Backrest restic Backup Manager | cloudimg Support

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

Backrest is a self-hosted web interface and orchestrator for restic, the fast, secure, deduplicating backup program. It replaces command-line workflows with a clean browser UI for configuring backup repositories, backup plans and schedules, retention and forget policies, integrity checks, and one-click restore or browse of any snapshot. Every operation is a real restic command, so your backups stay in the open, well-documented restic repository format and can be restored with restic alone at any time.

This AMI is published and supported by cloudimg, a team of infrastructure engineers focused on delivering production-ready open-source appliances on AWS. Our engineers maintain multiple AMI products and provide hands-on support to teams running backup, storage, and DevOps workloads in the cloud.

Deploying Backrest yourself means installing the binary, pinning a matching restic version, writing systemd units, hardening an nginx reverse proxy, generating a secure admin password, and maintaining the stack over time. This AMI eliminates that effort entirely - a working restic backup manager is running within minutes of launch, backed by 24/7 expert support with a one-hour average response for critical issues.

The current release is Backrest 1.14.1 with restic 0.19.1.

restic uses content-defined chunking for deduplication, meaning repeated data across files and snapshots is stored only once - significantly reducing storage costs over time. Backups are encrypted by default with AES-256, and the open repository format means you are never locked into a single tool. restic supports multiple backends (local disk, Amazon S3, SFTP, and more) from a single interface, unlike tools that require separate plugins or paid tiers for cloud storage. Backrest adds the orchestration and scheduling layer that restic lacks natively, without introducing Java runtimes, databases, or complex multi-service dependencies.

The Backrest server is a single self-contained Go binary that embeds its own web UI and an SQLite operation log. It runs as an unprivileged service account, bound to loopback, with an nginx reverse proxy fronting it on port 80. restic is preinstalled at the exact version Backrest expects, so the appliance is fully offline-capable with nothing to download on first boot. A systemd service starts the server on boot and restarts it on failure.

Many pre-built images ship with shared or default passwords - a common vulnerability that exposes instances immediately after launch. This image eliminates that risk:

• A unique administrator password is generated for every instance on its first boot
• A fresh per-instance signing key is generated on start
• The password is stored in a root-only file, inaccessible to unprivileged users
• No shared or default password ships in the image
• Build-time setup is wiped before capture so nothing sensitive is baked in

Browse to the instance on port 80, sign in with the generated administrator password, then add a restic repository (local disk, S3, SFTP, or any restic backend), create backup plans with schedules and retention policies, and restore or browse any snapshot from the UI. Configuration, the operation log, and any local restic repositories live on a dedicated, independently resizable storage volume kept separate from the OS disk.

• DevOps teams managing 10-50 servers: schedule nightly deduplicated backups of application data and databases to S3, browse and restore individual files from any point in time without CLI access
• Self-hosted backup control plane: centralise restic repository management across local disk, S3, and SFTP backends from a single browser interface
• Teams already using restic: add scheduling, retention policy enforcement, integrity checks, and a visual snapshot browser without changing your existing repository format

Launch the AMI, retrieve your unique admin password, and configure your first backup plan in minutes. If you need a guided walkthrough or help designing your backup strategy, contact our support team at any time - we are available 24/7 by email and live chat.

Backrest is licensed under GPL v3.0 and restic under BSD 2-Clause; there is no license fee for the software. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.