Making file backups is an essential activity for all users, yet many users do not take adequate steps to protect their data.
Whether a computer is being used in a corporate environment, or for private use, the machine’s hard disk may fail without any warning signs. Alternatively, some data loss occurs as a result of human error. Without regular backups being made, data will inevitably be lost even if the services of a specialist recovery organisation are used.
restic is a backup program that is fast, efficient and secure. It encrypts the backup, it’s easy to script, and offers built-in version control, retention periods, and purging. It also offers cross-platform support with coverage including Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, macOS, and Windows.
restic runs at the command line. This roundup explores front-ends to restic which simplify making backups. We include Web UI, GUI and TUI software.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. The rating only reflects our views on the front-ends, not restic itself. Only free and open source software is included.
Let’s explore the software in more detail.
| Restic Front-ends | |
|---|---|
| Déjà Dup | Hides the complexity of doing backups the Right Way |
| Backrest | Web UI and orchestrator for restic backup |
| Zerobyte | Backup automation for your remote storage |
| Restic Browser | Simple restic backup GUI built with Tauri |
| resticterm | Terminal-based UI written in C# |
| kubackup | Web UI written in Go |
| Pluton | Self-hosted backup management platform |
| Resticity | Cross-platform UI for restic, built with Wails |
| Restic Backup GX | Simple GUI built with Electron and Vue3 |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
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It would be great if you could add Pluton to the list. Pluton is an open-source restic-based backup software just like zerobyte, but with a more polished GUI and less technical to set up and run.
Thanks, I’ll take a look at Pluton.