Summary

This point release fixes minor issue. This happens with as few code modifications as possible, due not risking the stability. The fixes are backported from the latest dev branch.

Backups have never been removed by the "Remove backups older than" rule. Additionally the Manage profiles dialog didn't stored the rule's time units properly and also corrupted the config file. The next problem was that the schedule mode "Repeatedly (anacron)" using "Hourly" time units behaved sligthly different from the other time units. The behavior is now consistent and the documentation and tooltip updated accordingly. In case of "local encrypted" profiles (using gocryptfs) the "General" tab now contain a warning text recommending not to use that mode for new profiles. See more details about that warning.

Changelog

Added

• Migration warning in "General" tab for local encrypted profiles (32c6e8a)

Changed

• Schedule mode "Repeatedly (anacron)": GUI re-phrased and extended with explanations (#2507)
• GUI State "Show hidden files" is On by default

Fixed

• Missing backup removal due to a miscalculation in the "Remove backups older than" rule, introduced in version 1.5.4 (#2588#issuecomment-5675126121)
• "Remove backups older than" value was stored only as years (#2460)
• Enum names in config file are replaced by their values (related to #2460)
• Prevent crash when a plugin fails (#2447)
• Crash after add known_host (57bbab5)
• Schedule mode "Repeatedly (anacron)" using "Hourly" units is now consistent with other time units (#2507)
• Clear up license and copyright situation of qt/serviceHelper.py (#1986)

For the complete list of changes, see the changelog. Compare with the previous release: v1.6.1...v1.6.2

Feedback

Please report regressions or unexpected behavior in the Issues section. Feel free to use other contact channels.

Installation

This release contains the source code only and does not include distribution packages. To build from source, please follow the build & installation instructions.

Contributors

Thank you to @gzuaps for reporting a heavy issue (#2604) that postponed the major release (2.0.0) and made it urgent to release a point release instead.

This release follows straight after 1.6.0 fixing GUI bugs in context of the SSH-key selector widget in the General tab of the Manage profile dialog. Thank you to @graysky2 for discovering and reporting this issues (#2399, #2400).

• Compare this 1.6.1 version with previous 1.6.0.
• Please note also previous release notes of version 1.6.0.

Changelog

• Fixed: SSH-Key selector widget handle binary keys, missing but configured keys (#2399, #2400)
• Fixed: SSH-Key selector widget is more robust on unexpected edge cases (#2399, #2400)
• Fixed: Install backintime-config man page in correct location
• See changelog for details also in previous versions.

Installation

This release contains the source code only and does not include distribution packages. To install the new release from the source code please follow our build & installation instructions.

Known Major Issues

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups
  (#2388, #988 & #994)

This is not the latest release anymore. Please see https://github.com/bit-team/backintime/releases/tag/v1.6.1

This release announces several breaking changes and informs users via warning and information dialogs. Please read these messages carefully. Existing setups will continue to work.

Summary

Gocryptfs is used for encryption in local profiles. This replaces EncFS with its known security issues. Therefore, using EncFS for encryption is no longer supported for newly created profiles (local and SSH), but remains available for existing profiles. Gocryptfs encryption for SSH profiles is not yet available and will follow in a later release.

Package maintainers should be aware of modified dependencies and adjust their packaging accordingly.

After 17 years of existence, Back In Time now has its own application logo, provided by Gregory Deseck (@gregorydk). Support for external SSH key agents and configurations was added. There is a new option to warn users about low available storage space. Several changes and improvements were made to the GUI, most of them in the Manage Profiles dialog.

Translations improved and updated. Excluding English, 17 of 44 languages are fully translated, 9 are over 80%, but 7 languages are lower than 50% complete and removal candiates for the next release. Newly added language: Georgian. Because of no translation activity the languages Bosnian, Thai, and Occidental/Interlingue were removed.

Several bug fixes and a large part of the codebase were refactored. See changelog for details.

Compare version 1.6.0 with previous 1.5.6.

Breaking Changes, deprecations, dependencies

• Creation of new EncFS profiles is no longer supported.
• Several CLI commands are deprecated and most of them replaced by alternatives.
• SSH cipher can no longer be configured. Existing configurations are deprecated.
• The term "snapshot" is replaced with "backup" to prevent confusion with image-based backup software.
• New dependencies: "python3-pyqt6.qtsvg", "bash", "gocryptfs".
• Removed dependency on any icon-specific theme.

See changelog for details.

