Most backup tools tell you a backup ran. Keep Backup also tells you whether you could get your files back: it checks the stored data, restores a sample file using only your passphrase, and keeps a checklist of what you would need on a new computer.
- Choose what matters. Your folders, plus the data and settings of the apps you use. Native and Flatpak apps are detected for you, and curated desktop settings can be included too.
- Back up to a NAS, a USB drive or any folder. A removable drive is recognised by its filesystem ID, not its mount path, and a backup never silently writes somewhere else when the destination is missing.
- Encrypted, deduplicated, compressed. Backups are standard Borg repositories. Encryption is the recommended default, and after the first run only changed data is stored.
- Automatic. Daily or weekly on a per-user systemd timer, so backups run with the app closed. Older versions thin out automatically (7 daily, 4 weekly and 6 monthly by default).
- Proof, not hope. The Status view answers Can you get your files back? with the last backup, the latest integrity check and a recovery test that restores a random file with only your passphrase and verifies its checksum.
- Recovery access. A checklist of what a new computer needs, a key-file export, and a guided unlock with your passphrase, a key file or a printed paper key.
- Restore without risk. Review restore copies what you pick into a new folder and never touches live files. Restore to original location confirms first and saves what it replaces. Browse every file, or compare two backups.
- Problems in plain language. "The backup destination is full" or "The backup destination disconnected during the backup", not an exit code, with the full log one click away.
- No lock-in. Everything Keep Backup writes can be restored with the
borgcommand alone: see DISASTER_RECOVERY.md.
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| Pick a backup, then the apps, folders or files to bring back | Choose apps one by one, or include all application data |
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| Recovery access: what a new computer would need | Follows your light or dark desktop theme |
Keep Backup is pre-1.0 and runs on Linux. A Flathub release is planned; until then, build it from this repository.
Needs flatpak and the Flathub remote.
git clone https://github.com/tneohcl/keep.git && cd keep
flatpak install --user flathub org.flatpak.Builder
flatpak run org.flatpak.Builder --user --install --force-clean \
--install-deps-from=flathub build-flatpak packaging/flatpak/io.github.tneohcl.Keep.yml
flatpak run io.github.tneohcl.KeepBorg and FUSE (for browsing backups) are bundled. Why the app needs broad file access is explained in packaging/flatpak/README.md.
packaging/build-deb.sh # writes dist/keep-backup_<version>_all.deb
sudo apt install ./dist/keep-backup_*_all.debInstalls keep (the app), keep-cli and keep-backup (the engine the timer runs), using the
distribution's Python, PySide6 and Borg.
Needs Python 3.10 or newer and BorgBackup 1.2 or newer (1.x).
./launch.shIf PySide6 isn't installed, launch.sh creates a private .venv beside the app and installs
it there; the system Python is left alone.
- Choose a destination. Pick a network share, a drive or a folder. For a new backup, keep encryption on and store the passphrase in your password manager: without it, nobody can open the backup, including you.
- Choose what to back up. Your usual folders are suggested; add others, and choose which application data and settings to include.
- Turn on automatic backups, or use Back up now.
- Prove it works. Run Test recovery once the first backup is done, and go through Recovery access so you know what a new computer would need.
Keep Backup is a front end to BorgBackup. Each run creates an archive named
keep-<computer>-<date> in your repository, then prunes older archives under that prefix
only, so other archives in an adopted repository are left alone. Settings live in
~/.config/keep/config.json, and each run writes a log to ~/.local/state/borg-logs.
Passphrases and keys are never logged, and neither is the list of files backed up.
The same engine is available from the command line:
keep-cli status # the schedule, its timer and next run
keep-cli archives # this computer's backups
keep-cli check [--deep] # verify the repository; --deep also reads all stored data
keep-cli doctor # check the destination, Borg and the timer setup| Detailed guide | Configuration, destinations, restore and unlocking in depth |
| Disaster recovery | Restore on a new computer with only Borg |
| Command line | keep-cli reference |
| Architecture | Modules, extension rules, validation |
| Release readiness | Validation evidence and open gates |
scripts/test-linux.sh # unit, GUI smoke and recovery tests
scripts/acceptance.sh <python> # failure scenarios: drive missing, removed or full, crashes
scripts/screenshots.sh <python> # regenerate docs/screenshots from a demo userThe acceptance and screenshot scripts run in an unprivileged user and mount namespace with a
throwaway home folder, so your own backups and settings are never touched. The interface is
built with odcs-ui, bundled in src/keep_backup/ui/_vendor/
(update it with scripts/sync-odcs-ui.sh <tag>). Changes go through pull requests with a
required review and CI.
MIT, see LICENSE. Keep Backup is made by ODCS App Studio. It is built on BorgBackup, and its Flatpak's Borg and FUSE modules are adapted from Vorta's Flathub packaging.