luckyBackup - backup and sync utility
Description: luckyBackup is an application that backs-up and/or synchronizes any directories using the rsync tool.
Keywords: luckyBackup, luckybackup, backup, sync, synchronize, rsync, qt, c++

# user's manual

# contents

- overview - features

- legal

- definitions

- launch

menu entries

terminal arguments

man page

- the main window (...playing around)

Tasks

Profiles

Help

Settings

- task properties (the simple way)

name

type

source

destination

cannot display remote places

snapshots

done

- task properties (for the unsatisfied)

description

exclude

include

options

remote

also execute

validate

pattern rules

pattern editor

- not just ready yet

include state

declared data check

execution order

save profile

- run

simulation

task list check

normal run

silent mode

command-line mode

- schedule

add

modify

remove

cronIT

crontab info

troubleshooting cron

log-file

- e-mail

command

conditions

arguments

test

logging

- manage backup/sync

view log

calculate differences

delete backup

restore

- restore procedures

restore profile

manage wizard

separate task

- Epilogue

#
overview – features

luckyBackup is an application that backs-up and/or synchronizes any directories with the power of rsync.

It is simple to use, fast (transfers over only changes made and not all data), safe (keeps your data safe by checking all declared directories before proceeding in any data manipulation ), reliable and fully customizable.

Backup

Create a "clone" of your data at another location in no time, safely.
Backup any directory (source) to another (destination).
luckyBackup copies over only the changes you've made to the source directory and nothing more.
You will be surprised when your huge source is backed up in seconds (after the first time !!).
Whatever changes you make to the source including adding, moving, deleting, modifying files / directories etc, will have the same effect to the destination.
Owner, group, time stamps, links and permissions of files are preserved (unless stated otherwise).

Snapshots
Create multiple backup "snapshots".
Each snapshot is an image of the source data that refers to a specific date-time.
Rolling back to any of the snapshots is possible.

Sync
Sync any directories keeping the files that were most recently modified on both of them.
Useful if you modify files on more than one PCs (using a flash-drive and don't want to bother remembering what did you use last.

Keep your data safe
luckyBackup first checks whether the directories you've declared exist or if they are empty and warns you accordingly.
You wouldn't want your 500GB music collection backup (that took half a day to create !!) vanish in a second if you forgot to mount the external drive that your source is in !!
You also wouldn't want to execute an rsync command if your destination folder is in an external drive that you also forgot to mount.

Simple / advanced option
The add/modify task dialog is quite simple and everybody can use it with confidence.
Hit on the "advanced" pushbutton at the task properties window and a whole bunch of other options will appear.
If you know what you're doing change anything at will.

Exclude option
Exclude any file, folder or pattern from the transfer.
You might not want to copy over backup files (*~), trash folders, system mount folders (/media & /mnt), some huge video files or anything else.
Choose from already made templates or produce your own with the cool pattern editor.

Only include option
Use this option to only transfer over specific file(s), folder(s) or pattern(s) within your source directory and nothing else.

Add/remove any rsync option
If you don't like the default rsync options that luckybackup uses, add or remove any option you wish.

Remote connections
Remote connections are possible, either for use as a source or as a destination.

Also execute
You can execute any command(s) before or after a specific task.

Restore task
Everybody wishes to never use this !!
But when this time comes, luckyBackup gives you the option to either go through a restore wizard or create a task based on an existing one for restore purposes.

Simulation option
If you are unsure of the effects on your data when executing an rsync command try the dry-run option. luckyBackup will perform a trial run that doesn't make any changes (and produces mostly the same output as a real run).
Note: The progress-bar might be misleading when using this.

Profiles
You don't have to create all tasks from scratch every time you start luckyBackup.
You can save your preferences in a .profile file and load it whenever needed. Use as many profiles as you like, export, import or duplicate them.

Include option – Execution order
A separate check-box can be used to include or not a task within a profile.

The option to change the execution order of tasks is also given.

Scheduling

Scheduling for execution of already created profiles via cronjobs is supported.

e-mail

email a report after a profile execution.

Logfile
After all tasks execution, a logfile is created in your home folder. You can have a look at it any time you want.
A handy logviewer that displays errors in red and has next/previous buttons, is also provided.

Command line mode
luckyBackup can run in command line if you wish not to use the gui, but you have to first create the profile that is going to be executed.
Type "luckybackup --help" at a terminal to see usage and supported options.

#
legal

Copyright © 2008, Loukas Avgeriou
luckyBackup is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
It is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 3 of the License.
It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

definitions

Before we proceed to any description or instructions, it would be useful to first make some definitions:

task | For example the task of backing up one directory to another. The basic properties of a task are: a. Its name (for example “backup my home directory”). b. Its include state which actually says if the task will be executed or not.
source | The directory that holds the data to be backed-up.
destination | The directory that source will be backed-up to.
profile | A collection of tasks at a particular order.
snapshot | Backup data that refer to the source at a particular time. Just like a photo snapshot that captured a face at a specific time.
schedule | A profile that is scheduled to be executed at a specific time, at a specific day.
super-user mode | The execution of luckyBackup with super-user privileges.
Command-line mode | The execution of luckyBackup without a graphical user interface (gui), by using a terminal.
Silent mode | The execution of luckyBackup without launching the main window - just tray notification shown.

#
launch

After this (small I hope) introduction, It is now time to launch luckyBackup.
It is always a good thing to have multiple options and the ability to choose.
That is why, there are various ways to do that:

Menu

The easiest way to launch luckyBackup is by using your operating system's menu items.
Please note that 2 items are created.

Normal user

The first one is used to launch luckyBackup as a normal user.
This is created under Utilities (kde) or Accessories (Gnome) or Applications -> File Management (Debian menu).
Use this method, if the normal user has full read access to the source and full write access to the destination.

Super user

The second one is used to launch luckyBackup as a super-user.
This is created under System (kde) or System Tools (Gnome) or Applications -> System -> Administration (Debian menu).
Fedora users, must install the "beesu" package to use the system menu link.
Use this method, if the normal user has limited read access to the source or limited write access to the destination.

IMPORTANT:
luckyBackup copies files preserving their owner, group, times, permissions and attributes.
You should run it with su privileges if you want to

- transfer data that a normal user has no or limited authorization on.
- transfer data to a place that a normal user has no or limited authorization on.

Terminal arguments

luckyBackup can also be launched by using a terminal (console).
The full syntax of the command used is :

$ luckybackup [options] [profile]

If no options or profile is provided, the main window will show, the same way as if you used the menu items .

Launching with super-user privileges, is possible by using normal bash commands to gain root access.
eg

$ sudo luckybackup [options] [profile]

or

$ su root
Password: XXXXXXX
# luckybackup [options] [profile]

[profile]

... is an already created profile that is going to be executed instantly, either in gui or command-line mode, depending on the options provided.
Profile files are normally located under your home directory (~) at ~/.luckyBackup/profiles.
NOTE that the root's home directory is /root.
As [profile] you can use :

- the full path of the profile filename.
  eg: ~/.luckyBackup/profiles/default.profile
- The profile filename without using its full path.
  Then, luckyBackup will search at the normal profiles location, under the home directory of the current user.
  eg: default.profile
- The profile name.
  Again, luckyBackup will search at the normal profiles location, under the home directory of the current user.
  eg: default

[options]

available options :

--help | Displays a “usage” help message
--version | Displays luckybackup's current version
--skip-critical | Will not execute tasks that appear with a CRITICAL warning message after the data checks
--dry-run | Executes luckyBackup in dry-run (simulation) mode
--silent | Executes luckyBackup in silent mode ((just notification tray icon shown))
-c | Console mode Executes luckyBackup in command-line mode
--no-questions | Executes luckyBackup in command-line mode and skips confirmation questions asked to user. Implies -c (console mode).

manualy schedule:

For some reason, you might not wish to use the luckybackup's schedule feautre, to have some jobs scheduled.
Instead you might want to manualy configure your system to execute luckybackup by using cron or anacron or a bash script or anything.
If that is the case, it is recommended to use the --silent together with the --skip-critical option to run luckybackup in silent mode.
Something else that should be taken into consideration is that for the silent mode to run, a graphical environment is needed.
For that purpose the environmental variable DISPLAY should be defined.
An example, a luckybackup crontab entry follows:

env DISPLAY=:0 /usr/bin/luckybackup --silent --skip-critical /home/luckyb/.luckyBackup/profiles/EveryDay_jobs.profile

examples:

1. Execute luckybackup gui:

$ luckybackup

2. Execute luckybackup gui and run profile "BackupHome" immediately:

$ luckybackup ~/.luckyBackup/profiles/BackupHome.profile

3. Execute luckybackup gui and run profile "BackupHome" immediately in simulation mode:

$ luckybackup --dry-run BackupHome.profile

4. Execute luckybackup in silent mode and run profile "BackupHome" immediately. Skip all CRITICAL tasks:

$ luckybackup --silent --skip-critical BackupHome

5. Execute luckybackup in command-line mode and run profile "BackupHome" immediately:

$ luckybackup -c BackupHome

6. Execute luckybackup in command-line mode and run profile "BackupHome" immediately. Do not ask any questions and Skip all CRITICAL tasks:

$ luckybackup -c --skip-critical --no-questions BackupHome

man page

A man page (system's manual page) is available at section 8 (System administration commands).
To view it, enter the following command:

$ man luckybackup

#
the main window

#

This is the application's main window as it appears as soon as you execute luckyBackup.

