Encrypted Deduplicated Backups with Borg
Initialize a Borg repository and create incremental, encrypted backups of your folders to an external drive or remote host.
Run borg init --encryption=repokey /mnt/backup/borg once, then borg create /mnt/backup/borg::{now} ~/Documents for each backup.
01Command
Command
$ borg init --encryption=repokey /mnt/backup/borg && borg create --progress /mnt/backup/borg::{now} ~/Documents02What it does
Borg stores each backup as a named archive in a repository, deduplicating unchanged data so repeated runs are fast and small, and encrypting everything with the passphrase stored in the repokey. The ::{now} suffix names each archive with a timestamp; list them with borg list and restore with borg extract. Because it's incremental and cheap, running borg create daily from a cron job or systemd timer is the realistic way to keep backups current.
03Risk
!Warning: If you lose the passphrase you lose every byte of the backup — store it in a password manager; and a backup isn't verified until you've tested borg extract on another machine.
04Undo
Undo
$ borg list /mnt/backup/borg && borg delete /mnt/backup/borg::<archive-name>05Sources
- Borg — Quick StartEvidence: Official quickstart showing borg init --encryption, borg create with {now} placeholders, and repository usage.
- Borg create — Command documentationEvidence: Reference for borg create including archive naming, progress output, and exclude patterns.
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Security & Privacy