How to Install Backupninja on nixOS Latest

Backupninja is a backup tool that helps you schedule and run backups on your systems. It is available for various Linux distributions and can be installed on nixOS Latest as well. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you install Backupninja on your nixOS Latest system.

Step 1: Update the System

Before installing any new package, it is recommended to update the system to the latest version. You can run the following command to update the system:

sudo nix-channel --update && sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Step 2: Install Backupninja

To install Backupninja on nixOS Latest, you need to add it to your system's configuration file configuration.nix. Open the file in your text editor of choice using the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

Add the following lines to the file:

...
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  backupninja
];
...

Save and close the file. Then, run the following command to update the system with the new configuration:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Step 3: Configure Backupninja

After installing Backupninja, you need to configure it to create and manage backups on your system. The configuration file for Backupninja is located at /etc/backup.d/backup.ninja. Open the file in your text editor using the following command:

sudo nano /etc/backup.d/backup.ninja

By default, the configuration file is a template that you can modify according to your needs. Uncomment the line that starts with # backup, and add your backup settings below it. For example:

# backup /etc to an encrypted rsync backup
# set to run once daily at 0130
# and keep a minimum of 5 backups
# set to halt the backup if it is taking too long
# and send an email on failure
# (useful if cron sends these mails to /dev/null)
#
# backup /etc {
#   include "/etc"
#   rsync_short_args  = [ "-avz" "--delete" ]
#   rsync_long_args   = []
#   encrypt   = yes
#   passphrase = "my secret passphrase"
#   gpg_key   = "my-backup-key"
#   mv_full   = no
#   one_fs   = yes
#   run       = daily at 0130
#   keep      = 5
#   halt_on_error  = yes
#   send_nsca_on_error = yes
# }

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Test Backupninja

After configuring Backupninja, you can test it to verify that it is working as expected. Run the following command to start a backup:

sudo backupninja -n

This will run Backupninja in dry-run mode and show you what it would do without actually performing any backup. Verify that the backup settings and options are correct before proceeding.

Once you have verified the backup settings, run the backup command without -n to perform a real backup:

sudo backupninja

Conclusion

Backupninja is a powerful backup tool that helps you schedule and run backups on your nixOS Latest system. By following the steps in this tutorial, you can install and configure Backupninja to create and manage backups easily.