It consists of :

- A menu.

- A toolbar that refers to current profile handling.

- The Task List which lists all the available tasks of the current profile.

- 3 buttons that refer to specific task handling (add – remove – modify).

- A run button and a simulation (Dry) check-box. You can start the execution of all the tasks included in a profile by using these.

- An information window. It can be shown/hidden by using the arrows icon at its top left corner.

...Playing around

Tasks

All task related actions are accomplished via the "task area":

or the menu → Task:

Add

Add a new task to the current profile.

- Press the add button for the task properties dialog to appear.

Remove

Remove an existing task from the current profile:

- Click on an task name, inside the task list, to highlight it.

- Press the remove button.

- Answer yes to the dialog that will appear to permanently remove the task.

Modify

Modify an existing task to your liking:

- Click on an task name, inside the task list, to highlight it.

- Press the modify button for the modify task dialog to appear.

Duplicate

Create a duplicate of the highlighted task and add it to the current profile.

- Select Task-> Create Duplicate Task from the menu.

- Change anything (if) you wish at the task properties dialog that will appear and click ok:

Create Restore task

Create a restore task of the highlighted task and add it to the current profile.

- Select Task-> Create Restore Task from the menu.

- Please have a look at the restore section of this manual for full reference to the restore procedures.

Profiles

All profile related actions are accomplished via the toolbar:

or the menu → profile:

Current Profile – profile load

The profile you are currently using is displayed at the drop-down list, on the left of the toolbar.

To change the current profile simple select another one from the list.

The information window will display a message:

Save

To save the profile you are currently using, press the save button at the toolbar, or select profile → save from the menu, or press ctrl+S.

Default profile

The default profile is the profile loaded as soon as luckyBackup starts.

Normally the name of the default profile is “default”. To change that, select profile → Default from the menu.

Rename

To rename the profile you are currently using, select profile → rename from the menu.

Delete

To delete the profile you are currently using, press the delete button at the toolbar, or select profile → delete from the menu.

New

Create a new profile:

- Press the “new profile” button or select “Profile → new” from the menu or press ctrl+N.

- Enter the name of the new profile at the dialog that will appear and press ok.

Duplicate

Create a duplicate of the current profile:

- Select “Profile → Duplicate” from the menu

- Enter the name of the new duplicate profile at the dialog that will appear and press ok.

View/Edit Description

View or edit the profile's description:

- Select “Profile → View/Edit Description” from the menu

- Enter any text to use as a profile description and press ok.

Export

You can export the current profile as a folder to any location.
Together with the .profile file, luckybackup will also export all relevant snapshot and log data.

- Select “Profile → export” from the menu.

- The following dialog will appear

- Navigate to the directory you wish to export the profile to.

- Type a file-name for your profile or select an already existent profile to replace it.

- Press the save button

Note that you do not have to type the “.profile” extension. It will be added automatically.

Also have in mind that the default directory where profiles are located is inside the user's home directory, under the folder “~/.luckyBackup/profiles”.

Import

To Import a profile from another location:

- Select “Profile → import” from the menu.

- The following dialog will appear.

- Navigate to the directory you wish to import the profile from.

- Select the profile you wish to import.

- Click the open button to finish the procedure.

Together with the .profile file, luckybackup will also import all relevant snapshot and log data, if available.

Refresh

To refresh the current view, simply click the refresh button, or select profile → refresh from the menu or press F5.

Schedule

Create new, modify or remove existing luckyBackup schedules

- Click the schedule button at the toolbar or select profile → schedule from the menu, for the schedule dialog to appear

Run

Start the execution of all included tasks of the current profile.

You have 2 options to do this:

a. Normal execution. For real data transferring

- Click the “Run” button.

b. simulation. Perform a dry-run execution of all included tasks of the current profile.

If you are unsure of the effects on your data when executing an rsync command try the dry-run option. luckyBackup will perform a trial run that doesn't make any changes (and produces mostly the same output as a real run).

Note: The progress-bar might be misleading when using this.

WARNING: Any pre/post task execution commands, will run normally, not simulated.

- Check the “Dry” check-box to enable this option.

- Click the “run” button

Help

about

Display the “about” dialog

- Select “Help → about” from the menu.

Do not forget that this is free software.

Help

Display this manual

- Select Help → Help from the menu or

- Press F1.

Language

If you wish to change the language of the application:

- Select Settings → Language from the menu

- Click on the language you wish to use

Toolbar settings

Change the display of the toolbar:

- Select Settings → Toolbars from the menu

- Select the options you wish.

Quit

In order to exit luckybackup:

- Click the EXIT button, located at the actions toolbar or

- Select Profile → Quit from the profile menu or

- Press ctrl+X

Do not worry about losing your profile if not saved when exiting the application.
You will be prompted accordingly.

#
task properties (the simple way)

As already seen at a previous chapter the basic properties of a task are its name and its include state.

Of course this specific task actually does something (e.g transfers data from the source to the destination). Although this might seem simple, a lot of parameters are involved in the way this can be accomplished.

Let's have a deeper look at a task's properties by...

creating a new task

As soon as you click the “add” task button the following dialog appears:

name

First thing you have to do is enter a name for this new task.

Click on the “Task name” text field and type a name for the task. For example if you wish to backup the home directory of your sidux distribution, a good name would be “Back up my sidux home directory”.

Actually, there is no such thing as a “good name”. Type anything that suits you best with no restrictions :-)

type

The next thing you have to define is the task type. There are 2 types available:

1. Backup source inside destination

Select this type to create a backup of the source inside the destination directory.
Depending on the state of the following checkbox, you can define whether an extra directory will be created inside the destination or not.

do NOT create extra directory check box

Check the box to backup the contents of a directory, not the directory itself.

In simple words, to copy over, all the data that the source contains inside the destination.

Leave the box unchecked to backup the source directory by name.

This means that a new directory with the same name as the source will be created (if not already there) inside the destination.

Example:

Let's assume that you create a task and declare:

source = /home/luckyb/photos/ (that contains a large number of files)

destination = /media/backups/pictures/

If you check the “do NOT create extra directory” box, then all files and folders from inside /home/luckyb/photos/, will be copied inside /media/backups/pictures/.

If you leave the box unchecked, then you will end up with the directory /media/backups/pictures/photos/ (the whole source directory will be copied inside the destination).

2. synchronize source & destination

Use this task type in order to sync the source with the destination by keeping the most recent files at both of them.

It can prove really useful if you modify specific files from different locations.

Example:

Let's assume that you are working on a project. You have created the directory /home/luckyb/project at your home PC and save all relevant files in there. At the same time there is a need to work on some of these files at another PC, so you copy them at your usb flash drive (location: /media/myUSB/project).

There are times when you do not remember which file you edited when and from where. So you create a task declaring:

source: /home/luckyb/project/

destination: /media/myUSB/project/

task type: “sync directories”

This will result in a 2-way transfer. Newest modified files will be transferred from source to destination or the other way round. Also freshly created files at one of the locations will be copied over to the other.

Please note that if you delete files at either the source or the destination and you perform this task, you will end up with these files created again because they still exist at the other location.

source

After defining the name and the type of the task, you have to define the source. That means the directory that holds the data that are going to be backed-up. You can do that in 2 ways:

1. Click on the “source” text field and type the full path of the source directory. For example /home/luckyb.
Auto-completion as you type is enabled by default.

2. Click the “browse locally” button, located at the right of the source text entry field. A normal file dialog will appear. Navigate to the directory you wish to use as a source and press the “choose” button

destination

Declare a directory to use as a destination, the same way as the source declaration procedure. This is the directory where the source will be backed-up to. For the “Backup my sidux home directory” example this could be /media/backups/siduxHome.

why can't I declare my remote place ??

