Debian System Backup and Restore Script

This repository contains a shell script to back up and restore important system elements of a Debian-based system. This is useful for creating a rollback point before making significant changes to the system.

Features

• Backs up the list of installed packages.
• Backs up configuration files in /etc.
• Optional: Backs up the entire filesystem (excluding the backup directory itself).
• Provides a restore function to revert the system to the saved state.

Prerequisites

• A Debian-based system (e.g., Debian, Ubuntu).
• Sufficient disk space for the backup.

Usage

1. Clone the Repository

Clone this repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/VolkanSah/Debian-System-Backup-and-Restore-Script
cd Debian-System-Backup-and-Restore-Script

2. Make the Script Executable

Ensure the script has execute permissions:

chmod +x backup_script.sh

3. Run the Backup Script

To create a backup, run the script without any arguments:

./backup_script.sh

This will:

• Create a backup directory with a timestamp.
• Save the list of installed packages to installed_packages.list.
• Compress and save configuration files from /etc to etc_backup.tar.gz.
• Optionally, you can uncomment the lines in the script to back up the entire filesystem.

4. Restore from a Backup

To restore the system from a backup, run the script with the restore argument and the path to the backup directory:

./backup_script.sh restore /path/to/backup_directory

This will:

• Restore the list of installed packages.
• Extract and restore configuration files from etc_backup.tar.gz.
• Optionally, uncomment the lines to restore the entire filesystem.

Script Details

Backup Script

#!/bin/bash

# Create backup directory
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Save the list of installed packages
dpkg --get-selections > "$BACKUP_DIR/installed_packages.list"
echo "Package list saved to $BACKUP_DIR/installed_packages.list"

# Backup configuration files
tar czf "$BACKUP_DIR/etc_backup.tar.gz" /etc
echo "Configuration files saved to $BACKUP_DIR/etc_backup.tar.gz"

# Optional: Backup the entire filesystem (can consume a lot of space)
# tar czf "$BACKUP_DIR/full_backup.tar.gz" --exclude="$BACKUP_DIR" /

# Backup complete
echo "Backup complete. All important files are saved in $BACKUP_DIR."

# Restore function
restore() {
    BACKUP_DIR="$1"
    if [ -z "$BACKUP_DIR" ]; then
        echo "Please specify the backup directory."
        exit 1
    fi

    # Restore the list of installed packages
    sudo dpkg --set-selections < "$BACKUP_DIR/installed_packages.list"
    sudo apt-get -y dselect-upgrade
    echo "Package list restored."

    # Restore configuration files
    tar xzf "$BACKUP_DIR/etc_backup.tar.gz" -C /
    echo "Configuration files restored."

    # Optional: Restore the entire filesystem
    # tar xzf "$BACKUP_DIR/full_backup.tar.gz" -C /
}

# Automatic restore if an argument is provided
if [ "$1" == "restore" ]; then
    restore "$2"
fi

Recommendations

• Error Handling: Add error handling and checks for available disk space before proceeding with the backup.
• Notifications: Integrate notifications (e.g., via email) to inform you upon successful backup or restoration.

License

This project is licensed under the GPLv3 License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request for any improvements or suggestions.

Contact

For any questions or support, please open an issue in the repository.

Your Support

If you find this project useful and want to support it, there are several ways to do so:

• If you find the white paper helpful, please ⭐ it on GitHub. This helps make the project more visible and reach more people.
• Become a Follower: If you're interested in updates and future improvements, please follow my GitHub account. This way you'll always stay up-to-date.
• Learn more about my work: I invite you to check out all of my work on GitHub and visit my developer site https://volkansah.github.io. Here you will find detailed information about me and my projects.
• Share the project: If you know someone who could benefit from this project, please share it. The more people who can use it, the better. If you appreciate my work and would like to support it, please visit my GitHub Sponsor page. Any type of support is warmly welcomed and helps me to further improve and expand my work.

Thank you for your support! ❤️

Copyright S. Volkan Kücükbudak