Attic

Attic: Deduplicating Backup for Linux Systems That Don’t Need a GUI What Is It? Attic is a command-line backup tool focused on efficient storage through content-aware deduplication. Originally developed for Linux environments where scripted or cron-based backup workflows are preferred, Attic offers robust support for encrypted, incremental, and space-optimized backups — without needing a full database engine or central server.

It’s a solution aimed at administrators who want full control, versi

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Attic: Deduplicating Backup for Linux Systems That Don’t Need a GUI

What Is It?

Attic is a command-line backup tool focused on efficient storage through content-aware deduplication. Originally developed for Linux environments where scripted or cron-based backup workflows are preferred, Attic offers robust support for encrypted, incremental, and space-optimized backups — without needing a full database engine or central server.

It’s a solution aimed at administrators who want full control, versioned backups, and the ability to mount any archive as a live filesystem using FUSE. While development has since forked into projects like Borg and Bupstash, Attic remains a solid choice for those who prefer minimal dependencies and well-tested features over constant changes.

Capabilities

Feature Description
Block-Level Deduplication Only stores new data chunks across snapshots, reducing storage usage
Compression Support Supports zlib and lzma for compressing archived data
Encryption (Optional) Encrypts archives using AES-256 with HMAC authentication
FUSE Mounting Archives can be browsed like normal directories
Incremental Backups Skips unchanged files, ideal for scheduled daily snapshots
Script-Friendly Full CLI control, suited for cron jobs and system scripts
Cross-Version Restore Files can be recovered from any point-in-time snapshot

Deployment Notes

– No GUI or service: Attic is designed for command-line use only.
– Best for Linux/Unix: Built and tested for POSIX systems; no native Windows support.
– Single-host design: Works locally or over SSH — but no built-in centralized server model.
– Static binaries available: Can be deployed on minimal systems without compiling.
– Forked upstream: BorgBackup is a more actively maintained fork, but Attic remains stable for existing environments.

Installation Guide (Debian/Ubuntu Example)

1. Install via pip or package manager
sudo apt install attic
# or
pip install attic

2. Create a repository
attic init /backup/repo

3. Run a backup
attic create /backup/repo::daily-$(date +%Y-%m-%d) /etc /home /var

4. List archives
attic list /backup/repo

5. Restore data
attic extract /backup/repo::daily-2024-12-01

6. Mount an archive
attic mount /backup/repo::daily-2024-12-01 /mnt/attic

Usage Scenarios

– Server admins needing daily encrypted backups without additional software stacks.
– Recovery of individual files from mounted backup points.
– Archiving config directories or user data with minimal I/O impact.
– Automating deduplicated backups across multiple directories in cron scripts.
– Using as a backup backend for remote systems over SSH with minimal overhead.

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