Today's file managers like nautilus, konqueror or dolphin have the ability to directly support some remote filesystem protocols such as smb/cifs or nfs.
You might be able to browse some remote places via your filebrowser but cannot find a way to declare those as source or destination.
This does not necessarily mean that the remote place is locally mounted. You can distinguish such a situation by observing the full path address of the remote folder. If it does not start with "/" but with eg smb:// then you are using the direct filesystem browser support.
The solution to this issue is to mount the remote place locally.
This involves, adding a line at the file /etc/fstab so that the remote directory can be visible under a specific mount point eg /media/my-Remote-Place/
It is not the purpose of this document to describe every possible mount procedure. Please refer to your distro's documentation or support web pages for guidelines.

Snapshots to keep

Every time a task is run the source data are backed-up as they are at that specific time.
This is called a snapshot !!
luckyBackup can hold a number of snapshots so that it is possible to revert to any one of them.
Define the maximum number of snapshots you wish to keep, by clicking on the arrows of the spin-box.
If that number is reached, older snapshots will be deleted when the task is run again.
The default number of snapshots to keep is 1.

Below is a screenshot of the task properties dialog, with the name, source and destination fields, ready.

As soon as you are finished declaring all appropriate fields, click the “okay” button.

If there are errors, you will be informed by the application.

For safety reasons, if you have chosen "Backup the contents of the source directory" as task type, you will face the following WARNING message:

This is a reminder that the destination directory will finaly become a "clone" of the source. Any irrelevant-to-the-source data it might contain, will be lost !!

Next, the main window will regain focus, displaying the task you just created.

Note that the default include state of a freshly created task is FALSE (not included)

#
task properties (for the unsatisfied)

The task properties, as discussed at the previous chapter, are quite simple and straightforward. Now, it's time to have a much deeper look. If you haven't done it already (out of curiosity), do it now. Go ahead and press the advanced pushbutton at the “task properties” window. This will result in a resizing of the window and a display of much more information.

It is not as complicated as it looks !!

Description

You can optionaly add a description for the current task here.
This description will be displayed at the main window, as soon as a task is selected and can provide useful information without the need to open the task-properties dialog.

Exclude

This feature, allows the exclusion of certain file(s), folder(s), pattern(s) from the task. Everything declared here, will not be a part of the data transfer. It will be skipped.

NOTE that the this feature will be disabled if you select the Only Include option.

The Exclude tab is divided to:

1. Templates

Use the checkboxes to exclude the following at will:

- Temp folders.

  All folders named tmp. These are directories that are used for storing temporary data that you would not mind losing. For example /tmp.

  pattern used: **/*tmp*/

- cache folders.

  All folders named cache. These folders are used by various application or systems for storing cache data. Your browser for example, uses a cache folder.

  pattern used: **/*cache*/ & **/*Cache*/

- backup files.

  Backup files created by various applications. These are files whose filenames have a trailing “~”. For example if you open the text file “LotsOfText.txt” for editing, make changes and save it, then apart from the main file, another one will be created named “LotsOfText.txt~”. This is identical to the pre-modified “LotsOfText.txt” and is created automatically for backup/safety purposes.

  pattern used: **~

- mount directories.

  System normal mount points. These would be /media and /mnt. If you decide to use your “/” directory as source, then it would by wise to check this for various reasons. The most important one is to avoid backing up the destination onto its self!! Usually, the destination is a hard disk partition, different from the one that your distro is installed and your root directory (“/”) is located. This will be normally mounted at point /media or /mnt.

  Please see the WARNING at the end of this chapter.

  patterns used: /mnt/*/** & /media/*/**

- lost+found.

  System folders named lost+found.

  pattern used: **/lost+found*/

- system folders.

  These would be /var/run, /run, /proc, /dev and /sys. Again, you can use this option if you decide to backup your root folder (“/”). If it does not suit you and you want your own defined directories to be excluded, feel free to leave this unchecked and use the “user defined” way to declare anything.

  patterns used: /var/**, /run/**, /proc/** , /dev/** & /sys/**

- Trash.

  Directories named trash. These are directories where files that you delete are stored.

  patterns used: **/*trash*/ & **/*Trash*/

- .gvfs

  Directories named .gvfs. Normally, these are hidden directories inside home folders.

  pattern used: **/.gvfs/

Example of an “Exclude” tab :

2. User defined

You can declare anything you wish to be excluded from the task by adding it to the “exclude list” in the following way:

1. Use the text field located next to the add button to enter what is going to be excluded. If you find it handy, use the "launch pattern editor" button, located at the right of the text field, to open the graphical pattern editor.

2. Press the add button (or ENTER), to add the entered text to the exclude list.

Remove an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the remove button.

Edit an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the edit button.

- Change the item by using the keyboard.

- click the done button.

Move an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the move up or down button.

Patterns can also be read from a file !!

- Check the Read File box.
- Define, at the line-edit on its right, the full path of the exclusions file (use the "browse locally" button if you wish).

This file must contain one exclude pattern per line. Blank lines and lines starting with ‘;’ or ‘#’ are ignored.

An exclusion can be a file, a directory or a list of files/directories that follows a pattern.

Anything you add as an exclusion must follow the pattern rules, as described at the end of the chapter.

WARNING

DO NOT FORGET TO EXCLUDE THE DESTINATION

It is possible sometimes, for the destination to be included in the source. Meaning that the destination directory is a part of the source hierarchy of files.

examples:

source is your root directory (“/”) and destination is /media/backups/

source is your home directory and destination is /home/username/backup/

This will result in unwanted data transfer. The destination will be backed-up onto itself !!

To avoid such circumstances, do not forget, to add as an exclusion the destination directory or a folder that contains the destination directory.

Include

Use this feature, to define specific file(s), folder(s) or pattern(s) to be included by the transfer.
There are 2 modes of operation available:

1. Only include

Use this mode to backup/sync only specific file(s), folder(s) or pattern(s).

For example, you might not want to backup a whole directory structure but just a single file

...or a single directory

...or 2 single files and all the open-office writer documents within this directory structure

Everything that you declare here, and only that, will be taken into consideration when performing data transfers of the specific task and nothing more.

NOTE that if you enable this option, the Exclude feature will be disabled.

2. Normal include

Use this mode, to define file(s), folder(s) or pattern(s) that will not be excluded by the transfer.
concept - theory:
As the list of files/directories to transfer is built, luckybackup checks each name to be transferred against the list of include/exclude patterns in turn, and the first matching pattern is acted on:
if it is an exclude pattern, then that file is skipped;
if it is an include pattern then that filename is not skipped;
if no matching pattern is found, then the filename is not skipped.
Note that, when using the "recurse into directories" option, every subcomponent of every path is visited from the top down, so include/exclude patterns get applied recursively to each subcomponent's full name (e.g. to include “/foo/bar/baz” the subcomponents “/foo” and “/foo/bar” must not be excluded).
The exclude patterns actually short-circuit the directory traversal stage when luckybackup finds the files to send. If a pattern excludes a particular parent directory, it can render a deeper include pattern ineffectual because luckybackup did not descend through that excluded section of the hierarchy. This is particularly important when using a trailing ‘*’ rule. For instance, this won't work:
include: /some/path/this-file-will-not-be-found
include: /file-is-included
exclude: *
This fails because the parent directory “some” is excluded by the ‘*’ rule, so luckybackup never visits any of the files in the “some” or “some/path” directories. One solution is to ask for all directories in the hierarchy to be included by using a single rule: “include: */”, and perhaps use the --prune-empty-dirs option.
This technique is used at the only include mode. Another solution is to add specific include rules for all the parent dirs that need to be visited. For instance, this set of rules works fine:
include: /some/
include: /some/path/
include: /some/path/this-file-is-found
include: /file-also-included
include: *

Add

You can declare anything you wish to be included by the task, by adding it to the “include list” in the following way:

1. Use the text field located next to the add button to enter what is going to be included. If you find it handy, use the "launch pattern editor" button, located at the right of the text field, to open the graphical pattern editor.

2. Press the add button (or press ENTER), to add the entered text to the “only include” list.

Remove an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the remove button.

Edit an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the edit button.

- Change the item by using the keyboard.

- click the done button.

Move an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the move up or down button.

Read from file

Include patterns can also be read from a file !!

- Check the Read File box.
- Define, at the line-edit on its right, the full path of the inclusions file (use the "browse locally" button if you wish).

This file must contain one include pattern per line. Blank lines and lines starting with ‘;’ or ‘#’ are ignored.

An inclusion can be a file, a directory or a list of files/directories that follows a pattern.

Anything you add as an inclusion must follow the pattern rules, as described at the end of the chapter.

Options

luckyBackup uses some default rsync options to perform tasks. That is not obligatory. You can remove any option and add others as you wish by using the Command Options tab. This is divided in 2 sections

Templates

Here, you will find normal checkboxes. These refer to some typical rsync options.

