Restic user backup → TrueNAS REST server

User-level backup for personal machines (desktop, laptop). No sudo required — everything runs as your own user.

Differences from the system-level setup

	System (`backup/`)	User (`backup-user/`)
Runs as	root	your user
Config	`/etc/restic/`	`~/.config/restic/`
Script	`/usr/local/bin/`	`~/.local/bin/`
Systemd units	`/etc/systemd/system/`	`~/.config/systemd/user/`
Commands	`sudo systemctl`	`systemctl --user`
Logs	`journalctl -u`	`journalctl --user -u`
Package dump	✅ (has root)	❌ (not needed)
Boot timer trigger	`OnBootSec` (system boot)	`OnStartupSec` (after login)

Setup

1. Create config directories

mkdir -p ~/.config/restic
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

2. Install and fill in the env file

cp env.example ~/.config/restic/env
nano ~/.config/restic/env
chmod 600 ~/.config/restic/env

Set these values:

MACHINE_NAME — unique name for this machine (e.g. desktop, laptop)
RESTIC_PASSWORD — generate with openssl rand -base64 32
BACKUP_PATHS — adjust to what matters to you (default covers .config, .local/share, Documents, Pictures, Desktop)

3. Install the excludes file

cp excludes.txt ~/.config/restic/excludes.txt
# Optionally add machine-specific paths to skip
nano ~/.config/restic/excludes.txt

4. Initialize the repository on the REST server

source <(set -a && cat ~/.config/restic/env) && restic init

5. Install the backup script

cp backup.sh ~/.local/bin/restic-backup.sh
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/restic-backup.sh

6. Install the systemd user units

cp restic-backup.service    ~/.config/systemd/user/
cp restic-backup.timer      ~/.config/systemd/user/
cp restic-backup-boot.timer ~/.config/systemd/user/

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now restic-backup.timer
systemctl --user enable --now restic-backup-boot.timer

7. Run a first backup to verify

systemctl --user start restic-backup.service
journalctl --user -u restic-backup.service -f

Useful commands

# Check timer status
systemctl --user status restic-backup.timer restic-backup-boot.timer

# List all snapshots
source <(set -a && cat ~/.config/restic/env) && restic snapshots

# Browse a snapshot interactively
source <(set -a && cat ~/.config/restic/env) && restic mount ~/mnt/restic

# Restore a single directory
source <(set -a && cat ~/.config/restic/env) && \
    restic restore latest --target /tmp/restore --include "$HOME/.config/nvim"

# Check repo integrity
source <(set -a && cat ~/.config/restic/env) && restic check

# Watch backup logs live
journalctl --user -u restic-backup.service -f

Password recovery

Store a recovery.txt on TrueNAS alongside the repo — same as the system setup.

# On TrueNAS
cp recovery.txt /mnt/pool/backups/recovery-desktop.txt
chmod 600 /mnt/pool/backups/recovery-desktop.txt