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BorgBackup
BSD-3-ClauseOpen-source deduplicating backup archiver replacing CrashPlan with client-side encrypted, space-efficient snapshots over SSH.
Open-source alternative to — compare it against:
Overview
CrashPlan relies on an always-on background agent that constantly consumes memory and CPU cycles syncing files to proprietary cloud servers. BorgBackup replaces persistent desktop daemons with an on-demand command-line archiver that executes chunk-level deduplication, authenticated encryption, and compression in deterministic batches. Compiled C extensions run directly against local disks or remote SSH targets, giving technical users precise control over schedules and system overhead.
Why BorgBackup instead of CrashPlan
CrashPlan targets endpoints with continuous file monitoring, streaming revisions to hosted storage through a persistent background daemon. While convenient for non-technical users, this background service imposes ongoing RAM usage and uncoordinated disk access that can disrupt developer workflows during local builds. BorgBackup runs only when invoked. Its content-defined chunking splits files into variable-length blocks using rolling hashes, detecting duplicates across entire repositories regardless of file names or moving offsets.
The network model also differs sharply. CrashPlan routes data through vendor-managed infrastructure with subscription fees and storage lock-in. BorgBackup operates client-side and transmits data over standard SSH connections. When BorgBackup is installed on the destination server, a lightweight process receives only previously unseen chunks to conserve bandwidth. The tradeoff is operational setup: BorgBackup includes no hosted cloud storage or web dashboard, requiring engineers to provide storage targets and configure automation through cron or systemd.
What it does well
- Content-defined chunk deduplication: Splits files into variable-length chunks via rolling hashes, storing shifted or duplicate data blocks only once across archives.
- Authenticated client-side encryption: Secures repository data with 256-bit AES-OCB or ChaCha20-Poly1305 and HMAC-SHA256 before transmission to untrusted hosts.
- Multi-algorithm compression: Supports LZ4, Zstandard, and LZMA compression selectable per backup job to balance ingestion speed against disk footprint.
- Native SSH transport: Runs efficiently across remote hosts via an integrated pipe protocol, avoiding NFS or SSHFS mount overhead.
- Userspace FUSE mounting: Mounts backup archives as read-only virtual filesystems with
borg mount, enabling file recovery via standard shell tools.
