Duplicati: Reliable, Scriptable Backups to the Cloud — with Real Encryption and No Strings Attached
What Is It?
Duplicati is one of those tools that quietly earns trust. It runs in the background, doesn’t get in the way, and when something goes wrong — it tells you clearly. It’s built for encrypted, deduplicated backups to cloud storage, external drives, WebDAV shares, or wherever else you store your data.
There’s no fat here: it compresses data, encrypts it with AES-256 before upload, breaks it into blocks, and only sends what’s changed. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux — and once set up, you mostly forget it’s even there.
Best part? It doesn’t care if you’re using Backblaze, S3, FTP, or your own NAS. If it talks a standard protocol, Duplicati can back up to it.
Key Features (That Actually Matter)
| Capability | Why It’s Useful |
| Encrypted by Default | Everything is locked down before it even leaves your machine |
| Works with Any Storage | S3, B2, Dropbox, FTP, WebDAV, local folders — it’s all fair game |
| Block-Level Updates | Only changed parts of files are uploaded, not the whole thing |
| Web UI, CLI, and API | Configure via browser or automate in scripts — your choice |
| Smart Versioning | Keep daily/weekly/monthly snapshots without cluttering your drive |
| Compression Built-In | Saves bandwidth and keeps cloud bills down |
Things to Know Before You Use It
– Runs as a local web app: You open it in the browser (localhost:8200) — no desktop window.
– No real-time file sync: This is not Dropbox. It’s for scheduled backups.
– Encrypted backups are unreadable without Duplicati: So keep your password safe — no reset!
– Cross-platform but .NET-based: Runs on Mono on Linux/macOS. Smoothest on Windows.
– Backups are stored in Duplicati’s format: For better compression, but not human-readable.
How to Set It Up (In Plain Terms)
1. Install the app
– Download it from duplicati.com and run the installer.
2. Open the UI
– Launches in your browser at http://localhost:8200.
3. Create a new job
– Pick storage type, login details, folders to back up, and when to run it.
4. Set encryption
– Choose a strong passphrase. Duplicati will handle key generation and storage.
5. Schedule the run
– Daily, hourly, once a week — whatever fits.
6. Run it once manually
– Make sure everything connects and uploads.
Where It Works Best
– Backing up workstations to cloud buckets with end-to-end encryption.
– Nightly backups from dev machines or small servers to remote WebDAV shares.
– Creating secure, deduplicated archives for compliance or offsite storage.
– Automating user profile backups in Windows environments without extra software.
– Pushing secure copies of critical folders to S3 or Dropbox without paying for a full SaaS backup suite.