XEMI Auto Backup – Comprehensive Guide

XEMI Auto Backup is a robust, interactive backup and restoration tool designed for Raspberry Pi systems. Leveraging the power of fsarchiver and lftp, it facilitates versioned backups, secure FTP uploads, and seamless restorations, all through an intuitive terminal-based menu.

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📑 Table of Contents

• Overview

• Features

• System Requirements

• Installation

• Configuration

• Usage Guide

  • 1. Create New Backup
  • 2. Restore Backup from FTP
  • 3. View Logs
  • 4. Delete Backup from FTP
  • 5. Show Configuration
  • 6. Edit Configuration

• File Structure

• Restoring on a New SD Card

• Quick Command Setup

• License

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Overview

XEMI Auto Backup automates the process of backing up and restoring Raspberry Pi systems. It creates compressed, versioned backups using fsarchiver, uploads them to a specified FTP server via lftp, and provides options to restore these backups when needed. The tool ensures data integrity through checksums and maintains detailed logs for each operation.

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Features

• Interactive Menu: User-friendly terminal interface for all operations.
• Versioned Backups: Automatically names backups with date and incremental versioning.
• FTP Integration: Securely uploads backups and logs to a remote FTP server.
• Configurable Settings: Easily editable configuration file for FTP credentials and paths.
• Comprehensive Logging: Generates detailed logs for each backup and restoration process.
• Automatic Cleanup: Removes temporary files post-operation to conserve space.
• Selective Restoration: Allows users to choose specific backups to restore.
• Exclusion Paths: Prevents backup of specified directories to avoid redundancy.

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System Requirements

• Hardware: Raspberry Pi with sudo access.

• Software:

  • fsarchiver: For creating and restoring backups.
  • lftp: For FTP operations.

• Remote Server: FTP server with write access for storing backups.

Installation of Dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install fsarchiver lftp

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Installation

1. Download the Script:

   Save the auto_backup.sh script to your local machine.

2. Move and Rename the Script:

   mv auto_backup.sh ~/.local/bin/xemi_auto_backup

3. Make the Script Executable:

   chmod +x ~/.local/bin/xemi_auto_backup

4. Ensure the Script Directory is in PATH:

   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc

5. Run the Script:

   xemi_auto_backup

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Configuration

Upon the first run, the script initializes a configuration file at ~/.config/xemi_auto_backup/config.conf. This file contains FTP credentials and paths.

Default Configuration:

# FTP Configuration
FTP_HOST=192.168.1.92
FTP_USER=clouduser
FTP_PASS=cloud842867
FTP_REMOTE_PATH=/volume(sda2)/Recovery/my-backups/raspberrypi

Editing Configuration:

To modify the configuration, select option 6 from the main menu or manually edit the file:

nano ~/.config/xemi_auto_backup/config.conf

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Usage Guide

1. Create New Backup

• Process:

  • Prompts for a commit message and description.
  • Creates a backup of the specified partition using fsarchiver.
  • Generates a .fsa backup file and a corresponding .log file.
  • Uploads both files to the configured FTP server.
  • Cleans up local temporary files upon successful upload.

• Backup Naming Convention:

  rpi_backup_YYYY-MM-DD_Version.fsa
  

  Example:

  rpi_backup_2025-05-04_001.fsa
  

2. Restore Backup from FTP

• Process:

  • Lists available backups on the FTP server.
  • Displays associated commit messages and descriptions.
  • Allows selection of a specific backup to restore.
  • Downloads the selected .fsa file.
  • Prompts for the target device to restore the backup.
  • Restores the backup using fsarchiver.

• Note: Ensure the target device is correctly identified to prevent data loss.

3. View Logs

• Process:

  • Retrieves and displays log files from the FTP server.
  • Shows details such as commit messages, descriptions, and operating system information.

4. Delete Backup from FTP

• Process:

  • Lists available backups on the FTP server.
  • Prompts for selection of a backup to delete.
  • Confirms deletion to prevent accidental data loss.
  • Deletes both the .fsa and corresponding .log files from the FTP server.

5. Show Configuration

• Process:

  • Displays the current FTP configuration settings.

6. Edit Configuration

• Process:

  • Opens the configuration file in nano for editing.

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File Structure

• Script: ~/.local/bin/xemi_auto_backup
• Configuration: ~/.config/xemi_auto_backup/config.conf
• Logs: ~/.local/share/xemi_auto_backup/logs/
• Temporary Files: /tmp/ (e.g., .fsa, .log, .backup_marker)

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Restoring on a New SD Card

1. Prepare the New SD Card:

   • Flash a fresh Raspberry Pi OS onto the SD card.

2. Set Up the Script:

   • Recreate the script directory:

     mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

   • Move and make the script executable:

     mv auto_backup.sh ~/.local/bin/xemi_auto_backup
     chmod +x ~/.local/bin/xemi_auto_backup

3. Run the Script:

   • Execute the script:

     xemi_auto_backup

   • Choose option 2 to restore from the cloud.

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Quick Command Setup

To run xemi_auto_backup from any location:

1. Ensure the Script is in the PATH:

   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc

2. Run the Script:

   xemi_auto_backup

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License

Developed by Víctor G.C.

This tool is intended for personal and educational use. Feel free to modify and enhance it to suit your needs.