What is borg-import?

borg-import converts backups made with other backup software into the format used by BorgBackup.

See borg-import -h for more information.

Potential advantages over doing it manually

Note: There are different importers, and some may not support all features.

• Automation: less manual work; import many backups into a Borg repository with one command.
• Automatically constructs the Borg archive name from the provided input and the discovered timestamp.
• Sets the Borg archive creation timestamp to the correct historical date and time.
• Temporarily moves the source directory so Borg's files cache can speed up borg create.

Currently supported import formats

BorgBackup

Imports archives from an existing Borg repository into a new one. This is useful when a Borg repository needs to be rebuilt (e.g., if your Borg key and passphrase were compromised).

Usage: borg-import borg SOURCE_REPOSITORY DESTINATION_REPOSITORY

See borg-import borg -h for help.

rsnapshot

Usage: borg-import rsnapshot SNAPSHOT_ROOT BORG_REPOSITORY

See borg-import rsnapshot -h for help.

Simple rsync with hard links

Assumes one folder per archive, with changes being tracked based on last modification time (mtime).

Usage: borg-import rsynchl RSYNC_ROOT BORG_REPOSITORY

See borg-import rsynchl -h for help.

rsync-time-backup

Similar to rsynchl, except with timestamp extraction optimized for rsync-time-backup folder names.

Usage: borg-import rsync_tmbackup --prefix=foo- RSYNC_ROOT BORG_REPOSITORY

See borg-import rsync_tmbackup -h for help.

Backup tools based on rsync with hard links

borg-import should, in principle, be able to import backups from any backup tool that is based on rsync with hard links, provided the tool matches the assumptions listed above for simple rsync.

• backintime
• others?