Simply click a box to change its check state, so that to use or not the option(s) it refers to.

The checkboxes provided and the relevant options they refer to are as follows:

- Skip newer destination files refers to:

  -u, --update

  This forces rsync to skip any files which exist on the destination and have a modified time that is newer than the source file. (If an existing destination file has a modification time equal to the source file's, it will be updated if the sizes are different.)
  Note that this does not affect the copying of symlinks or other special files. Also, a difference of file format between the sender and receiver is always considered to be important enough for an update, no matter what date is on the objects. In other words, if the source has a directory where the destination has a file, the transfer would occur regardless of the timestamp.

- Delete files on the destination refers to:

  --delete

  This tells rsync to delete extraneous files from the destination side (ones that aren't on the source side), but only for the directories that are being synchronized. You must have asked rsync to send the whole directory (e.g. “dir” or “dir/”) without using a wildcard for the directory's contents (e.g. “dir/*”) since the wildcard is expanded by the shell and rsync thus gets a request to transfer individual files, not the files' parent directory.
  Files that are excluded from the transfer are NOT excluded from being deleted because of the automatic use of the --delete-excluded option.
  This option can be dangerous if used incorrectly! It is a very good idea to first try a run using the --dry-run option (-n) to see what files are going to be deleted.
  If the sending side (source) detects any I/O errors, then the deletion of any files at the destination will be automatically disabled. This is to prevent temporary filesystem failures (such as NFS errors) on the sending side causing a massive deletion of files on the destination. You can override this with the --ignore-errors option.

--delete-after

  Request that the file-deletions on the destination be done after the transfer has completed. This is useful if you are sending new per-directory merge files as a part of the transfer and you want their exclusions to take effect for the delete phase of the current transfer. It also forces rsync to use the old, non-incremental recursion algorithm that requires rsync to scan all the files in the transfer into memory at once (see –recursive).

--delete-excluded

  In addition to deleting the files on the receiving side that are not on the sending side, this tells rsync to also delete any files on the receiving side that are excluded.
  This option is added only if the “exclude groupbox” is activated.

- Recurse into directories refers to:

  -r, --recursive

  This tells rsync to copy directories recursively.
  Beginning with rsync 3.0.0, the recursive algorithm used is now an incremental scan that uses much less memory than before and begins the transfer after the scanning of the first few directories have been completed. This incremental scan only affects our recursion algorithm, and does not change a non-recursive transfer. It is also only possible when both ends of the transfer are at least version 3.0.0.
  Some options require rsync to know the full file list, so these options disable the incremental recursion mode. These include: --delete-before, --delete-after, --prune-empty-dirs, and --delay-updates.
  Incremental recursion can be disabled using the --no-inc-recursive option or its shorter --no-i-r alias.

- Preserve ownership, times refers to:

  -o, --owner

  This option causes rsync to set the owner of the destination file to be the same as the source file, but only if the receiving rsync is being run as the super-user (see also the --super and --fake-super options at the rsync man page). Without this option, the owner of new and/or transferred files are set to the invoking user on the receiving side.
  The preservation of ownership will associate matching names by default, but may fall back to using the ID number in some circumstances.

-g, --group

  This option causes rsync to set the group of the destination file to be the same as the source file. If the receiving program is not running as the super-user (or if --no-super was specified), only groups that the invoking user on the receiving side is a member of will be preserved. Without this option, the group is set to the default group of the invoking user on the receiving side.
  The preservation of group information will associate matching names by default, but may fall back to using the ID number in some circumstances.

-t, --times

  This tells rsync to transfer modification times along with the files and update them on the remote system. Note that if this option is not used, the optimization that excludes files that have not been modified cannot be effective; in other words, a missing -t will cause the next transfer to behave as if it used -I, causing all files to be updated (though rsync's delta-transfer algorithm will make the update fairly efficient if the files haven't actually changed, you're much better off using -t).

- Preserve permissions refers to:

  -p, --perms

  This option causes the receiving rsync to set the destination permissions to be the same as the source permissions.
  When this option is off, permissions are set as follows:

o
  Existing files (including updated files) retain their existing permissions, though the --executability option might change just the execute permission for the file.
o
  New files get their “normal” permission bits set to the source file's permissions masked with the receiving directory's default permissions (either the receiving process's umask, or the permissions specified via the destination directory's default ACL), and their special permission bits disabled except in the case where a new directory inherits a setgid bit from its parent directory.

  Thus, when --perms and --executability are both disabled, rsync's behavior is the same as that of other file-copy utilities, such as cp and tar.
  In summary: to give destination files (both old and new) the source permissions, use --perms.

- Preserve symlinks refers to:

  -l, --links

  When symlinks are encountered, recreate the symlink on the destination.

- Preserve device, special files refers to:

-D

  The -D option is equivalent to --devices –specials.
  --devices
  This option causes rsync to transfer character and block device files to the remote system to recreate these devices. This option has no effect if the receiving rsync is not run as the super-user.

--specials

  This option causes rsync to transfer special files such as named sockets and fifos.

- Preserve hard links refers to:

  -H, --hard-links

  This tells rsync to look for hard-linked files in the transfer and link together the corresponding files on the receiving side. Without this option, hard-linked files in the transfer are treated as though they were separate files.
  When you are updating a non-empty destination, this option only ensures that files that are hard-linked together on the source are hard-linked together on the destination. It does NOT currently endeavor to break already existing hard links on the destination that do not exist between the source files. Note, however, that if one or more extra-linked files have content changes, they will become unlinked when updated (assuming you are not using the --inplace option).
  Note that rsync can only detect hard links between files that are inside the transfer set. If rsync updates a file that has extra hard-link connections to files outside the transfer, that linkage will be broken. If you are tempted to use the --inplace option to avoid this breakage, be very careful that you know how your files are being updated so that you are certain that no unintended changes happen due to lingering hard links (and see the --inplace option for more caveats).
  If incremental recursion is active (see --recursive), rsync may transfer a missing hard-linked file before it finds that another link for that contents exists elsewhere in the hierarchy. This does not affect the accuracy of the transfer, just its efficiency. One way to avoid this is to disable incremental recursion using the --no-inc-recursive option.

- Ignore files the CVS way refers to:

  -C, --cvs-exclude

  This is a useful shorthand for excluding a broad range of files that you often don't want to transfer between systems. It uses a similar algorithm to CVS to determine if a file should be ignored.
  The exclude list is initialized to exclude the following items (these initial items are marked as perishable — see the FILTER RULES section):

  RCS SCCS CVS CVS.adm RCSLOG cvslog.* tags TAGS .make.state .nse_depinfo *~ #* .#* ,* _$* *$ *.old *.bak *.BAK *.orig *.rej .del-* *.a *.olb *.o *.obj *.so *.exe *.Z *.elc *.ln core .svn/ .git/ .bzr/

  then, files listed in a $HOME/.cvsignore are added to the list and any files listed in the CVSIGNORE environment variable (all cvsignore names are delimited by whitespace).
  Finally, any file is ignored if it is in the same directory as a .cvsignore file and matches one of the patterns listed therein. Unlike rsync's filter/exclude files, these patterns are split on whitespace. See the cvs(1) manual for more information.
  If you're combining -C with your own --filter rules, you should note that these CVS excludes are appended at the end of your own rules, regardless of where the -C was placed on the command-line. This makes them a lower priority than any rules you specified explicitly. If you want to control where these CVS excludes get inserted into your filter rules, you should omit the -C as a command-line option and use a combination of --filter=:C and --filter=-C (either on your command-line or by putting the “:C” and “-C” rules into a filter file with your other rules). The first option turns on the per-directory scanning for the .cvsignore file. The second option does a one-time import of the CVS excludes mentioned above

- Destination is FAT/NTFS refers to:

  -t, --modify-window=1

  This is a useful when the destination file system is FAT/NTFS (windows).
  When that is the case, many errors are encountered because windows file systems do not support all file atrributes that xNIX file systems do.
  Moreover, rsync will compare the timestamps of files and decide if it will trigger a transfer. These timestamps are treated as being equal if they differ by no more than the modify-window value. Windows filesystems represent times with a 2-second resolution. This sometimes leads to rsync always performing data transfer although it shouldn't. To avoid this, the modify-window is set to a larger value.
  Note that the following options:
  Preserve ownership, times
  Preserve permissions
  are automaticaly disabled.
  NOTE 2: FAT/NTFS partitions should be mounted using the options "shortname=mixed" and "utf8=true" (if UTF8 file names are used) to avoid further errors.

