Rsync Incremental Backup Script with Rotation

A simple and efficient incremental backup script using rsync with automatic rotation. Keeps only the latest N backups, deleting the oldest one when a new backup is created.

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🚀 Features

• Incremental backups: Uses rsync --link-dest to hard-link unchanged files, saving space.
• Automatic rotation: Keeps the last N backups and removes the oldest one.
• Efficient storage: Only new/modified files take up space, thanks to hard links.
• Fully automated: Can be scheduled via cron for daily backups.

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🛠 Usage

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/ilolm/rsync-incremental-backup.git
cd rsync-incremental-backup

2. Edit Backup Paths and Max Backups Count

Modify SRC (source folder), DEST (backup folder) and MAX_BACKUPS (max Backups Count) in the script:

nano backup-script.sh

Example:

SRC="/path/to/your/data"
DEST="/path/to/backup/location"
MAX_BACKUPS=7

3. Make the Script Executable

chmod +x backup-script.sh

4. Run the Backup Manually

./backup-script.sh

5. Automate with Cron (Daily Backup at 3 AM)

crontab -e

Add this line:

0 3 * * * /path/to/backup-script.sh

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🔄 How It Works

1. Creates a timestamped backup using rsync --link-dest (incremental).
2. Deletes only the oldest backup when there are more than N backups.
3. Files that haven’t changed are hard-linked, that saves disk space.

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📂 Example Backup Structure

/backup-folder/
 ├── backup-2025-03-03_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-04_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-05_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-06_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-07_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-08_03-00-00/
 ├── backup-2025-03-09_03-00-00/  <-- (New backup)

When a new backup is created, the oldest folder is deleted.

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📝 License

This script is open-source under the MIT License.