📨 Copy Job

Copy jobs replicate snapshots from one repository to another. This is useful for creating off-site backups or maintaining multiple backup copies.

Configuration Structure

jobs:
  - type: copy
    name: string                    # Required: Unique job name
    from: string                    # Required: Source repository name
    to: string                      # Required: Target repository name
    cron: string                    # Optional: Cron expression
    healthcheck_url: string         # Optional: Job-specific healthcheck URL
    options:                        # Optional: Restic copy options
      key: value
    hooks:                          # Optional: Lifecycle hooks
      before: []string
      success: []string
      failure: []string

Required Fields

`type`

Must be "copy".

`name`

Unique identifier for the job. Used in logs and when selecting specific jobs.

name: offsite-copy
name: documents-to-remote
name: backup-replication

`from`

Name of the source repository (must be defined in repositories section).

from: local-repo
from: primary-backup

`to`

Name of the target repository (must be defined in repositories section).

to: remote-repo
to: secondary-backup

Optional Fields

`cron`

Cron expression for scheduling automated copy operations.

Format: minute hour day month weekday

Examples:

cron: "0 3 * * *"      # Daily at 3:00 AM (after backup completes)
cron: "0 */12 * * *"  # Every 12 hours
cron: "0 4 * * 0"     # Weekly on Sunday at 4:00 AM

See Cron Command for more details.

`healthcheck_url`

Override global healthcheck URL for this specific job.

healthcheck_url: https://hc-ping.com/uuid-for-copy/copy-job

See Healthchecks for more details.

Options

The options field accepts any restic copy option. Common options:

Filter by Tags

Copy only snapshots with specific tags:

options:
  tag:
    - important
    - documents
    - daily

Filter by Hostname

Copy only snapshots from specific host:

options:
  host: my-server

Filter by Paths

Copy only snapshots containing specific paths:

options:
  path: /home/user/Documents

See: Restic Copy Documentation (opens in a new tab) for complete list of options.

Hooks

Execute custom commands at different stages:

hooks:
  before:
    - echo "Starting copy operation: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME"
  success:
    - echo "Copy completed successfully: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME"
  failure:
    - echo "Copy failed: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME - $CRESTIC_ERROR" >&2

Environment variables available in hooks:

CRESTIC_JOB_NAME - Name of the job
CRESTIC_EXIT_CODE - Exit code of the operation
CRESTIC_ERROR - Error message (only in failure hooks)

See Hooks for more details.

Complete Example

jobs:
  - type: copy
    name: documents-copy-to-remote
    from: local-repo
    to: remote-repo
    cron: "0 3 * * *"
    healthcheck_url: https://hc-ping.com/uuid/copy-job
    options:
      tag:
        - documents
        - important
      host: my-server
    hooks:
      before:
        - echo "Starting copy: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME"
      success:
        - echo "Copy completed: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME"
      failure:
        - echo "Copy failed: $CRESTIC_JOB_NAME - $CRESTIC_ERROR" >&2

Running Copy Jobs

Run Specific Job

crestic backup --job offsite-copy

Note: Copy jobs are executed using the backup command, not a separate copy command.

Run Multiple Jobs

crestic backup --job offsite-copy,another-copy

Run All Jobs

crestic backup --all

What Happens During Copy

The copy operation:

Sends start ping to healthcheck service (if configured)
Runs 'before' hooks (if configured)
Copies snapshots from source to target repository
Runs 'success' or 'failure' hooks based on outcome
Sends success/failure ping to healthcheck service

Error Handling

When running multiple jobs, each job executes independently. If one job fails:

The error is logged
Execution continues with the next job
Other jobs will still run
At the end, all errors are collected and returned as a combined error message

This ensures that a failure in one job doesn't prevent other jobs from completing. Each job's success or failure is tracked separately, and healthcheck notifications are sent for each job individually.