timeshift-autosnap-apt

Timeshift auto-snapshot script which runs before apt upgrade|install|remove using a DPkg::Pre-Invoke hook in apt.

Features

This scrips is a fork of timeshift-autosnap from the AUR for Arch and Arch based distros but adapted for usage in Debian based systems which use apt as their package manager.
Creates Timeshift snapshots with unique comment.
Deletes old snapshots which are created using this script.
Makes a copy of /boot and /boot/efi to /boot.backup before the call to timeshift for more secure restore options.
Can be manually executed by running sudo timeshift-autosnap-apt command.
Autosnaphot can be temporarily skipped by setting SKIP_AUTOSNAP environment variable (e.g. sudo SKIP_AUTOSNAP= apt upgrade)
Supports both BTRFS and RSYNC mode.
For a tutorial how to use this script in production to easily rollback your system, see Pop!_OS 20.04 btrfs-luks disaster recovery and easy system rollback using Timeshift and timeshift-autosnap-apt.

Installation

If you haven't, first install Timeshift:

sudo apt install timeshift

Open Timeshift and configure it either using btrfs or rsync. I recommend using btrfs as a filesystem for this, see my btrfs installation guides for Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, and Manjaro.

Clone the repository and run the following commands to copy the hook, bash script and configuration file.

git clone https://github.com/wmutschl/timeshift-autosnap-apt.git
cd timeshift-autosnap-apt
sudo cp 80-timeshift-autosnap-apt /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80-timeshift-autosnap-apt
sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80-timeshift-autosnap-apt
sudo cp timeshift-autosnap-apt /usr/bin/timeshift-autosnap-apt
sudo chmod 755 /usr/bin/timeshift-autosnap-apt
sudo cp timeshift-autosnap-apt.conf /etc/timeshift-autosnap-apt.conf
sudo chmod 644 /etc/timeshift-autosnap-apt.conf

After this, optionally, make changes to the configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/timeshift-autosnap-apt.conf

For example, if you don't have a dedicated /boot partition, then you should set snapshotBoot=false.

Configuration

The configuration file is located in /etc/timeshift-autosnap-apt.conf. You can set the following options:

snapshotBoot: If set to true /boot folder will be cloned into /boot.backup before the call to timeshift. Note that this will not include the /boot/efi folder. Default: true
snapshotEFI: If set to true /boot/efi folder will be cloned into /boot.backup/efi before the call to timeshift. Default: true
skipAutosnap: If set to true script won't be executed. Default: false.
deleteSnapshots: If set to false old snapshots won't be deleted. Default: true
maxSnapshots: Defines maximum number of old snapshots to keep. Default: 3
snapshotDescription Defines value used to distinguish snapshots created using timeshift-autosnap-apt. Default: {timeshift-autosnap-apt} {created before upgrade}

Test functionality

To test the functionality, try (re)installing some package maxSnapshots number of times, e.g.

sudo apt install --reinstall rolldice
sudo apt install --reinstall rolldice
sudo apt install --reinstall rolldice

You should see output for BTRFS similar to

# Using system disk as snapshot device for creating snapshots in BTRFS mode
#
# /dev/dm-1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache,commit=120,subvolid=5,subvol=/
#
# Creating new backup...(BTRFS)
# Saving to device: /dev/dm-1, mounted at path: /run/timeshift/backup
# Created directory: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-46-30
# Created subvolume snapshot: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-46-30/@
# Created subvolume snapshot: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-46-30/@home
# Created control file: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-46-30/info.json
# BTRFS Snapshot saved successfully (0s)
# Tagged snapshot '2020-04-29_09-46-30': ondemand
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

or for RSYNC similar to

# /dev/vdb1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Creating new snapshot...(RSYNC)
# Saving to device: /dev/vdb1, mounted at path: /run/timeshift/backup
# Synching files with rsync...
# Created control file: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift/snapshots/2020-04-29_10-25-35/info.json
# RSYNC Snapshot saved successfully (6s)
# Tagged snapshot '2020-04-29_10-25-35': ondemand
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Open timeshift and see whether there are maxSnapshots packages:

Close timeshift and reinstall the package another time and you should see that the first package is now deleted:

sudo apt install --reinstall rolldice
#
# Using system disk as snapshot device for creating snapshots in BTRFS mode
# /dev/dm-1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache,commit=120,subvolid=5,subvol=/
# Creating new backup...(BTRFS)
# Saving to device: /dev/dm-1, mounted at path: /run/timeshift/backup
# Created directory: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-53-25
# Created subvolume snapshot: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-53-25/@
# Created subvolume snapshot: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-53-25/@home
# Created control file: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-53-25/info.json
# BTRFS Snapshot saved successfully (0s)
# Tagged snapshot '2020-04-29_09-53-25': ondemand
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# 
# /dev/dm-1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache,commit=120,subvolid=5,subvol=/
# 
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Removing snapshot: 2020-04-29_09-46-30
# Deleting subvolume: @home (Id:662)
# Deleted subvolume: @home (Id:662)
# 
# Destroying qgroup: 0/662
# Destroyed qgroup: 0/662
# 
# Deleting subvolume: @ (Id:661)
# Deleted subvolume: @ (Id:661)
# 
# Destroying qgroup: 0/661
# Destroyed qgroup: 0/661
# 
# Deleted directory: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots/2020-04-29_09-46-30
# Removed snapshot: 2020-04-29_09-46-30
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

or for RSYNC:

# /dev/vdb1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime
# 
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Creating new snapshot...(RSYNC)
# Saving to device: /dev/vdb1, mounted at path: /run/timeshift/backup
# Linking from snapshot: 2020-04-29_10-25-15
# Synching files with rsync...
# Created control file: /run/timeshift/backup/timeshift/snapshots/2020-04-29_10-25-35/info.json
# RSYNC Snapshot saved successfully (6s)
# Tagged snapshot '2020-04-29_10-25-35': ondemand
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# 
# /dev/vdb1 is mounted at: /run/timeshift/backup, options: rw,relatime
# 
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Removing '2020-04-29_10-24-35'...
# Removed '2020-04-29_10-24-35'                                                   
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ideas and contributions

Ask to be included into official Timeshift package, status pending.
Copy /boot and /boot/efi to filesystem for better control option when restoring (tested on Pop!_OS)
Check and adapt grub-btrfs for compatibility with Debian-based systems and this script (test on Ubuntu) to automatically create menu entries into grub.

All new ideas and contributors are welcomed, just open an issue for that!

8.3 KiB Raw Blame History