file:

ini
[Service]
MemoryMax=512M
CPUQuota=50%
IOWeight=100

Troubleshooting ​

Service Fails to Start ​

Check service status and logs:

bash
sudo systemctl status simple-backup.service
journalctl -u simple-backup.service -n 50

Permission Errors ​

Ensure backup user has read access to source:

bash
sudo -u backup ls -la /path/to/source

Environment Variables Not Loading ​

Verify environment file syntax:

bash
cat /etc/simple-backup/backup.env

Reload systemd after changes:

bash
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart simple-backup.service

Timer Not Triggering ​

Check timer status:

bash
systemctl status simple-backup.timer
journalctl -u simple-backup.timer
systemctl list-timers --all

Security Best Practices ​

  1. Secure environment files:

    bash
    sudo chmod 600 /etc/simple-backup/*.env
sudo chown root:root /etc/simple-backup/*.env

  2. Use dedicated user with minimal privileges

  3. Store credentials securely - consider using systemd credentials:

    bash
    sudo systemd-creds encrypt --name=s3_secret_key - /etc/credstore/s3_secret_key.cred

    In service file:

    ini
    LoadCredential=s3_secret_key:/etc/credstore/s3_secret_key.cred

  4. Enable SELinux/AppArmor for additional isolation

  5. Regular security updates:

    bash
    cd /home/user/simple-backup
git pull
uv sync
sudo systemctl restart simple-backup.service

  6. Monitor logs for suspicious activity

    bash
    journalctl -u simple-backup.service --since today | grep ERROR