Backrest
Restic with buttons, schedules, checks, and enough guardrails to avoid living in a terminal.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-14
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Hosting Model
- Self-host (your server)
- Platforms
- desktopwebone-click install
- Installation
- Standalone installer or Homebrew on macOS/Linux, Windows installer, or Docker Compose; it downloads/manages restic on first run
- Operational Setup
- You still have to choose and provision storage, protect the repository password, grant filesystem access, and test restores; macOS may require Full Disk Access.
- Where Your Data Lives
- Backups are encrypted, content-addressed restic repositories on the chosen local, SFTP, object-storage, or rclone target; Backrest keeps local JSON configuration, cache, and service data.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- It adds a friendly scheduler, but unlike Backblaze it includes no unlimited off-site storage, automatic destination, managed retention, or shipped physical restore.
Replaces 2 paid apps
up to $20.99/mo ($252/yr) in subscriptions
Backrest FAQ
Common questions
Is Backrest free and open source?+
Backrest is an open-source tool licensed under GPL-3.0 that runs on self-host. Restic with buttons, schedules, checks, and enough guardrails to avoid living in a terminal.
What paid software does Backrest replace?+
Backrest serves as a free replacement for 2 paid SaaS applications: Backblaze Personal Backup, Dropbox Plus, saving up to $20.99/month ($252/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up Backrest?+
Installation: Standalone installer or Homebrew on macOS/Linux, Windows installer, or Docker Compose; it downloads/manages restic on first run. Setup notes: You still have to choose and provision storage, protect the repository password, grant filesystem access, and test restores; macOS may require Full Disk Access.
What is the catch or trade-off with Backrest?+
It adds a friendly scheduler, but unlike Backblaze it includes no unlimited off-site storage, automatic destination, managed retention, or shipped physical restore.