Contributors

This version received extensive support from external contributors (in alphabetical order by last name or nickname):

• @davidfjoh fixed a bug around SSH.
• Germar Reize @Germar started the Gocryptfs support.
• David Wales @daviewales finished the Gocryptfs support.
• @devinjb99 refactored GUI code.
• @fest6 provided the "Less storage space" warning feature.
• Huaide Jiang @LatiosInAltoMare provided the shutdown confirmation feature.
• John Woltman @johnwoltman fixed a GUI bug in log view dialog.
• @madic-creates fixed a GUI bug while comparing backups.
• Marcus van Dam @m4rcu5 improved scheduling widget in case cron is missing.
• Rafael @rafaelhdr added a check if include list entries do not exists in backup source.
• Johan Risberg @johanR04 provided documentation about rsync.
• @reddyshekharc55 updated the screenshots and screencasts for translators.
• @samo-sk improved the GUI.
• Sung Hyun Cho @roycho96 provided documentation.
• Several translators (credits)
• Also not to be forgotten are the many people who supported the project by testing it, providing feedback, reporting issues, and analyzing problems.
• Infrastructur and tools provided by Codeberg (translate.codeberg.org), TravisCI, Debian GNU/Linux, GNU Emacs, …
• Please let me know if I missed a contribution.

Installation

This release contains the source code only and does not include distribution packages. To install the new release from the source code please follow our build & installation instructions.

Known Major Issues

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups
  (#2388, #988 & #994)

This is the last release candidate. Release is schedule for 9th February.

A big amount of the codebase was modified. Heavy testing is mandatory. It is also urgent because this version need to be release before Canonical Ubuntus Debian Import Freeze (20th February) to make it into the upcoming Ubuntu LTS release.

• Add gocryptfs support for local backup profiles
• Removed EncFS support for new created backup profiles
• Back In Time application logo
• New dependencies: gocryptfs, bash, python3-pyqt6.qtsvg
• Minimum required Python version 3.11
• See CHANGES for all details.
• Comparison to previous version: v1.5.4...v1.6.0-rc2
• Comparison to previous release candidate: v1.6.0-rc1...v1.6.0-rc2

Please test this release candidate and provide feedback even if you have not found problems. Thank you very much.

Please switch to the latest Release Candidate v1.6.0-rc2

A big amount of the codebase was modified. Heavy testing is mandatory. It is also urgent because this version need to be release before Canonical Ubuntus Debian Import Freeze (20th February) to make it into the upcoming Ubuntu LTS release.

• Add gocryptfs support for local backup profiles
• Removed EncFS support for new created backup profiles
• Back In Time application logo
• New dependencies: gocryptfs, bash, python3-pyqt6.qtsvg
• Minimum required Python version 3.11
• See CHANGES for all details.
• Comparison to previous version: v1.5.4...v1.6.0-rc1

Please test this release candidate and provide feedback even if you have not found problems. Thank you very much.

Summary

This hotfix release (for Debian GNU/Linux 13 "Trixie" stable) fixes three minor issues with as few code modifications as possible.

Changelog

Fixed

• Fixed: Always use 0 as window ID value when inhibiting suspend via D-Bus power manager (#2084, #2268, #2192)
• Fixed: Crash in "Manage profiles" dialog when using "qt6ct" (#2128)
• Fixed: Open online changelog if local CHANGES file is missing (#2266)
• Fixed: Disable opening browser (e.g. project website) in root-mode

Installation

This release contains the source code only but no distro packages. To install the new release from the source code please follow our build & installation instructions.

Known major issues open

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups (#988 & #994)

Summary

This is a hotfix release targeting the upcoming Debian GNU/Linux 13 "Trixie".

Changelog

Fixed

• Unlocking SSH keys with passphrases on new created profiles (#2164) (@davidfjoh)

Contributors

• @davidfjoh

Installation

This release contains the source code only but no distro packages. To install the new release from the source code please follow our build & installation instructions.

Known major issues open

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups (#988 & #994)

Summary

The Auto-remove and Smart-remove have been renamed into Remove & Retention. The related tab in the GUI was reworked, with clearer labels and tooltips. And the user manual now gives more details and examples about how this feature works. Scheduling capabilities are extended with offset minutes for hourly schedules. The completeness of translations increased dramatically to 84%. Four languages (Slovak, Greek, Faroes, Croatian) are reactivated and rescued from being removed. Also The license and copyright information now follow the REUSE.software and SPDX standards. Additionally, several other adjustments, improvements, and fixes have been made. It will be the last release in 1.5 branch. Please note that this might be the last release with full support for EncFS encryption.

