Duplicity incrementally backs up files and directory by encrypting tar-format volumes with GnuPG and uploading them to a remote (or local) file server. To transmit data it can use ssh/scp, local file access, rsync, ftp, and Amazon S3.
Because duplicity uses librsync, the incremental archives are space efficient and only record the parts of files that have changed since the last backup. As the software uses GnuPG to encrypt and/or sign these archives, they will be safe from spying and/or modification by the server.
Currently duplicity supports deleted files, full unix permissions, directories, symbolic links, fifos, etc., but not hard links.
The duplicity package also includes the rdiffdir utility. Rdiffdir is an extension of librsync’s rdiff to directories; it can be used to produce signatures and deltas of directories as well as regular files.
Key Features
- Simple to use.
- Implements a traditional backup scheme, where the initial archive contains all information (full backup) and in the future only the changed information is added.
- Encrypted and signed archives (using GnuPG).
- Bandwidth and space efficient, using the rsync algorithm. Duplicity uses the rsync algorithm so only the changed parts of files are sent to the archive when doing an incremental backup. For instance, if a long log file increases by just a few lines of text, a small diff will be sent to and saved in the archive.
- Standard file format.
- Choice of remote protocol:
- Local storage.
- Amazon S3.
- Backblaze B2.
- DropBox.
- ftp.
- GIO.
- Google Docs.
- Google Drive.
- HSI.
- Hubic.
- IMAP.
- local filesystem.
- Mega.co.
- Microsoft Azure.
- Microsoft Onedrive.
- par2.
- Rackspace Cloudfiles.
- rsync.
- Skylabel.
- ssh/scp.
- SwiftStack.
- Tahoe-LAFS.
- WebDAV.
Website: duplicity.gitlab.io
Support: Documentation, FAQ
Developer: Kenneth Loafman
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
Duplicity is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Backup Tools | |
|---|---|
| restic | Fast, efficient and secure backup software |
| Borg | Deduplicating backup software |
| Duplicity | Encrypted bandwidth-efficient backup |
| TimeShift | Takes regular incremental snapshots of the filesystem |
| Duplicati | Store encrypted backups online |
| bup | Backup a system based on the git packfile format |
| Déjà Dup | Hides the complexity of doing backups the Right Way |
| Bacula | Network backup, recovery and verification |
| Kopia | Secure backup/restore tool that allows you to create encrypted snapshots |
| Clonezilla | Offers similar functionality to Symantec Ghost |
| Bareos | Backup Archiving Recovery Open Sourced |
| rsync | Fast remote file copy program |
| BackupPC | High-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up PCs |
| Vorta | Desktop client for Borg Backup |
| Backrest | Web UI and orchestrator for restic backup |
| Back in Time | Equivalent of OS X's Time Machine |
| UrBackup | Easy to setup open source client/server backup system |
| Rescuezilla | Easy backup, recovery & bare metal restore |
| Mondo Rescue | A powerful disaster recovery suite |
| KBackup | Backup program targeted at non-computer experts |
| rsnapshot | Local and remote filesystem snapshot utility |
| Amanda | Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver |
| FOG | Cloning / imaging solution / rescue suite |
| Partclone | Provides utilities to save and restore used blocks on a partition |
| XtraBackup | Backup tool for InnoDB and XtraDB databases |
| Plakar | Scalable backup solution |
| kup | Backup scheduler for the Plasma desktop |
| BURP | Uses librsync to save network traffic and space |
| Btrbk | Backup tool for btrfs subvolumes |
| Pika Backup | App focused on backups of personal data |
| PING | Also offers similar functionality to Symantec Ghost |
| dar | Full featured archiver with support for differential backups |
| tar | Tar archiving utility |
| Cedar Backup | Local and remote backups to CD or DVD media |
| shallow-backup | Git-integrated backup tool |
| ArchiveKeep | Keeps your files archived in multiple places |
| ZnapZend | ZFS centric backup tool |
| Vykar | Fast, encrypted, deduplicated backups in Rust |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| DeDuplicating Encryption Tools | |
|---|---|
| restic | Fast, efficient and secure backup software |
| Borg | Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption |
| Duplicity | Incrementally backs up files and directory by encrypting tar-format volumes |
| Duplicati | Store encrypted backups online |
| bup | Provides an efficient way to backup a system based on the git packfile format |
| Kopia | Secure backup/restore tool that allows you to create encrypted snapshots |
| BackupPC | High-performance, enterprise-grade system for backup |
| Vorta | Desktop client for Borg Backup |
| UrBackup | Client/server backup system |
| Vykar | Fast, encrypted, deduplicated backups in Rust |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |