# rsnapshot/rsnapshot

a tool for backing up your data using rsync (if you want to get help, use https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rsnapshot-discuss)

Repository: https://github.com/rsnapshot/rsnapshot
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rsnapshot
Homepage: http://rsnapshot.org
Language: Perl
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: rsnapshot, perl, rsync, backup
Last push: 2026-08-13T15:43:11+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5244, "days_push": 20, "days_rel": 584, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3666, forks 270 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:13.387004+00:00)

## What it is
rsnapshot is a filesystem snapshot utility based on rsync that creates periodic snapshots of local and remote machines over ssh. It uses hard links extensively to minimize disk usage while keeping a configurable number of rotating snapshots.

## Use cases
- set up automated periodic backups of local and remote servers
- create space-efficient snapshot-style backups using hard links
- back up remote machines over ssh from a central server
- let users restore their own files without admin involvement
- rotate hourly/daily/weekly/monthly backups with fixed disk usage

## When to choose
- you want simple, proven rsync-based backups on Unix-like systems
- you need disk-efficient snapshots without a backup daemon or database
- you prefer plain-text configuration and easy file-level restores

## When to avoid
- you need encrypted, deduplicated, or cloud-object-storage backups
- you want a GUI or cross-platform Windows-native backup tool
- you need block-level or continuous real-time backup

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: backup, file-system, cli, developer-tools
- domain: files, self-hosted
- platform: bsd, cli, cross-platform
- tags: rsync, snapshots, hard-links, incremental-backup, perl, ssh, command-line, devops, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- rsnapshot/rsnapshot (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:13.387004+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 2026-08-29T18:31:32.802553+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/rsnapshot/rsnapshot (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:13.387004+00:00, sha 3f02c2d8230f)
  - homepage: http://rsnapshot.org (fetched 2026-08-29T09:25:31.759671+00:00, sha a6c705bf854b)
  - site_page: https://rsnapshot.org/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:25:31.762118+00:00, sha 8ad71a97a0bf)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.