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Re: backups with git

From
Sitaram Chamarty <sitaramc@gmail.com>
Date
Aug 10, 2009, 13:38 UTC
Message-ID
<2e24e5b90908100638m797ccf8ei8437714952b4f2d5@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<41CB836B-6057-448E-805F-F25EAF765D27@roalddevries.nl>
On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 1:57 PM, Roald de Vries<rdv@roalddevries.nl> wrote:
> I'm thinking of using git as a backup solution for my whole system, setting
> my $GIT_DIR to something like "/backupdisc/backup". Does that seem sensible?

The two questions you have to ask yourself are: will I ever branch and merge in this "repo", and do I really want versions from weeks and months ago?

A "no" to the first question means you're essentially using a very powerful VCS as a mere backup system. I suggest rdiff-backup or (if it's mature enough now, not sure) duplicity..

A "no" to the second question means you're needlessly keeping lots of old data, and have to jump through hoops to get rid of it if you need to.

There's a limit to how much you can Macgyver git into doing what it is not intended for :-)

Having said all that, I do use git to manage parts of my $HOME that do satisfy those constraints (config files, ~/bin, etc) -- I do sometimes branch and merge, and I do want really old versions. I do this by putting all of them in a repo, and symlinking them to $HOME.

Regards,
Sitaram
Previous: Martin Langhoff
Message 4 of 4 in “backups with git”
  1. Roald de VriesAug 10, 2009
  2. John TapsellAug 10, 2009
  3. Martin LanghoffAug 10, 2009
  4. Sitaram ChamartyAug 10, 2009

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