# github/backup-utils

GitHub Enterprise Backup Utilities

Repository: https://github.com/github/backup-utils
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/backup-utils
License Family: other
Topics: github-enterprise, backups
Last push: 2026-06-30T22:47:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 92/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 90, release rhythm 90, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4439, "days_push": 64, "days_rel": 64, "gap_med": 0.0, "n_releases_24m": 45}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1271, forks 642 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:11.960517+00:00)

## What it is
GitHub Enterprise Backup Utilities is a set of shell-based tools (ghe-backup and ghe-restore) for copying GitHub Enterprise Server data to a remote backup host over SSH. It supports online, incremental backups with snapshot retention, though it is being superseded by the newer GHES Backup Service.

## Use cases
- back up a GitHub Enterprise Server appliance to a remote host
- restore GitHub Enterprise data from a snapshot
- schedule incremental Git repository backups
- keep multiple backup snapshots with retention policies
- back up GHES without maintenance mode downtime

## When to choose
- you run GitHub Enterprise Server older than 3.20 and need remote SSH-based backups
- you want incremental, online backups with snapshot retention
- you prefer a simple script-based backup over an appliance-side service

## When to avoid
- you run GHES 3.20+ where the built-in Backup Service is GA and preferred
- you need a solution that will remain supported long-term, since backup-utils is deprecated in GHES 3.22
- you need backups of github.com rather than a self-hosted GHES appliance

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: backup, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: cli, self-hosted
- tags: github-enterprise, disaster-recovery, shell, snapshots, deprecated-upstream, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- github/backup-utils (main) score 92

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.960517+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T05:03:21.634718+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/github/backup-utils (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.960517+00:00, sha 904c0b45741b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.