/home backup | kopiaignore vs snapshot-policies

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Hey there,

I’m using a local external drive to keep a disconnected backup. It works great with my generic data-partitions.

I now want to add my home-directory to the repo, which among other things, means carving out ephemeral or easily restorable parts (caches, downloadable data, static program files etc.).
Should I define these exclusions in the policy of the snapshot, or use rule-file(s) in the directory?

I’m also using KopiaUI for an easier time setting up, though I’m unsure about the profile configs.
Do they store policy information, or is that stored in the repo?
Should I include profile configs in the backup?
Are there other things to be consider with a home-directory?

Thanks in advance.

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2

I generally prefer to use .kopiaignore files because they are easier to maintain when backing up to multiple repositories. But it is a matter of taste and depends on your use case.

Policies are always stored in the repository.

Depending on your sources you might want to apply different retention polices to your home directory. Simple example:

  • Snapshots of /home/user with 5 years of snapshot retention, but excluding /home/user/videos
  • Snapshots of /home/user/videos with 1 year of snapshot retention