Allow auto-removal by total snapshot number, or intervals shorter than 1 day

[kberkut]

Why does backintime make a copy of the directory if the files in the directory have not changed?
Backup settings are all by default. Copy on local directory.

BackInTime 1.3.2
rsync version v3.2.6 protocol version 31
Linux ARCH 5.19.8-arch1-1

[emtiu]

Hi, thanks for your report. Please check if you might be running into the known bugs #988 or #994. The maintainers' team has just re-formed, and we're in the process of figuring out a way forward.

[emtiu]

(Also check the README.me frontpage of this repository for workarounds to some known problems.)

[kberkut]

Thanks. I'm use "--no-perms --no-group --no-owner"
PS:
How can I limit the number of copies created, for example, no more than 3 or 5? Because I have frequently modified files backed up, so deleting copies by time is not suitable.
Is there a forum on the program where you can ask such questions?

[buhtz]

PS: How can I limit the number of copies created, for example, no more than 3 or 5?

Maybe the "Auto-remove" tab in the "Settings" dialog is what you are looking for.

Is there a forum on the program where you can ask such questions?

There is no forum or mailing list for users. No matter that "Issues" is intended to be used for bug reports and feature requests please feel free to ask questions here. Some distro specific forums like Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora and Manjaro are also known as very helpful.

[kberkut]

Thanks.
Automatic deletion does not have options for limiting the number of copies, it would be good to add such a function.

[buhtz]

Automatic deletion does not have options for limiting the number of copies

Can give us a bit more details about your settings. How are your backups scheduled?
You want to keep the 3 to 5 snapshots? In which time period? One day, week, month, year?

[kberkut]

I want to do backup every five minutes, but i need save on disk only six last copies.

[emtiu]

Currently, there is no option to auto-remove snapshots by total number, only by:

• free space
• free indoes
• age (minimum age for deletion: 1 day).

I've seen the wish to auto-remove for shorter intervals a few times, so I suggest keeping this Issue open as a Feature Request to allow for more flexible auto-removal (by total snapshot number or age << 1 day).

[buhtz]

Might not be directly relevant to this issue. But I investigated the current auto-/smart-remove behavior and documented it. I found inconsistent behavior and minor bugs. There is a lot potential to improve and refactoring.

Before starting with this I would like to request your opinions and suggestions about the next steps. Please see the issue #1945 for details and a mockup for the new auto-remove dialog-tab.

Feedback and suggestions welcome. We appreciate your feedback.