- Use numeric group & user IDs refers to:

  --numeric-ids

  With this option rsync will transfer numeric group and user IDs rather than using user and group names and mapping them at both ends.
  By default rsync will use the username and groupname to determine what ownership to give files. The special uid 0 and the special group 0 are never mapped via user/group names even if the --numeric-ids option is not specified.

- Attempt super-user activities refers to:

  --super

  This tells the receiving side to attempt super-user activities even if the receiving rsync wasn’t run by the super-user.
  These activities include: preserving users via the --owner option, preserving all groups (not just the current user’s groups) via the --groups option, and copying devices via the --devices option.
  This is useful for systems that allow such activities without being the super-user, and also for ensuring that you will get errors if the receiving side isn’t being run as the super-user.

User defined options

Add

You can add any rsync option you wish by adding it to the options list in the following way:

1. Use the text field located next to the add button to enter the option you would like to add.

   Type the option, starting with a “-” or a “--” (without the quotes), followed by the appropriate string. Do not enter spaces.

   Example: “ --xattrs ”

2. Press the add button (or press ENTER), to add the entered option to the “options” list.

Remove

Remove an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the remove button.

Edit an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the edit button.

- Change the item by using the keyboard.

- click the done button.

Move an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the move up or down button.

NOTE: Please refer to the man page of rsync for a complete reference of all possible options.

Remote

It is possible to use luckyBackup, not only for local transfers, but also for remote ones.

Data transferring either to or from a remote host is possible.

Tasks between 2 remote hosts is not supported.

To use this feature, simply check the Use remote host box located on top of the Remote tab.

Source or Destination

First, specify whether you want to use a remote host for your source or destination data by choosing an appropriate radio-button, located at the top of the Remote groupbox.

Please note, that the directory located at the remote host and will be used by luckyBackup as source or as destination, has to be declared at the appropriate text-edit fields, labeled source or destination accordingly, that are visible at “task properties - simple mode”.

user

Enter your username for the remote host at the user text-field.

host

Enter the name of the remote host you would like to connect to, at the @Host text-field.

Note that a host name can also be an ip address.

host names examples:

- freehosting.net

- 89.70.191.201

remote module

Connecting to an rsync module.

If you are contacting an rsync daemon at the remote system directly via TCP, then check the Remote module box.

Some modules on the remote daemon may require authentication.

luckyBackup, does not support either the definition of passwords as a task property (for security reasons), or the entry of passwords when prompted at the stage of a task execution (because it is possible for the specific task to be scheduled).

If a password is required by the remote daemon, then you have to create a password file and declare it at the relevant text-field (use the browse button to open a graphical file dialog and select your already created file).

The password file must not be world readable and it should contain just the password as a single line.

Please do not confuse the password to connect to an rsync module with the password needed if you use ssh as a transport shell.

ssh

If you use ssh as a transport shell to connect to the remote host then check the ssh box.

As clearly stated above (at the remote module section):

luckyBackup, does not support either the definition of passwords as a task property (for security reasons), or the entry of passwords when prompted at the stage of a task execution (because it is possible for the specific task to be scheduled).

For an ssh connection to become possible, you have to do all actions needed for a password-less connection, using an OpenSSH key pair.

However, if you still wish to use a direct password or protect your key with a passphrase, then you have to either:
1. Execute luckybackup from a terminal. Then, you will be prompted to enter your password/passphrase at that terminal and not via the gui. or...
2. Use the ssh-askpass tool (other variations such as ksshaskpass or ssh-askpass-gnome are possible).

Some helpful information on this ssh authentication scheme follows:

The public key authentication scheme is based on public-key cryptography, using cryptosystems where encryption and decryption are done using separate keys, and it is unfeasible to derive the decryption key from the encryption key.

The idea is that each user creates a public/private key pair for authentication purposes. The server knows the public key, and only the user knows the private key. ssh implements public key authentication protocol automatically, using either the RSA or DSA algorithms. The file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys lists the public keys that are permitted for logging in. When the user logs in, the ssh program tells the server which key pair it would like to use for authentication. The client proves that it has access to the private key and the server checks that the corresponding public key is authorized to accept the account.

example:

To create an appropriate public-private key pair, use the command

$ ssh-keygen

When prompted to enter a passphrase, just press “ENTER” twice (no passphrase).

This stores the private key in ~/.ssh/identity (protocol 1), ~/.ssh/id_dsa (protocol 2 DSA), or ~/.ssh/id_rsa (protocol 2 RSA) and stores the public key in ~/.ssh/identity.pub (protocol 1), ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub (protocol 2 DSA), or ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub (protocol 2 RSA) in your home directory.

Then copy the public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys in your home directory on the remote machine. The authorized_keys file corresponds to the conventional ~/.rhosts file, and has one key per line, though the lines can be very long. After this, you can log in without giving the password.

Please refer to the man page of ssh for a complete reference of ssh connections.

Enter the full path of your private key file at the private key file text-field (use the browse button to open a graphical file dialog if you wish).

Finally, specify the port to connect to, on the remote host, by entering its number at the port text-field. Leave it blank for the default ssh port (normally no.22).

Also Execute

This option is used for the situation that you wish to run some commands before and/or after the task execution.

add

- Select the “before” or “after” section according to whether you wish commands to be executed before or after the task.
- Type the full name of the command, as well as any arguments at the text field.
- Click the add button, to add it to the list.

Remove an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the remove button.

Edit an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the edit button.

- Change the item by using the keyboard.

- click the done button.

Move an item:

- click on it to highlight it

- click the move up or down button.

STOP check boxes

On the left side of every command, there is a check-box available.
Check this to stop the task execution if the command exits with an error.

Repeat on Fail

This option allows any command that fails, to run again. The re-run times number is set by using the spinbox.
command is any pre-task, main rsync or post-task command.
fail, when referring to pre or post task commands, means that the command exited with an exit status other than 0 (zero) or it completely failed to start.
When it refers to main rsync commands, a fail means that the command failed to start completely or it exited with one of the following errors:
5 - Error starting client-server protocol
12 - Error in rsync protocol data stream
30 - Timeout in data send/receive
35 - Timeout waiting for daemon connection
255 - unexplained error

by-pass warning

Checking this box means that all security checks that refer to this task will be skipped.
The task will run even if it appears with a WARNING message.
The checks by-pass, can be used when some pre-task execution commands can overcome possible warnings (eg mount a partition).

BEWARE: Only use this option if you really (I mean really) know what you are doing.

WARNING : The Dry-run feature only affects the main task and NOT pre/post command which are going to be executed normally !!.

complex commands

Please note that luckybackup only supports the direct declaration of a command and its arguments. Complex command syntax is not (yet) supported.
This includes the use of pipelines (|) or backtits (`) or even redirect of a command's output with ">".
If you wish to use a "complex" syntax please create a bash script that contains your command(s) and enter the name of the script at the "also execute" field.

Validate

The validate pushbutton can prove useful, if you wish to perform some initial checks to all the fields you have declared at the task properties window.

As soon as you click the validate button, a pop-up message will apear, informing you of any errors or warnings found.

In addition to this, it will display the actual command that is going to be executed.
Click the copy command to clipboard button to be able to paste it wherever...
Click the Okay button to close this dialog.

Pattern rules

Patterns entered in the “Task properties” window must follow these rules:

-   If the pattern starts with a /
    then it is anchored to a particular spot in the hierarchy of files, otherwise it is matched against the end of the pathname. This is similar to a leading ^ in regular expressions.
    Thus “/foo” would match a name of “foo” at the “root of the transfer". If you think of the transfer as a subtree of names that are being sent from sender to receiver, the transfer-root is where the tree starts to be duplicated in the destination directory. Because the matching is relative to the transfer-root, changing the type of the backup affects the path you need to use in your matching.
    An unqualified “foo” would match a name of “foo” anywhere in the tree because the algorithm is applied recursively from the top down; it behaves as if each path component gets a turn at being the end of the filename. Even the unanchored “sub/foo” would match at any point in the hierarchy where a “foo” was found within a directory named “sub”.
-   if the pattern ends with a /
    then it will only match a directory, not a regular file, symlink, or device.
-   choosing between doing a simple string match and wildcard matching is done by checking if the pattern contains one of these 3 wildcard characters: ‘*’, ‘?’, and ‘[’.
-   *
    matches any non-empty path component (it stops at slashes).
-   **
    matches anything, including slashes.
-   ?
    matches any character except a slash (/).
-   [
    introduces a character class, such as [a-z] or [[:alpha:]].
-   in a wildcard pattern, a backslash can be used to escape a wildcard character, but it is matched literally when no wildcards are present.
-   if the pattern contains a / (not counting a trailing /) or a “**”
    then it is matched against the full pathname, including any leading directories. If the pattern doesn't contain a / or a “**”, then it is matched only against the final component of the filename. (Remember that the algorithm is applied recursively so “full filename” can actually be any portion of a path from the starting directory on down.)
-   trailing “dir_name/***”
    matches both the directory (as if “dir_name/” had been specified) and everything in the directory (as if “dir_name/**” had been specified). You need rsync version 2.6 or later for this option.

