The local storage backend stores backups on the local filesystem. It’s ideal for external drives, NAS devices, or development/testing.
Configuration Basic Setup Initialize a repository with local storage:
cloudstic init -store local:/path/to/backup
The directory will be created automatically if it doesn’t exist.
Environment Variables CLOUDSTIC_STORE
string
default: "local:./backup_store"
Storage backend URI. Use local:<path> to specify the backup directory path.
Examples External Drive
Network Share
Environment Variables
# Initialize on an external drive cloudstic init -store local:/mnt/backup-drive/cloudstic # Backup to the external drive cloudstic backup -source local:~/Documents
# Mount a network share (example) sudo mount -t cifs //nas.local/backup /mnt/nas # Initialize on the network share cloudstic init -store local:/mnt/nas/cloudstic # Backup cloudstic backup -source local:~/Projects
# Set via environment variables export CLOUDSTIC_STORE = local :/ backup / cloudstic # Initialize (no flags needed) cloudstic init # Backup cloudstic backup -source local:~/Data
Features Atomic Writes The local store uses atomic writes for safety:
Data is written to a temporary file with .tmp suffix
The temporary file is renamed to the final path
On POSIX systems, rename is atomic
This ensures backups are never corrupted by interrupted writes.
Directory Structure The local store creates this structure:
backup_store/ ├── chunk/ │ └── <sha256> # Raw data chunks ├── content/ │ └── <sha256> # Chunk manifests ├── filemeta/ │ └── <sha256> # File metadata ├── node/ │ └── <sha256> # HAMT nodes ├── snapshot/ │ └── <sha256> # Snapshots ├── index/ │ ├── latest # Latest snapshot pointer │ ├── snapshots # Snapshot catalog │ └── packs # Pack catalog (if packfiles enabled) ├── keys/ │ ├── 0-password # Password key slot │ └── 1-recovery # Recovery key slot (optional) └── config # Repository config
Local storage offers the best performance:
Fast I/O : Direct filesystem accessNo network latency : Eliminates network round-tripsEfficient deduplication : Fast local lookups
For networked filesystems (NFS, CIFS), performance depends on network speed and latency.
Best Practices External Drives
NAS/Network Storage
Pros:
Fast local backups
No cloud costs
Physical control
Considerations:
Keep drive disconnected when not in use
Store securely (encryption protects data)
Test restore regularly
Pros:
Centralized storage
Always available
Can back up multiple machines
Considerations:
Network performance matters
Ensure NAS has redundancy (RAID)
Consider off-site backup copy
Permissions Ensure the backup directory has appropriate permissions:
# Create with restricted permissions mkdir -p /backup/cloudstic chmod 700 /backup/cloudstic # Initialize cloudstic init -store local:/backup/cloudstic
Monitoring Disk Space Monitor available space to avoid backup failures:
# Check disk usage df -h /backup/cloudstic # Check repository size du -sh /backup/cloudstic
Use cloudstic prune regularly to reclaim space from deleted snapshots.
Troubleshooting Permission Denied If you see “permission denied” errors:
# Check directory ownership ls -la /path/to/backup # Fix ownership if needed sudo chown -R $USER : $USER /path/to/backup
Disk Full If the backup fails with “no space left on device”:
Check available space: df -h /backup
Run prune to reclaim space: cloudstic prune
Consider forgetting old snapshots: cloudstic forget --keep-last 10 --prune
Network Mount Issues For network mounts that disconnect:
# Use autofs or systemd automount for reliability # Example /etc/fstab entry: //nas.local/backup /mnt/nas cifs credentials=/etc/nas.creds,uid=1000,gid= 1000 0 0
Backup Command Create backups with local storage
Prune Command Reclaim disk space
S3 Storage Use cloud storage instead
SFTP Storage Use remote SSH storage
