With Qubes, it’s easy and secure to back up and restore your whole
system, as well as to migrate between two physical machines.
These functions are integrated into the Qube Manager. There are also two
command-line tools available that perform the same functions:
``qvm-backup`` and ``qvm-backup-restore``.
It’s extremely important to make regular backups of all the data you
care about. This is true of all computing, not just the use of Qubes.
Data loss can and does occur in myriad and unexpected ways. A standard
recommendation is to make backups at least weekly: three copies in two
different formats, one off-site.
Backing up changes to dom0
--------------------------
When backing up dom0 using the Qubes backup tool (explained below), only
the home directory is backed up. Therefore, if there are files outside
of the home directory you wish to save, you should copy them into the
home directory prior to creating a backup. Here is an example of how to
back up Qubes config files and RPC policies:
..code:: bash
$ mkdir -p ~/backup/etc/qubes/
$ cp -a /etc/qubes/* ~/backup/etc/qubes/
$ mkdir ~/backup/etc/qubes-rpc/
$ cp -a /etc/qubes-rpc/* ~/backup/etc/qubes-rpc/
To restore these files, move them from the restored directory in dom0’s
home back to their appropriate locations in ``/etc/``. Please note that
any packages installed via the package manager in dom0 will not be
backed up. Such packages will have to be reinstalled through the package
manager when restoring on a fresh installation.
Creating a backup
-----------------
1. Go to **Applications menu -> System Tools -> Backup Qubes**. This
brings up the **Qubes Backup VMs** window.
2. Move the VMs that you want to back up to the right-hand **Selected**
column. VMs in the left-hand **Available** column will not be backed
up.
You may choose whether to compress backups by checking or unchecking
the **Compress the backup** box. Normally this should be left on
unless you have a specific reason otherwise.
Once you have selected all desired VMs, click **Next**.
3. Select the destination for the backup:
If you wish to send your backup to a (currently running) VM, select
the VM in the drop-down box next to **Target app qube**. If you wish
to send your backup to a :doc:`USB mass storage device </user/how-to-guides/how-to-use-usb-devices>`, you
can use the directory selection widget to mount a connected device
(under “Other locations” item on the left); or first mount the device
in a VM, then select the mount point inside that VM as the backup
destination.
You must also specify a directory on the device or in the VM, or a
command to be executed in the VM as a destination for your backup.
For example, if you wish to send your backup to the ``~/backups``
folder in the target VM, you would simply browse to it using the
convenient directory selection dialog (``...``) at the right. This
destination directory must already exist. If it does not exist, you
must create it manually prior to backing up.
By specifying the appropriate directory as the destination in a VM,
it is possible to send the backup directly to, e.g., a USB mass
storage device attached to the VM. Likewise, it is possible to enter
any command as a backup target by specifying the command as the
destination in the VM. This can be used to send your backup directly
to, e.g., a remote server using SSH.
**Note:** The supplied passphrase is used for **both**
encryption/decryption and integrity verification.
At this point, you may also choose whether to save your settings by
checking or unchecking the **Save settings as default backup profile** box.
**Warning: Saving the settings will result in your backup passphrase being saved in plaintext in dom0, so consider your threat model before checking this box.**
4. You will now see the summary of VMs to be backed up. If there are any
issues preventing the backup, they will be listed here and the
**Next** button grayed out.
5. When you are ready, click **Next**. Qubes will proceed to create your
backup. Once the progress bar has completed, you may click
**Finish**.
6. Test restore your backup. Follow the `restore procedure <#restoring-from-a-backup>`__, selecting **Verify backup integrity, do not restore the data**. This step is optional but
strongly recommended. A backup is useless if you can’t restore your
data from it, and you can’t be sure that your backup is good until
you try to restore.
Restoring from a backup
-----------------------
1. Go to **Applications menu -> System Tools -> Restore Backup**. This
brings up the **Qubes Restore VMs** window.
2. Select the source location of the backup to be restored:
- If your backup is located on a :doc:`USB mass storage device </user/how-to-guides/how-to-use-usb-devices>`, attach it first to another VM or select
``sys-usb`` in the next item.
- If your backup is located in a (currently running) VM, select the
VM in the drop-down box next to **app qube**.
You must also specify the directory and filename of the backup (or a
command to be executed in a VM) in the **Backup file** field. If you
followed the instructions in the previous section, “Creating a
Backup,” then your backup is most likely in the location you chose as
the destination in step 3. For example, if you had chosen the
``~/backups`` directory of a VM as your destination in step 3, you
would now select the same VM and again browse to (using ``...``) the
``backups`` folder. Once you’ve located the backup file, double-click
it or select it and hit **OK**.
3. There are three options you may select when restoring from a backup:
1.**ignore missing templates and net VMs**: If any of the VMs in
your backup depended upon a NetVM or template that is not present
in (i.e., “missing from”) the current system, checking this box
will ignore the fact that they are missing and restore the VMs
anyway and set them to use the default NetVM and system default
template.
2.**ignore username mismatch**: This option applies only to the
restoration of dom0’s home directory. If your backup was created
on a Qubes system which had a different dom0 username than the
dom0 username of the current system, then checking this box will
ignore the mismatch between the two usernames and proceed to
restore the home directory anyway.
3.**Verify backup integrity, do not restore the data**: This will
scan the backup file for corrupted data. However, it does not
currently detect if it is missing data as long as it is a
correctly structured, non-corrupted backup file. See `issue #3498 <https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/3498>`__ for
more details.
4. If your backup is encrypted, you must check the **Encrypted backup**
box. If a passphrase was supplied during the creation of your backup
(regardless of whether it is encrypted), then you must supply it
here.
**Note:** The passphrase which was supplied when the backup was
created is used for **both** encryption/decryption and integrity
verification. If the backup was not encrypted, the supplied
passphrase is used only for integrity verification. All backups made
from a Qubes R4.0 system will be encrypted.
5. You will now see the summary of VMs to be restored. If there are any
issues preventing the restore, they will be listed here and the
**Next** button grayed out.
6. When you are ready, click **Next**. Qubes will proceed to restore
from your backup. Once the progress bar has completed, you may click
**Finish**.
**Note:** When restoring from a dom0 backup, a new directory will be
created in the current dom0 home directory, and the contents from the
backup will be placed inside this new directory. This is intentional, as
it allows users to have explicit control over which files and settings
get applied in dom0. If the contents from the dom0 backup were instead
to overwrite the existing files in dom0’s home directory, unexpected and
undesired configuration changes could occur. However, if you do wish to
move all files from the dom0 backup out of the subdirectory into your
current dom0 home directory (overwriting any existing files in the
process), you may do so by following the instructions
Qubes R2 or older </user/how-to-guides/backup-emergency-restore-v2>
Migrating between two physical machines
---------------------------------------
In order to migrate your Qubes system from one physical machine to
another, simply follow the backup procedure on the old machine, :doc:`install Qubes </user/downloading-installing-upgrading/downloads>` on the new machine, and follow the restoration
procedure on the new machine. All of your settings and data will be
preserved!
Choosing a backup passphrase
----------------------------
Here are some things to consider when selecting a passphrase for your
backups:
- If you plan to store the backup for a long time or on third-party
- For the technical details of the backup system, please refer to `this thread <https://groups.google.com/d/topic/qubes-devel/TQr_QcXIVww/discussion>`__.
- If working with symlinks, note the issues described in `this thread <https://groups.google.com/d/topic/qubes-users/EITd1kBHD30/discussion>`__.