Changelog

Changed

• Breaking: Auto-remove rules "Free inodes" and "Free space" disabled by default in new created profiles (#1976)
• Breaking: Smart-remove rule "Keep one snapshots per week or the last week" use calendar weeks
• More clear and intense warning about EncFS deprecation and removal (#1904)
• Updated desktop entry files
• Move several values from config file into new introduce state file ($XDG_STATE_HOME/backintime.json)

Added

• Completed license information to conform to REUSE.software and SPDX standards.

• Remove & Retention (formally known as Auto-/Smart-Remove) with improved GUI and user manual section (#2000)
• Open user manual (local if available otherwise online) via Help menu
• Toolbar context menu to display the buttons in different combinations with icons and text (#1105, #2002) (Samuel Moore @s4moore)
• Add offset minutes to hourly schedules (David Gibbs @fallingrock)

Fixed

• Gui: Exclude patterns are now case-sensitive when added (#2040)
• Gui: The width of the fourth column in files view is now saved
• Snapshot compare copy symlink as symlink (#1902) (Peter Sevens @sevens)
• Crash when comparing a snapshot with a symlink pointing to a nonexistent target (Peter Sevens @sevens)
• Gui: Crash (KeyError) opening language setup dialog with unknown locale/language

Contributors

This version received extensive support from external contributors (in alphabetical order by last name or nickname):

• @bremnere
• David Gibbs @fallingrock
• graysky @graysky2
• Samuel More @s4moore (formally known as @mooresamuel)
• Iván Rodríguez @ivanrdgz03
• Peter Sevens @sevens
• David Wales @daviewales
• Dylan Wilson @dylan-wilson-usq
• Also not to be forgotten are the many people who supported the project by testing it, providing feedback, reporting issues, and analyzing problems.

Installation

This release contains the source code only but no distro packages. To install the new release from the source code please follow our build & installation instructions.

Known major issues open

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups (#988 & #994)

Summary

This is the second release candidate preparing for version 1.5.4. Please report if you use it even if there are no new problems.

• Fix: Exclude patterns are now case-sensitive when added (#2040)
• Fix(build): LICENSE folder included in tar archive
• Fix: Desktop files typos

More details in previous release candidate 6441aa1.

Summary

This is a release candidate. Please report if you use it even if there are no new problems.

This version is set to be released with Debian 13 (Trixie) this early summer and will remain available for the long lifetime of that Debian version.
EncFS, used for encrypted profiles, has been marked as deprecated and is schedule for removal in 2026. The Smart & Auto remove GUI has been reorganized and renamed into "Remove & Retention", with improvements to the user manual section. Its behavior remains unchange. An offset minute can now be configured for hourly schedule options. Some config file fields have been moved to a newly introduced state file. License and copyright information is now provided in machine-readable SPDX format, following the REUSE standard.

Contributors

This version received extensive support from contributors (in alphabetical order):

• @bremnere
• David Gibbs @fallingrock
• graysky @graysky2
• Samuel More @mooresamuel
• Iván Rodríguez @ivanrdgz03
• Peter Sevens @sevens
• David Wales @daviewales
• Dylan Wilson @dylan-wilson-usq
• Also not to be forgotten are the many people who supported the project by testing it, providing feedback, reporting issues, and analyzing problems.

Known major issues open

• qt_probing.py may hang with high CPU usage when running Back In Time as root via cron (#1592)
• File permissions handling and therefore possible non-differential backups (#988 & #994)

Changelog

• Changed: More clear and intense warning about EncFS deprecation and removal (#1904)
• Changed: Updated desktop entry files
• Changed: Move several values from config file into new introduce state file ($XDG_STATE_HOME/backintime.json)
• Changed: Completed license information to conform the REUSE.software and SPDX standards.
• Breaking Change: Auto-remove rules "Free inodes" and "Free space" disabled by default (#1976)
• Fix!: Smart-remove rule "Keep one snapshots per week or the last week" use calendar weeks
• Fix: The width of the fourth column in files view is now saved
• Fix: Snapshot compare copy symlink as symlink (#1902) (Peter Sevens @sevens)
• Fix: Crash when comparing a snapshot with a symlink pointing to a nonexistent target (Peter Sevens @sevens)
• Fix: Crash (KeyError) opening language setup dialog with unknown locale/language
• Feature: Open user manual (local if available otherwise online) via Help menu
• Feature: Toolbar context menu to display the buttons in different combinations with icons and text (#1105, #2002) (Samuel Moore @s4moore)
• Feature: Add offset minutes to hourly schedules (David Gibbs @fallingrock)
• Doc: Remove & Retention (formally known as Auto-/Smart-Remove) with improved GUI and user manual section (#2000)