qubes-doc/user/advanced-topics/volume-backup-revert.md

---
lang: en
layout: doc
permalink: /doc/volume-backup-revert/
redirect_from:
- /en/doc/volume-backup-revert/
- /doc/VolumeBackupRevert/
- /wiki/VolumeBackupRevert/
ref: 206
title: Volume Backup and Revert
---


With Qubes, it is possible to revert one of a VM's storage volumes to a previous
state using the automatic snapshot that is normally saved every time a VM is
shutdown. (Note that this is a different, lower level activity than the
[Backup, Restoration, and Migration](/doc/backup-restore/) process.)

In Qubes, when you create a new VM, it's volumes are stored in one of the
system's [Storage Pools](/doc/storage-pools/). On pool creation, a
revisions_to_keep default value is set for the entire pool. (For a pool creation
example, see [Storing app qubes on Secondary Drives](/doc/secondary-storage/).)
Thereafter, each volume associated with a VM that is stored in this pool
inherits the pool default revisions_to_keep.

For the private volume associated with a VM named vmname, you may inspect the
value of revisions_to_keep from the dom0 CLI as follows:

```
qvm-volume info vmname:private
```

The output of the above command will also display the "Available revisions
(for revert)" at the bottom. For a very large volume in a small pool,
revisions_to_keep should probably be set to the minimum value of 1 to minimize
the possibility of the pool being accidentally filled up by snapshots. For a
smaller volume for which you would like to have the future option of reverting,
revisions_to_keep should probably be set to at least 2. To set
revisions_to_keep for this same VM / volume example:

```
qvm-volume config vmname:private revisions_to_keep 2
```

With the VM stopped, you may revert to an older snapshot of the private volume
from the the above list of "Available revisions (for revert)", where the last
item on the list with the largest integer is the most recent snapshot:

```
qvm-volume revert vmname:private <revision>
```
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`---`
Add lang + ref tags to frontmatter Those are fields used by the language switcher to correlate pages across different languages, even if they have different names/paths/titles. They are generated with the prepare_for_translation.py script. 2021-03-13 13:06:18 -05:00			`lang: en`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`layout: doc`
Revert "Remove all instances of `permalink:` in YAML frontmatter" This reverts commit c815e4c54c315dfca30c66f6a33e07b1ff90b786. https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/6701#issuecomment-862822827 2021-06-16 22:56:25 -04:00			`permalink: /doc/volume-backup-revert/`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`redirect_from:`
Adjusted naming. 2020-04-26 06:28:41 -04:00			`- /en/doc/volume-backup-revert/`
			`- /doc/VolumeBackupRevert/`
			`- /wiki/VolumeBackupRevert/`
Add lang + ref tags to frontmatter Those are fields used by the language switcher to correlate pages across different languages, even if they have different names/paths/titles. They are generated with the prepare_for_translation.py script. 2021-03-13 13:06:18 -05:00			`ref: 206`
Revert "Remove instances of `title:` from YAML headers" This reverts commit 24e6a8a616bfba80534d5d700b2f6b02745561fe. https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/6701#issuecomment-862060759 2021-06-16 02:19:45 -04:00			`title: Volume Backup and Revert`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`---`


			`With Qubes, it is possible to revert one of a VM's storage volumes to a previous`
			`state using the automatic snapshot that is normally saved every time a VM is`
			`shutdown. (Note that this is a different, lower level activity than the`
			`[Backup, Restoration, and Migration](/doc/backup-restore/) process.)`

			`In Qubes, when you create a new VM, it's volumes are stored in one of the`
			`system's [Storage Pools](/doc/storage-pools/). On pool creation, a`
			`revisions_to_keep default value is set for the entire pool. (For a pool creation`
Mass replace "AppVM" and "TemplateBasedVM" with "app qube" QubesOS/qubes-issues#1015 2021-06-18 04:55:53 -04:00			`example, see [Storing app qubes on Secondary Drives](/doc/secondary-storage/).)`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`Thereafter, each volume associated with a VM that is stored in this pool`
			`inherits the pool default revisions_to_keep.`

			`For the private volume associated with a VM named vmname, you may inspect the`
			`value of revisions_to_keep from the dom0 CLI as follows:`

Markdown formatting fixes - mark all code blocks with ``` - unify empty lines between sections - adjust list syntax (no space before dash) - adjust headers to use Atx-style syntax - remove trailing spaces 2021-03-13 12:03:23 -05:00			```
			`qvm-volume info vmname:private`
			```
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00
Markdown formatting fixes - mark all code blocks with ``` - unify empty lines between sections - adjust list syntax (no space before dash) - adjust headers to use Atx-style syntax - remove trailing spaces 2021-03-13 12:03:23 -05:00			`The output of the above command will also display the "Available revisions`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`(for revert)" at the bottom. For a very large volume in a small pool,`
			`revisions_to_keep should probably be set to the minimum value of 1 to minimize`
			`the possibility of the pool being accidentally filled up by snapshots. For a`
Markdown formatting fixes - mark all code blocks with ``` - unify empty lines between sections - adjust list syntax (no space before dash) - adjust headers to use Atx-style syntax - remove trailing spaces 2021-03-13 12:03:23 -05:00			`smaller volume for which you would like to have the future option of reverting,`
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00			`revisions_to_keep should probably be set to at least 2. To set`
			`revisions_to_keep for this same VM / volume example:`

Markdown formatting fixes - mark all code blocks with ``` - unify empty lines between sections - adjust list syntax (no space before dash) - adjust headers to use Atx-style syntax - remove trailing spaces 2021-03-13 12:03:23 -05:00			```
			`qvm-volume config vmname:private revisions_to_keep 2`
			```
Add a "Common Tasks" page for volume management (snapshot and revert) 2020-04-26 06:18:55 -04:00
			`With the VM stopped, you may revert to an older snapshot of the private volume`
			`from the the above list of "Available revisions (for revert)", where the last`
			`item on the list with the largest integer is the most recent snapshot:`

Markdown formatting fixes - mark all code blocks with ``` - unify empty lines between sections - adjust list syntax (no space before dash) - adjust headers to use Atx-style syntax - remove trailing spaces 2021-03-13 12:03:23 -05:00			```
			`qvm-volume revert vmname:private <revision>`
			```