The pattern editor

The pattern editor makes the definition of patterns much easier (...for some people).
You can just select the options you wish, using a graphical user interface (gui) and a pattern will be produced automatically and displayed at the final pattern field.
After having all the relevant fields of the gui filled, click the okay button to insert the final pattern at its final destination (eg an exclude/include pattern).
Click the reset button, any time, to reset all fields of the editor.
Have in mind the its abilities are restricted to simple and most frequently used patterns.
Not all possible pattern rules can be defined by this editor.
NOTE: The patterns that the pattern editor produces are for specific source and task type. If these change, the patterns have to be re-declared.

Specific directory

Use this if you want the pattern to refer to a specific directory.
Click the browse localy button to select the directory you want the pattern to refer to.
eg /home/luckyb/Downloads/
Check the Directory contents box for the pattern to refer to the contents of this directory.
eg The contents of directory /home/luckyb/Downloads/
NOTE: If you use the pattern editor to define an only include directory, the Directory contents box has to be checked.

Specific file

Use this if you want the pattern to refer to a specific file.
Click the browse localy button to select the file you want the pattern to refer to.
eg /home/luckyb/Downloads/video.avi

Set of directories

Use this if you want the pattern to refer to a set of directories that their names have something in common, no matter their location inside the directory tree.
eg To refer to :
* all the directories that their name contains the characters "videos" (videos, videos_1, videos_2, my_videos etc): Type videos at the contains : field.
* all the directories that their name starts with the characters "vid" (videos, videos_1, videos_2, vids etc): Type vid at the starts with : field.
* all the directories that their name is exactly "videos" (videos...): Type videos at the is exactly : field.

If you wish to anchor the pattern to the root of the transfer, check the use absolute path box.
eg
To refer to all directories that their name contains the characters "videos" and are inside "/home/luckyb/Downloads" :
1. Check the "use absolute path" box.
2. Use the "browse localy" button to select the directory "/home/luckyb/Downloads".
3. Type "videos" at the "contains :" field.

When the use absolute path box is selected, the pattern will only take into consideration, directories that are one level below the declared folder.
To refer to deeper levels of the directory tree, use the go deeper in path by spinbox.
eg:
The diredtory "/home/luckyb/Downloads", contains 3 sub-directories:
* Loukas (/home/luckyb/Downloads/Loukas/)
* Dimitra (/home/luckyb/Downloads/Dimitra/)
* Maria (/home/luckyb/Downloads/Maria/)
Each one of those 3, contain lots of stuff amongst whom one directory named "music".
To refer to all these directories that their name is "music" and are one level below "/home/luckyb/Downloads" :
1. Check the "use absolute path" box.
2. Use the "browse localy" button to select the directory "/home/luckyb/Downloads".
3. Type "music" at the "is exactly :" field.
4. Select "1" at the "go deeper in path by :" spin-box.
You can also check the any box to go deeper in path by any level.

Set of files

Use this if you want the pattern to refer to a set of files that their names have something in common, no matter their location inside the directory tree.
eg
To refer to all files that have ".avi" as an extension, type .avi at the ends with : field.
All options mentioned at the Set of directories section are valid, except the "Directory contents".

#
not just ready yet

So, you have managed to create a number of tasks and you are ready to execute all or some of them.

Before doing so, you might want to review the following:

Include state

Change the include state of any existing task

- Just click on an include checkbox, at the left of an task's name to change its state to included (checked) or not included (unchecked)

Have in mind that only included tasks will be executed.

Also note that the include state is a basic property of a task, together with its name. Both these properties are saved inside a profile.

As soon as you “include” a task you will notice that there is an icon at the left of the task's name as well as some text displaying in the information window:

declared data check

A directories check will be performed instantly. All declared folders will be checked to see if they are empty or if they exist and luckyBackup will warn you accordingly.

This task is performed to protect your data, either source or already made backups.

Please note that directory pairs statuses are divided into 3 categories:

1. ok: Both dirs are ok.

You are ready to go as far as this pair is concerned.

2. WARNING: This task will be skipped to avoid doing something stupid with your data !!

The declared source directory does not contain any data or does not exist at all. Most possible situation, is that you have forgotten to mount a partition or have just mistyped a path. You wouldn't like the foolish rsync command to make your already existent 500GB backup (that took 2 days to create), vanish in a second so as to look the same with an empty directory !!

3. CRITICAL: This task will NOT BE SKIPPED.

The declared destination directory does not contain any data or does not exist at all. Most possible situation, is that you have forgotten to mount a partition or have just mistyped a path. Of course it might be the first time you perform the specific task, and you just want you destination folder to be created or fill with new data if it's empty.

Beware if it's not the first time you perform this task.

ADVICE: Spend some time and have a good look at this window. Then decide wisely whether to “Go on” and execute a bunch of rsync commands, or not and try to fix the errors that cause the “bad” status messages.

Execution order

Tasks of a profile are executed sequentially, one by one at the order that they appear at the task list.

You can change the execution order of the tasks within a profile:

- Click on an task to highlight it.

- Press the up/down arrow keys located at the right of the “Task List” to change its position inside the list.

Save profile

Now is good time (actually, every time you change something regarding a profile is a good time) to save the profile you created.

- Click on the “save” button or select “Profile → save” from the menu or just press ctrl+S .

#
run

After all this preparation you are ready to have a go.

Well, just a final thought that might save you from a lot of trouble. That would be a...

simulation execution

If you are unsure of the effects on your data when executing an rsync command try the simulation option. luckyBackup will perform a trial run that doesn't make any changes (and produces mostly the same output as a real run).

Note: The progress-bar might be misleading when using this.

WARNING : The Dry-run feature only affects the main task and NOT pre/post commands which are going to be executed normally !!.

- Check the “dry” check-box to enable this option.

Go on now. Click on that big purple button button that is clearly labeled: Run.

task list check

For safety reasons, luckybackup will first check the task list for “errors” and pop up a relevant warning message if something is found unsatisfactory.

For example if you haven't included any tasks, you will get a warning message at the information window.

The most important check of all is the one of many tasks that share the same destination.

When luckyBackup performs a task the “normal” way (meaning, you were not tempted to click that “advanced” button and change stuff), you end up with a destination directory that is identical to the source. Any file that existed at the destination and did not at the source, will be deleted.

Now imagine the situation of creating a number of tasks with different sources, the same destination (for example /media/backups) and “backup dir contents” as task type.

The first task will execute ok resulting to a “cloned source” destination.

The second task will clone the source again (which is different this time) to the same destination directory. This means the first task's backup will be lost. The second task will cancel the first.

“backup dir by name” should have been selected as task type, so as to end up with the destination directory containing all the sources of your tasks as sub-folders.

So do not be surprised if you face the following warning message as soon as you press the “start” button.

#
normal run

Well, you've done it. You wisely chose to “Run” and let the party begin. The main window fills with scrolling data calculating and transferring, messages and the progress-bar shows the progress of the current task (not in simulation mode):

NOTE : The application window cannot be closed while task execution is in progress. If the window close button is clicked, luckyBackup will minimize to the tray area just like in silent mode.

Smash the “ABORT” pushbutton any time during the execution of tasks if you feel like something is going wrong (or just want to see what will happen :-p).

Press the "shutdown” pushbutton down to shutdown your system as soon as the execution of all tasks finishes.

All done

As soon as all tasks are complete you will face the following window.

Please notice that a log file is created every time you come along this window. It is hosted in your home directory under ~/.luckyBackup/logs and can be viewed easily by using the luckybackup logviewer or any text file viewer.

#
silent mode

Silent, as the word describes, is that mode when luckybackup is executed in a discrete way.
The application main window is not shown at all.
Instead, an icon appears at the tray notification area, together with a bubble message that informs the user of current action.
kde users will get feedback via their graphical environment's tray notification system.

Silent mode can be invoked by using the --silent argument. eg:

luckybackup --silent [profile]

Please refer to the terminal arguments chapter for a full [options] and [profile] description and usage.
After the profile execution is finished, the tray notification icon will stay there for a few seconds and then disappear, freeing the system's memory from any luckybackup process.
In simple words, the app will exit.
Click on the icon, any time during profile execution for the main application window to show.
NOTE that if you do, luckybackup will not exit as it would normally do.
The silent mode can prove quite useful when executing luckybackup via cron or anacron or as part a bash script.
Each time the job is run, you will be informed by the icon and the bubble message.

