Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux • Hacker News Board

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#31

Post by OldMatey » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:33 PM UTC

I adore Timeshift. It has made my time on Linux so much more trouble free.

I have used Linux for 10+ years but over the I have spent hours, days and weeks trying to undo or fix little issues I introduce by tinkering around with things. Often I seem to break things at the worst times, right as I am starting to work on some new project or something that is time sensitive.

Now, I can just roll back to an earlier stable version if I don't want to spend the time right then on troubleshooting.

I've enabled this on all my family members machines and teach them to just roll back when Linux goes funky.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#32

Post by alfalfasprout » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:37 PM UTC

choward wrote: post #8

tombert wrote: post #4

This reminds me of the default behavior of NixOS. Whenever you make a change in the configuration for NixOS and rebuild it, it takes a snapshot of the system configurations and lets you restore after a reboot if you screw something up. Similarly, it doesn't do anything in regards to user files.

I can't tell you the number of times I see a project and think to myself "NixOS already solves that problem but better."

The problem, unfortunately, is that Nix often finds itself in a chicken and egg scenario where nixpkgs fails to provide a lot of important packages or has versions that are old(er). But for there to be more investment in adding more packages, etc. you need more people using the ecosystem.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#33

Post by LorenDB » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:42 PM UTC

I prefer using openSUSE, which is tightly integrated with snapper[0], making it simple to recover from a botched update. I've only ever had to use it when an update broke my graphics drivers, but when you need it, it's invaluable.

Snapper on openSUSE is integrated with both zypper (package manager) and YaST (system configuration tool) [1], so you get automatic snapshots before and after destructive actions. Also, openSUSE defaults to btrfs, so the snapshots are filesystem-native.

[0]: http://snapper.io/

[1]: https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Snapper

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#34

Post by tamimio » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:47 PM UTC

metadat wrote: post #3

Can timeshift work with ext4 filesystems? I know it won't have the atomicity of a CoW fs, but I'd be fine with that, as the important files on my systems aren't often modified, especially during a backup - I'd configure it to disable the systemd timers while the backup process is running.

Yep, been using it for a while, incl ext4, you can have scheduled snapshots too, saved my arse few times, especially when you install something that cannot be easily uninstalled like hyperland or similar.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#35

Post by tamimio » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:48 PM UTC

nurettin wrote: post #29

Timeshift saved my system so many times over the past 6-7 years. Botched upgrades, experimenting with desktop environments, destroying configuration defaults, it works and does what it says on the tin.

Can’t agree more with this, it does what it says!

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#36

Post by Arnavion » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:49 PM UTC

LorenDB wrote: post #33

I prefer using openSUSE, which is tightly integrated with snapper[0], making it simple to recover from a botched update. I've only ever had to use it when an update broke my graphics drivers, but when you need it, it's invaluable. Snapper on openSUSE is integrated with both zypper (package manager) and YaST (system configuration tool) [1], so you get automatic snapshots before and after destructive actions. Also, ope…

And it's also integrated into the bootloader (if you use one of the supported ones). The bootloader shows you one boot entry per snapshot so you can boot an old snapshot directly.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#37

Post by tamimio » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:51 PM UTC

e12e wrote: post #30

Hmm, this doesn't appear to be what I hoped it was: > Timeshift is similar to applications like rsnapshot, BackInTime and TimeVault but with different goals. It is designed to protect only system files and settings. User files such as documents, pictures and music are excluded. On the other hand, a quick search looking for "that zfs based time machine thing" did reveal a new (to me) project that looks very interestin…

You can include the user files too in the home directory. I have some snapshots that include them and some that do not, so you are covered both ways.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#38

Post by pixelmonkey » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:52 PM UTC

I've probably spent way too much time thinking about Linux backup over the years. But thankfully, I found a setup that works really well for me in 2018 or so, used it for the last few years, and I wrote up a detailed blog post about it just a month ago:

https://amontalenti.com/2024/06/19/backups-restic-rclone

The tools I use on Linux for backup are restic + rclone, storing my restic repo on a speedy USB3 SSD. For offsite, I use rclone to incrementally upload the entire restic repository to Backblaze B2.

The net effect: I have something akin to Time Machine (macOS) or Arq (macOS + Windows), but on my Linux laptop, without needing to use ZFS or btrfs everywhere.

Using restic + some shell scripting, I get full support for de-duplicated, encrypted, snapshot-based backups across all my "simpler" source filesystems. Namely: across ext4, exFAT, and (occasionally) FAT32, which is where my data is usually stored. And pushing the whole restic repo offsite to cloud storage via rclone + Backblaze completes the "3-2-1" setup straightforwardly.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#39

Post by jwrallie » Mon, Jul 22, 2024, 11:56 PM UTC

Arnavion wrote: post #36

LorenDB wrote: post #33

I prefer using openSUSE, which is tightly integrated with snapper[0], making it simple to recover from a botched update. I've only ever had to use it when an update broke my graphics drivers, but when you need it, it's invaluable. Snapper on openSUSE is integrated with both zypper (package manager) and YaST (system configuration tool) [1], so you get automatic snapshots before and after destructive actions. Also, ope…

And it's also integrated into the bootloader (if you use one of the supported ones). The bootloader shows you one boot entry per snapshot so you can boot an old snapshot directly.

Very nice, sometimes people claim that the only difference between distros is the repository and package management tools.

It is when the defaults make the parts integrate nicely like this that the “greater is more than the sum of its parts” come into place.

Re: Timeshift: System Restore Tool for Linux

#40

Post by jenscow » Tue, Jul 23, 2024, 12:11 AM UTC

I use BackInTime, which works in a similar way but is much more configurable. I have hourly backups of all my code for the past day, then a single daily for the past week, etc.

Saved my ass a few times.