# digint/btrbk

Tool for creating snapshots and remote backups of btrfs subvolumes

Repository: https://github.com/digint/btrbk
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/btrbk
Homepage: https://digint.ch/btrbk/
Language: Perl
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: btrfs, backup, snapshot, incremental-backups, encrypted-backups
Last push: 2026-07-19T17:33:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 93, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4222, "days_push": 45, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2141, forks 137 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:18.411862+00:00)

## What it is
Btrbk is a Perl-based command-line backup tool for btrfs subvolumes that creates atomic snapshots and transfers them incrementally to local or remote backup locations via ssh. It is configured through a config file supporting flexible retention policies, multiple destinations, and encrypted backups to non-btrfs storage.

## Use cases
- create atomic snapshots of btrfs subvolumes on a schedule
- incrementally back up btrfs subvolumes to a remote server over ssh
- manage snapshot retention policies for laptop backup disks
- back up docker and lxc container subvolumes with wildcards
- send encrypted backups to non-btrfs storage
- recover from interrupted backups on removable drives
- archive snapshots to offline storage

## When to choose
- your filesystem is btrfs and you want snapshot-aware incremental backups
- you need cron-driven periodic snapshots with flexible retention
- you back up multiple hosts to a central server over ssh
- you want a single-script tool with no special dependencies

## When to avoid
- your filesystem is not btrfs
- you need block-level or full-disk imaging rather than subvolume snapshots
- you need a GUI-driven backup solution

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: backup, cli, file-system, security
- domain: self-hosted, files
- platform: cli
- tags: btrfs, snapshots, incremental-backups, ssh, retention-policy, cron, encrypted-backups, backup, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- digint/btrbk (main) score 74

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:18.411862+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 2026-08-30T02:51:21.577122+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/digint/btrbk (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:18.411862+00:00, sha 9901aff707ce)
  - homepage: https://digint.ch/btrbk/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:31:47.508165+00:00, sha be38ee07bddd)
  - site_page: https://digint.ch/about/index.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:31:47.513346+00:00, sha 614f66445b95)
  - site_page: https://digint.ch/about/contact.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:31:47.515854+00:00, sha 7b4f23799aa5)
  - site_page: https://digint.ch/about/siteinfo.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:31:47.518027+00:00, sha 7b97ec6a8f3f)
  - site_page: https://digint.ch/btrbk/doc/readme.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:31:47.519912+00:00, sha 3df2aa84b237)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.