#
terminal lovers

For those of you that for any reason would like to execute luckyBackup without a graphical user interface (gui), it is possible to run it in...

command-line mode

Command-line mode can be quite useful at systems where a graphical desktop is not available (eg servers).
Note, that no graphical libraries are needed when running luckybackup in this mode.
It can safely be used at a terminal.
The creation of profiles, using this mode is not supported.
First, you have to have an already created profile by using the gui.
Then, just type the command:

luckybackup [options] [profile]

Please refer to the terminal arguments chapter for a full [options] and [profile] description.

The options that invoke the command-line mode are:

- -c
- --no-questions

When the execution of a profile at command-line mode finishes, the application provides the following error codes:
1: Something wrong with the arguments given at CL
2: The profile failed to load for a reason
3: Something is wrong with the task list (eg there is nothing to execute)
4: Something is wrong withe the declared directories
6: Errors found at rsync execution (or pre/post commands execution if any)
0: No errors - Everything went ok

#
schedule

It is possible for luckyBackup to “make arrangements” for specific profiles to be executed at regular intervals automatically, without the need to run the gui of the application.

If you wish to take advantage of that feature, click on the schedule button located at the toolbar of the main window or select schedule from the profile menu.

add

To add a new schedule, click the add button and define the following:

1. Profile declaration

   Select an already existent profile from the Profile list.

2. Skip critical

   As described earlier, before the actual execution of tasks, luckyBackup first checks all declared data for errors and produces relevant messages. Those, that appear with a WARNING message are skipped anyway to protect your data. But those with a CRITICAL message, although suspect, are not going to be skipped. If you wish the latter to be skipped at schedules then check the skip critical box.

   The default and advised state of this check-box is checked (meaning skip all tasks that appear with a critical message).

   Please refer to chapter declared data check for more information about messages.

3. Console-mode

   Check this box if you wish this schedule to be executed in command-line mode.
   Use this if there is no graphical environment available at your system (eg server).
   Also use this option if there is a graphical environment available but you wish not to grant permission, to the user that runs luckybackup, to use it. This is almost always true for the super-user (see also troubleshooting).

4. Execute every

   It is possible to schedule a specific profile to execute at a specific time, at specific intervals by declaring the following:

- Month & day of month

  Declare the specific date you wish your profile to be executed, by selecting the relevant month & day of month (for example every February the 26th).

  If you do not wish to use this option leave both listboxes to Any.

- Day of week

  Choose the day of week, you wish your profile to be executed (for example every Sunday). If you do not wish to use this option leave it to Any.

  NOTE: If you use both “Month & day of month” and “Day of Week” then the profile will be executed when at least one of them matches the relevant time criteria. For example if you declare “every February the 26th “ as well as “every Sunday”, the schedule will run every Sunday and every February 26th.

  TIP: If you wish the schedule to run every day, leave all 3 fields to Any.

- Time

  Declare the specific time at which you want a profile to be executed by entering appropriate data at the hour & minute boxes. Use the up/down arrows if you find them handy. e.g. for execution at time 17:45, enter hour:17 & minute:45.
  If you wish the profile to run on an hourly basis, set the hour value to -1

6. @reboot

   For the profile to be executed once, at system startup, check the @reboot box.
   Adjust the delay minutes to give your system enough time to settle.

7. add

   To finish the procedure of adding a new schedule, click the okay pushbutton.

   A new line will appear at the window above “Profile execution details”, stating the profile you have chosen and when this is scheduled for execution.

modify

To modify an existing schedule:

1. Select a schedule at the window, so that it is highlighted and click the modify button.

2. Change everything at your will and click the okay button when you're finished.

remove

1. Click on a schedule at the window to highlight it.

2. Click the remove pushbutton.

cronIT

Whenever you have finished adding, modifying, removing schedules click the cronIT pushbutton for the changes to take effect at your system.

crontab info

luckyBackup uses the current user's crontab to schedule the execution of profiles.

Please do not confuse that with the file /etc/crontab or anacron. If you wish to use these instead, you must manually alter relevant configuration files by adding lines that will execute luckyBackup in silent or command-line mode.

See the man pages of cron and crontab (1 & 5) for more details.

To display the current crontab, click the view current crontab pushbutton located at the bottom left of the dialog.

luckyBackup uses the current user's crontab to schedule the execution of profiles.

Troubleshooting sheduled backups

1: cron user permissions
If the /etc/cron.allow file exists, then you must be listed there in order to be allowed to use this feature. If the /etc/cron.allow file does not exist but the /etc/cron.deny file does exist, then you must not be listed in the /etc/cron.deny file in order to use this feature. If neither of these files exist, then depending on system-dependent configuration parameters, only the super user, or all users will be able to use this feature. For standard Debian systems, all users may use this feature.

Some useful (terminal/console) commands:

- crontab -l

  causes the current crontab to be displayed on standard output.

- crontab -r

  causes the current crontab to be removed.

2: X-Server user permissions
It is essential for a user to execute luckybackup in silent mode via cron, to be allowed to connect to the X-server.
For security issues, this is most of the times NOT the case for the super user and will be reported at the cronLogfile (see log-file below) as:
Invalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1
or
No protocol specified
luckybackup: cannot connect to X server :0
Please refer to unix/linux commands XAUTH and XHOST for a full understanding of X-Server access control issues.
If you do NOT wish to use the X-server, the console-mode option is a nice workaround. Please note that no visual feeback will be available during profile execution.

3: cron locale settings
If one or more profiles or tasks contain specific language characters (eg Greek, Cyrillic etc) then it is possible for a cronjob regarding these specific profile(s) or task(s) to NOT execute correctly, leaving a process named "luckybackup" running with no results.
This is due to cron locale settings and can be confirmed by running the command:
locale
both directly at a terminal and via a cronjob. The ouptut of the terminal command will look normal (eg LC_CTYPE="en_US.UTF-8") but the output of the cronjob will not (eg LC_CTYPE="POSIX").
workaround:
Create (if not already present) the file /etc/environment and add the following line
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
The cron process will read this file when it starts, so you need to restart it in order to apply the change:
service cron restart

4: luckyBackup own cron config file
luckyBackup saves all the information of the “schedule dialog” at its own configuration file every time you click the cronIT button. That is irrelevant with the system's crontab and has the following effects:

- luckyBackup does not interfere with other (if any) entries of your crontab. It just adds/changes/removes its own entries without affecting anything.

- If you alter or remove your crontab manually and accidentally delete luckyBackup entries, you can still open the “schedule dialog” (all the information will appear) and click “cronIT” for the deleted entries to recover.

- If you wish to delete all luckyBackup entries from your crontab, open the “schedule dialog”, “remove” everything and click “cronIT”.

5: ubuntu users

Ubuntu based distros might not get a icon at the notification area during a scheduled run followed by the error:
Warning: "sni-qt/XXXX" WARN YY:YY:YY.YYY void StatusNotifierItemFactory::connectToSnw() Invalid interface to SNW_SERVICE
workaround:
Manually add the following text at your crontab just after the time columns:
eval "export $(egrep -z DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS /proc/$(pgrep -u $LOGNAME gnome-session)/environ)" &&
example crontab line after the above insertion (I know, it's long):
0 0 * * * eval "export $(egrep -z DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS /proc/$(pgrep -u $LOGNAME gnome-session)/environ)" &&
env DISPLAY=:0 /usr/bin/luckybackup --silent --skip-critical /home/luckyb/.luckyBackup/profiles/default.profile > /home/luckyb/.luckyBackup/logs/default-LastCronLog.log 2>&1
Furthermore, if you wish the notification to be displayed inside the active window (yes, it can get even longer !!):
0 0 * * * eval "export $(egrep -z DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS /proc/$(pgrep -u $LOGNAME gnome-session)/environ)" &&
gsettings set com.canonical.notify-osd multihead-mode focus-follow &&
env DISPLAY=:0 /usr/bin/luckybackup --silent --skip-critical /home/luckyb/.luckyBackup/profiles/default.profile > /home/luckyb/.luckyBackup/logs/default-LastCronLog.log 2>&1

log-file

The output of execution of scheduled profiles is saved in the following log file located at your home directory:

~/.luckyBackup/logs/PROFILENAME-LastCronLog.log
This is different from the normal log-file which will be created as well.
The cron logfile can prove handy to extract information about the cronjob itself

~/.luckyBackup/logs/PROFILENAME-LastCronLog.log
This is different from the normal log-file which will be created as well.
The cron logfile can prove handy to extract information about the cronjob itself

#
e-mail

luckyBackup can use already installed tools to send e-mail reports after a profile execution.

