Linux Backup Script

A Bash script to create automated, compressed, and rotated backups of specified directories.

Features

• Configurable: Set source directories and a backup destination.
• Timestamped: Creates .tar.gz archives with the current date and time.
• Rotation: Automatically deletes backups older than a set number of days.
• Exclusions: Supports excluding specific files and folders.

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1. Setup

Place the script in a system path and make it executable.

# Move the script
sudo mv system-backup.sh /usr/local/sbin/system-backup

# Make it executable
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/system-backup/backup.sh

# To run manually
sudo /usr/local/sbin/system-backup/backup.sh

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2. Configuration (if needed)

Edit the variables at the top of the script (sudo nano /usr/local/sbin/system-backup):

SOURCE_DIRS: Directories to back up, separated by spaces.

i.e: SOURCE_DIRS="/home/inspire/ /etc"

DEST_DIR: Where to save the backups.

⚠️ WARNING: Must be on a different physical drive (external USB, NAS, etc.). i.e: DEST_DIR="/media/inspire/MyBackupDrive/backups"

DAYS_TO_KEEP: Automatically deletes backups older than this many days.

i.e: DAYS_TO_KEEP=7

To schedule the backup (using cron)

This line will invoke the script every sunday at 2h30AM

# Open cron tab
sudo crontab -e

# Add this line to the file:
30 2 * * 0 /usr/local/sbin/system-backup > /var/log/system-backup.log 2>&1