Recipe for a backup

(TODO: funny fake dialogue box illustrating this)

"Back up your files before doing this", you read, and click on the 'OK' button nervously as you decidedly do not back up your files and hope that everything will be alright.

One day you decide to look into backup strategies. Oh no. There are about a gazillion of them. You get overwhelmed and decide to put it off to another day. (Maybe your backup strategy is a USB stick with some files from a year ago. Protip: this is not a backup, or a strategy.)

The problem is that they all solve slightly different problems and fulfil slightly different needs.

Goals of a backup

• Automatic (daily? non-stop?)
• Restore back to a previous point in time (how many points?)
• Organised
• Available everywhere (including your phone?)
• Fast (for the computer)
• Full disk image
• Safe from disaster
• Safe from prying eyes
• Simple (not many options)
• Will work the same forever
• Free

Maybe you have some more specific needs too.

You can't have all of these things. But it's good to keep them in mind as you look at different options.

My backup approach

I embarked on a backup journey beginning December 2023. I decided, apparently, that one of my goals was "make life difficult for yourself". I don't recommend that.

But it's good to see a full solution and ask - is this good enough for me? What do I like and what don't I want?

TODO draw the rest of the owl

Which goals does my approach achieve?