If you wish to take advantage of that feature, click on the email button located at the toolbar of the main window or select email from the profile menu.
After having finished editing the fields, click the "Okay" button to accept any changes and close the dialog.

command

This field is used to define the full command with arguments to run so that an email is sent.

Although luckyBackup uses "sendemail" as default, you can use any command-line email tool you wish. Some examples follow:

- sendemail (default)
- mail
- mutt
- pine

To revert this field to the default value which is:
sendemail -f %f -t %t -u %s -m %b -a %l -s %v
click the use default button, on the right
See also the arguments section of this chapter.

NOTE on cron: Depending on your distro, the mail command (eg sendemail) may not execute via cron due to a different location !!
eg cron is set up to only look at /usr/bin/ but sendemail is located under /user/local/bin/
workaround: Create a symlink eg # ln -sf /usr/local/bin/sendEmail /usr/bin/sendEmail

conditions

Define here, various conditions that have to be met for an email message to be sent.

1. Never

   Check this to never send a message.
   Leave unchecked to enable email sending after a profile run.

2. Error(s) occurred

   Check this to only send an email when errors occurred during a profile run.
   If the total number of errors is zero, no message will be sent

3. Scheduled

   Check this to only send an email when the profile is run from within a cronjob.

arguments

Instead of typing normal text at the provided fields, you can type the percentage symbol (%), followed by a letter, to use one of the available variables.
In simple words, if you use a %[VARIABLE] syntax, this will be replaced by the corresponding value.
eg instead of typing the profile name, you can just enter %p
These variables are divided to 2 categories

1. Editable
The value of these variables is defined by the user.
2. pre-defined
These refer to system or application defined variables that the user cannot change.

Note that it is possible to use a variable inside a definition of another variable.
eg see "body"

Available variables:

- from

  reference: %f
  Enter the email address of the sender at the available field and use it as the variable value.

- to

  reference: %t
  Enter the email address of the recipient at the available field to and use it as the variable value.

- subject

  reference: %s
  Enter the subject of the message at the available field to and use it as the variable value.
  To revert this field to the default value which is:
  luckyBackup report
  click the use default button, on the right

- smtp

  reference: %v
  Use the available field to enter the smtp server address and use it as the variable value.

- body

  reference: %b
  Use the available field to enter the body of the message and use it as the variable value.
  To revert this field to the default value which is:
  Profile: %p
  Date: %d
  Time: %i
  Errors found: %e
  click the use default button, on the right

- logfile

  reference: %l
  The value of this variable reflects the actual (full path) filename of the logfile.
  Note that normally individual logfiles for each task are created after a profile run.
  These are merged into a single one before the send process.

- date

  reference: %d
  The date at the specific moment the profile run.

- time

  reference: %i
  The time at the specific moment the profile run.

- profile name

  reference: %p
  The profile name.

- No of errors

  reference: %e
  The value of this variable reflects the total number of errors that occurred during the profile run.

test

Use the test button any time to send a message with the arguments provided.
The message will be sent as soon as the button is clicked.
A dialog will provide feedback about the email command run result.

logging

A couple of logfiles are available after an email is sent and located at the user's home directory (~): ~/.luckyBackup/logs

1. profile run output
   This contains all the task's commands output.
   It's contents are exactly the same with the command's output window.
   It's filename is [PROFILE_NAME]-email.log

2. email run output
   The contents of this logfile contain the result of the last email attempt.
   It's filename is [PROFILE_NAME]-email-LastLog.log

#
The manage backup/sync task

This feature is used to manage already created backups.
Various tasks can be accomplished through the manage dialog, such as:

- Browse the destination and source
- View the log of a backup/sync task
- Delete a backup
- Restore

To launch the manage dialog:

1. Highlight the task you wish to manage its backups.
2. Select task -> Manage Backup from the main window menu

At the top of the window, the current profile and task are displayed.
On the left top side, there is a list of the backup snapshots of the task created so far.
You can select a snapshot by left clicking on the corresponding date-time field.
On the right, two browsers display the contents of the destination and source.
NOTE that the destination refers to the selected snapshot.
It is possible to change the browsers view so as only destination is visible, by checking the hide source box.

Beneath the snapshots area there are buttons that perform various actions.
These actions refer to the selected snapshot.

View log

Click the view log button to launch the log viewer for the selected snapshot

All the task execution progress of the specific snapshot is displayed.
Use the window scroll bar to navigate within the logfile.

If there were errors during the task execution, you can jump to them by using the next/previous error buttons.

Errors are displayed in red color.
Information lines are displayed in magenta or blue color.

Calculate differences

Click the Calculate differences button for all the differneces between the source and the selected snapshot to be displayed.

There are 3 different categories of differences:
Snapshot data that also exists at the source and is different
These snapshot data displayed in blue color, will replace the relevant source data during a RESTORE procedure
Snapshot data that do NOT exist at the source
These snapshot data displayed in green color, will be transferred over at the source during RESTORE
Source data that do NOT exist at the snapshot
These data that belongs to the source and is displayed in magenta color, will be deleted during RESTORE only if you enable the option: "delete existing source data that do not exist at the backup"

delete backup

Click the delete pushbutton to wipe out the selected snapshot.
You will first be WARNED by a dialog. This is the first and last WARNING you will receive.

Click the start button to proceed to backup data deletion.

NOTE:
1. If more than one snapshots exist, you can ONLY delete the earliest made snapshot.
2. If only one snapshot exists, the whole backup wil be deleted.

restore

The restore button's purpose is to transfer your data
from the selected backup created at a specific date & time (snapshot),
back to its original location (source).

Before you click the start button for the transfer to take place, take a minute to consider the following options:
1. Delete existing source data that do not exist at the backup
This option is disabled by default.
If you leave it unchecked, the backup files will replace the corresponding source files.
Any source files that do not exist at the backup (eg files created after the snapshot) will not be deleted.
If you enable this option, all source data will be replaced by the backup.
You will end up with the source being identical to the snapshot.
That means that your original data will become exactly the same as it was at the moment you created the snapshot.

2. Simulation
Check this option to perform a dry-run.
You will be presented by (mostly) the same output as a real run, but no data transfer will take place.

3. Change the restore path
It is possible to not restore the backup to its original place but anywhere.
Click the change pushbutton for a file browser to appear.
Select the new directory to restore the backup snapshot to and click ok.

#
restore

The main goal of luckyBackup, as its name states, is the creation of backups of your data.

Somebody once said:

“ if you haven't backed up your data is like not having them at all !! ”

That is because, based at the laws of probability, some time, for some reason, something will happen and you will lose valuable data. Another guy once said:

“ computer users can be divided into 2 categories:

Those that have lost data

...and those that have not lost data YET ”

I really wish you to never come to that situation.

But if you do, then I hope that you backed up your data the very last minute either by using this application or not :-)

profiles restoration

As explained earlier, all profile, logs and snapshot data are stored inside the user's home directory, under ~/.luckyBackup/
It is essential to understand that all luckybackup automated restore procedures must make use of these data. Because of that importance, a backup of all task-related files is performed after each task finishes at the destination directory, under folder:
DESTINATION/.luckybackup-snaphots/PROFILENAME.profile/
In case profile files, logs and snapshot data are lost for any reason from inside your home directory, you can always import them back by using the import profile procedure and navigating to the task's destination under .luckybackup-snaphots/.

### ways to restore your data:

1. restore wizard

This method is thoroughly described at the manage backup - restore chapter of this manual.

2. restore task

The second restore procedure that luckyBackup utilizes is actually a normal task that is created from the original one with some crucial changes:

- The task name is changed so that it is distinguished from the original.

- A swap between the source and the destination is performed so that the destination becomes the source and the other way round.

- The “skip newer destination files” box, at the “options” groupbox of the modify task widow, is unchecked so that every file of the backup replaces the one that exists at the original data.

The advantage of this method over the restore wizard is that you have full control of the situation.
Modify the restore task as you wish by using the modify dialog.

If you wish to create a restore task then proceed to the following:

1. At the application's main window, click on a task to highlight it and then select Create Restore Task from the task menu.

2. You will face the following message box:

Click ok to proceed.

3. Another “task properties” window will appear. This is the restore task and it differs from the original at the 3 points just stated (name, source & destination, “skip newer files” option).

4. Change anything at your will (or just leave it as it is) and click the “Okay” button to create the RESTORE task.

5. Execute the RESTORE task as usual to restore your data at its original place.

# Epilogue

Wish you good, fast, reliable, safe and usable backups

(no matter if you use luckyBackup or not)

luckyb :-)