Shell Backup Scripts

A collection of small bash scripts for backup a directory or files with no dependencies. All of these scripts have been tested on Linux.

Scripts

All scripts contains:

• *.sh, the backup script.
• *.service, the systemd service.
• *.timer, the systemd timer.

Installation

For example, in thunderbird backup script:

Configure variables of the backup

First of all, configure PATH variables in the script thunderbird-backup.sh:

BACKUP_FOLDER_PATH=YOUR/CUSTOM/PATH
THUNDERBIRD_PROFILE_PATH=/home/YOUR_USER/.thunderbird/YOUR_USER.default-release
LOCK_FILE_PATH=YOUR/CUSTOM/PATH
BACKUPS_OLDER_THAN=4

Manage script

Copy the script to the /usr/local/bin directory:

sudo cp thunderbird-backup.sh /usr/local/bin

Make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/thunderbird-backup.sh

Manage service

Copy the service to the /usr/lib/systemd/system/ directory:

sudo cp thunderbird-backup.service /usr/lib/systemd/system/

Grant some permissions to the service:

sudo chmod 644 thunderbird-backup.service

Check the status of the service:

sudo systemctl status thunderbird-backup.service

Reload systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable the service:

sudo systemctl enable thunderbird-backup.service

Enabling a service doesn't start it, it only sets it to be launched at boot time. To start the service now:

sudo systemctl start thunderbird-backup.service

After manually starting the service, check if the service is running correctly:

sudo systemctl status thunderbird-backup.service

To stop the service, if needed:

sudo systemctl stop thunderbird-backup.service

To disable the service, if needed:

sudo systemctl disable thunderbird-backup.service

Manage timer

Copy the timer to the /usr/lib/systemd/system/ directory:

sudo cp thunderbird-backup.timer /usr/lib/systemd/system/

Grant some permissions to the timer:

sudo chmod 644 thunderbird-backup.timer

Check the status of the timer:

sudo systemctl status thunderbird-backup.timer

Reload systemd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable the timer:

sudo systemctl enable thunderbird-backup.timer

Enabling a timer doesn't start it. To start the timer now:

sudo systemctl start thunderbird-backup.timer

After manually starting the timer, check if the timer is running correctly:

sudo systemctl list-timers --all

To stop the timer:

sudo systemctl stop thunderbird-backup.timer