PC Backup Script

This script provides a robust, fail-safe backup backbone using rsync to synchronize the home directory, critical system configurations (/etc), package lists, and Flatpak overrides to an external drive.

Designed for execution with root privileges, the script includes safety checks to verify that the external drive is mounted before writing, preventing accidental data dumps to the root filesystem.

A robust shell script for automated PC backups using rsync

#!/bin/sh

# Destination path
mountpoint="/media/USER/System"
dest="$mountpoint/pc/backup"
logs="$mountpoint/pc/logs"

# Refuse to write to the root filesystem if the backup drive is absent
if ! mountpoint -q "$mountpoint"; then
    printf 'Error: backup drive is not mounted at %s\n' "$mountpoint" >&2
    exit 1
fi

if ! mkdir -p "$dest"; then
    printf 'Error: cannot create backup directory %s\n' "$dest" >&2
    exit 1
fi

if ! mkdir -p "$logs"; then
    printf 'Error: cannot create log directory %s\n' "$logs" >&2
    exit 1
fi

#
# Installed packages
#
dpkg -l > "$dest/dpkg.txt"
apt-mark showmanual > "$dest/manual_packages.list"
if command -v snap >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    snap list > "$dest/snap_packages.txt"
fi
if command -v flatpak >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    flatpak list --app --columns=application,origin > "$dest/flatpak_packages.txt"
fi

log_file="$logs/rsync-$(date '+%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S').log"

# 1. Backup /home/iso_images separately (outside /home/USER)
rsync -aAXv --delete \
    --progress \
    --stats \
    --relative \
    --log-file="$log_file" \
    /home/iso_images \
    "$dest"

# 2. Backup /home/USER
rsync -aAXv --delete --delete-excluded \
    --progress \
    --stats \
    --relative \
    --log-file-format="[%t] %i %n" \
    --log-file="$log_file" \
    --include='/home/USER' \
    --include='/home/USER/xxx/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/Documents/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/Downloads/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/Desktop/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.gitconfig' \
    --include='/home/USER/.config/' \
    --include='/home/USER/.config/xfce4/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.config/syncthing/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.gnupg/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.local/' \
    --include='/home/USER/.local/share/' \
    --include='/home/USER/.local/share/flatpak/' \
    --include='/home/USER/.local/share/flatpak/overrides/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.local/share/remmina/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.ssh/***' \
    --include='/home/USER/.profile' \
    --include='/home/USER/.bashrc' \
    --include='/home/USER/.bash_history' \
    --include='/home/USER/.var' \
    --include='/home/USER/.var/app' \
    --include='/home/USER/.var/app/org.mozilla.thunderbird' \
    --include='/home/USER/.var/app/org.mozilla.thunderbird/.thunderbird/***' \
    --exclude='*' \
    /home/USER \
    "$dest"

# 3. Backup /etc paths
rsync -aAXv --delete --delete-excluded \
    --progress \
    --stats \
    --relative \
    --log-file-format="[%t] %i %n" \
    --log-file="$log_file" \
    --include='/etc' \
    --include='/etc/wireguard/***' \
    --include='/etc/NetworkManager/' \
    --include='/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/***' \
    --include='/etc/NetworkManager/VPN/***' \
    --include='/etc/ufw/***' \
    --include='/etc/apt/' \
    --include='/etc/apt/sources.list.d/***' \
    --include='/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/***' \
    --include='/etc/apt/keyrings/***' \
    --exclude='*' \
    /etc \
    "$dest"

# 4. Backup /usr paths
rsync -aAXv --delete --delete-excluded \
    --progress \
    --stats \
    --relative \
    --log-file-format="[%t] %i %n" \
    --log-file="$log_file" \
    --include='/usr' \
    --include='/usr/share/' \
    --include='/usr/share/keyrings/***' \
    --exclude='*' \
    /usr \
    "$dest"

# 5. Backup system-wide Flatpak overrides (Flatseal settings)
rsync -aAXv --delete --delete-excluded \
    --progress \
    --stats \
    --relative \
    --log-file-format="[%t] %i %n" \
    --log-file="$log_file" \
    --include='/var' \
    --include='/var/lib/' \
    --include='/var/lib/flatpak/' \
    --include='/var/lib/flatpak/overrides/***' \
    --exclude='*' \
    /var \
    "$dest"

# Check if rsync exited successfully (0) and log/print the outcome
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    msg="[SUCCESS] Backup finished at $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
    echo "$msg" | tee -a "$logs/backup_log.txt"
else
    msg="[ERROR] Backup failed at $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
    echo "$msg" | tee -a "$logs/backup_log.txt"
    exit 1
fi

Extensibility

This script serves as a foundational backbone and can be extended with specialized options tailored to specific workflows, such as archiving cron jobs or network rules.

Log Inspection

Following execution, log files can be reviewed to verify which files were modified, removed, or updated during the process.