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**Backup Docker Volumes to Local** is a set of Python and shell scripts that enable you to perform incremental backups of all your Docker volumes using rsync. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with [Kevin's Package Manager](https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/package-manager) under the alias **baudolo**, making it easy to install and manage. The tool supports both file and database recoveries with a clear, automated backup scheme.
`baudolo` is a backup and restore system for Docker volumes with
**mandatory file backups** and **explicit, deterministic database dumps**.
It is designed for environments with many Docker services where:
- file-level backups must always exist
- database dumps must be intentional, predictable, and auditable
- 📦 Incremental Docker volume backups using `rsync --link-dest`
- 🗄 Optional SQL dumps for:
- PostgreSQL
- MariaDB / MySQL
- 🌱 Explicit database definition for SQL backups (no auto-discovery)
- 🧾 Backup integrity stamping via `dirval` (Python API)
- ⏸ Automatic container stop/start when required for consistency
- 🚫 Whitelisting of containers that do not require stopping
- ♻️ Modular, maintainable Python architecture
This project automates the backup of Docker volumes using incremental backups (rsync) and supports recovering both files and database dumps (MariaDB/PostgreSQL). A robust directory stamping mechanism ensures data integrity, and the tool also handles restarting Docker Compose services when necessary.
## 🚀 Features
## 🧠 Core Concept (Important!)
- **Incremental Backups:** Uses rsync with `--link-dest` for efficient, versioned backups.
- **Database Backup Support:** Backs up MariaDB and PostgreSQL databases from running containers.
- **Volume Recovery:** Provides scripts to recover volumes and databases from backups.
- **Docker Compose Integration:** Option to automatically restart Docker Compose services after backup.
- **Flexible Configuration:** Easily integrated with your Docker environment with minimal setup.
- **Comprehensive Logging:** Detailed command output and error handling for safe operations.
`baudolo`**separates file backups from database dumps**.
## 🛠 Requirements
- **Docker volumes are always backed up at file level**
- **SQL dumps are created only for explicitly defined databases**
You can install **Backup Docker Volumes to Local** easily via [Kevin's Package Manager](https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/package-manager) using the alias **baudolo**:
## 📁 Backup Layout
```bash
pkgmgr install baudolo
Backups are stored in a deterministic, fully nested structure:
```text
<backups-dir>/
└── <machine-hash>/
└── <repo-name>/
└── <timestamp>/
└── <volume-name>/
├── files/
└── sql/
└── <database>.backup.sql
```
Alternatively, clone the repository directly:
### Meaning of each level
*`<machine-hash>`
SHA256 hash of `/etc/machine-id` (host separation)
> `baudolo` automatically detects whether `mariadb` or `mysql`
> is available inside the container
## 🔍 Backup Scheme
The backup mechanism uses incremental backups with rsync and stamps directories with a unique hash. For more details on the backup scheme, check out [this blog post](https://blog.veen.world/blog/2020/12/26/how-i-backup-dedicated-root-servers/).
description="Backup Docker volumes to local with rsync and optional DB dumps."
readme="README.md"
requires-python=">=3.9"
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