restic/doc/faq.rst
Antoine Beaupré 7a0b4428e3
add explanation of restic automation
every time i look at restic, i block on this and figured it may be useful for others
2017-09-16 10:17:36 -04:00

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FAQ
===
This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions for restic.
``restic check`` reports packs that aren't referenced in any index, is my repository broken?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When ``restic check`` reports that there are pack files in the
repository that are not referenced in any index, that's (in contrast to
what restic reports at the moment) not a source for concern. The output
looks like this:
::
$ restic check
Create exclusive lock for repository
Load indexes
Check all packs
pack 819a9a52e4f51230afa89aefbf90df37fb70996337ae57e6f7a822959206a85e: not referenced in any index
pack de299e69fb075354a3775b6b045d152387201f1cdc229c31d1caa34c3b340141: not referenced in any index
Check snapshots, trees and blobs
Fatal: repository contains errors
The message means that there is more data stored in the repo than
strictly necessary. With high probability this is duplicate data. In
order to clean it up, the command ``restic prune`` can be used. The
cause of this bug is not yet known.
How can I specify encryption passwords automatically?
-----------------------------------------------------
When you run ``restict create``, you need to enter the passphrase on
the console. This is not very convenient for automated backups, so you
can also provide the password through the ``--password-file`` option
or ``RESTIC_PASSWORD`` environment. A discussion is in progress over
implementing unattended backups happens in :issue:`533`.
.. important:: Be careful how you set the environment; using the env
command, a `system()` call or using inline shell
scripts (e.g. `RESTIC_PASSWORD=password borg ...`)
might expose the credentials in the process list
directly and they will be readable to all users on a
system. Using export in a shell script file should be
safe, however, as the environment of a process is
`accessible only to that user`_.
.. _accessible only to that user: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/14000/environment-variable-accessibility-in-linux/14009#14009