I have set up a remote REST server instance to work with RESTIC.
However, after the server is configured, I try to access it with this command and I get an error :
[root@centos-7 ~]# restic -r rest:http://amanda-server:8000
restic is a backup program which allows saving multiple revisions of files and
directories in an encrypted repository stored on different backends.
Usage:
restic [command]
Available Commands:
backup Create a new backup of files and/or directories
cache Operate on local cache directories
cat Print internal objects to stdout
check Check the repository for errors
diff Show differences between two snapshots
dump Print a backed-up file to stdout
find Find a file, a directory or restic IDs
forget Remove snapshots from the repository
generate Generate manual pages and auto-completion files (bash, zsh)
help Help about any command
init Initialize a new repository
key Manage keys (passwords)
list List objects in the repository
ls List files in a snapshot
migrate Apply migrations
mount Mount the repository
prune Remove unneeded data from the repository
rebuild-index Build a new index file
recover Recover data from the repository
restore Extract the data from a snapshot
self-update Update the restic binary
snapshots List all snapshots
stats Scan the repository and show basic statistics
tag Modify tags on snapshots
unlock Remove locks other processes created
version Print version information
Flags:
--cacert file file to load root certificates from (default: use system certificates)
--cache-dir string set the cache directory. (default: use system default cache directory)
--cleanup-cache auto remove old cache directories
-h, --help help for restic
--json set output mode to JSON for commands that support it
--key-hint string key ID of key to try decrypting first (default: $RESTIC_KEY_HINT)
--limit-download int limits downloads to a maximum rate in KiB/s. (default: unlimited)
--limit-upload int limits uploads to a maximum rate in KiB/s. (default: unlimited)
--no-cache do not use a local cache
--no-lock do not lock the repo, this allows some operations on read-only repos
-o, --option key=value set extended option (key=value, can be specified multiple times)
--password-command string specify a shell command to obtain a password (default: $RESTIC_PASSWORD_COMMAND)
-p, --password-file string read the repository password from a file (default: $RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE)
-q, --quiet do not output comprehensive progress report
-r, --repo string repository to backup to or restore from (default: $RESTIC_REPOSITORY)
--tls-client-cert string path to a file containing PEM encoded TLS client certificate and private key
-v, --verbose n be verbose (specify --verbose multiple times or level n)
Use "restic [command] --help" for more information about a command.
[root@centos-7 ~]#
How do I resolve this, and make restic work, i.e. access the remote server via REST?
This isn’t all of your command, is it? Because if so, then you are missing commands.
Right now you have only added command line flags and not actual commands restic should run.
To expand on what @moritzdietz said, you’ve told restic where the repository is, but you haven’t told restic what you want to do with the repository. You need to add a command like init, snapshots, backup, etc.
However the default directory for backup data in the restic server is /tmp/restic. I created a different directory, which is /testback1. However when I run the command below to start a custom directory with authentication disabled, it hangs for a very long time at this :
[root@amanda-server rest-server]# rest-server --path /testback1 --no-auth
Data directory: /testback1
Authentication disabled
Private repositories disabled
Starting server on :8000
Thus I press Control-C to escape, and run the command without the no-auth option :
[root@amanda-server rest-server]# rest-server --path /testback1
Data directory: /testback1
Authentication enabled
error: cannot load .htpasswd (use --no-auth to disable): stat /testback1/.htpasswd: no such file or directory
And do I have to run the custom command above before I initialize the repo?
So this means I have to leave it in this state forever while I am using the repo?
Feels awkward to just leave it hanging like that? Why would it not just start like a normal service?
Also for this command to initialize the repo remotely :
Yes, the server must continuously run if you want to use it. If you like you could run it through systemd. I use the following unit file in /etc/systemd/system/restic-server.service:
You can adapt this to your needs. Note in particular that I created a local restic service user and group, and that I have the binary installed at /usr/local/sbin/rest-server.
Once the file is in place, systemctl enable restic-server && systemctl start restic-server.
Thanks for the reply. Today I tried to initialize, and run the backup, and seems like it is successful :
Initialize :
[root@centos-7 ~]# restic -r rest:http://resticuser:1qazxsw2@amanda-server:8000/testback1 init
enter password for new repository:
enter password again:
created restic repository 1746bdcd32 at rest:http://resticuser:1qazxsw2@amanda-server:8000/testback1
Please note that knowledge of your password is required to access
the repository. Losing your password means that your data is
irrecoverably lost.
[root@centos-7 ~]#
Backup :
[root@centos-7 ~]# restic backup -r rest:http://resticuser:1qazxsw2@amanda-server:8000/testback1 .
enter password for repository:
repository 1746bdcd opened successfully, password is correct
created new cache in /root/.cache/restic
Files: 14 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified
Dirs: 0 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified
Added to the repo: 8.620 KiB
processed 14 files, 2.697 KiB in 0:00
snapshot 5a6647f5 saved
[root@centos-7 ~]#
However, I am not sure of the command to use to list the snapshot in the remote server from this current server. I tried running the command in the remote server directly (amanda-server) :
[root@amanda-server ~]# restic -r /testback1 snapshots
Fatal: unable to open config file: Stat: stat /testback1/config: no such file or directory.
Is there a repository at the following location?
/testback1
[root@amanda-server ~]#
Is it wrong to do it directly in the remote server?