Frequently asked questions
What is Replicaro?
Replicaro is a free and open source backup app for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Docker. Back up your files and folders to vaults stored in the cloud, on your computer, or on your network. Manage backups and recover files from one interface.
Is Replicaro really free?
Yes. Replicaro is free and open source. You may need to pay for the storage you choose for your vault, but that payment goes to your storage provider, not Replicaro. For example, you can use space in a Dropbox account you already have and upgrade that account if you need more space.
Can I store my backups in the cloud?
Yes. Choose local or external drives, accessible network folders, SFTP, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, or S3-compatible storage such as Amazon S3, Wasabi, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, and MinIO. Cold/archive storage is also supported.
Does Replicaro back up automatically?
Yes. Set a schedule for each backup job, choose the files to include, and Replicaro will do its thing automatically.
Can I recover an older version of a file?
Yes. Use File History to search for a file or folder in a vault. Then review the available backup versions, select the one you need, and choose where to restore it.
Are my backups encrypted?
Yes. All Replicaro backups are end-to-end encrypted. You pick your encryption password when setting up a vault. That password never leaves your computer, and no one knows it but you. Replicaro uses that password to encrypt your files on your computer before saving the files in the vault. Remember to keep your vault password somewhere safe: you need it to connect to the vault and recover your data. Forgotten passwords cannot be reset or recovered... because only you know your password.
Does Replicaro support compression and data deduplication?
Yes. Replicaro applies compression and data deduplication to all backups. This helps reduce the among of space your vault uses in your selected destination storage.
How long are older versions kept?
This depends on you. You choose a retention policy for each backup job. Versions of files are kept according to that retention policy.
What is a vault?
A vault is where Replicaro saves your backed up files and their file/folder history. Some other backup software calls this a repository. You choose the storage where the vault lives and set its encryption password. All vaults are encrypted.
Can I use cold/archive storage?
Yes. Replicaro supports all cold/archive storage that is S3 compatible, such as AWS Deep Glacier. The storage needs to support the GLACIER or DEEP_ARCHIVE storage class.
Can several computers use the same vault?
Yes. Replicaro supports up to 256 computers simultaneously backing up to the same vault for all vaults except ones stored on Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Vaults stored on Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive vaults are limited to one computer per vault because of how those cloud drives are designed (outside of Replicaro control). You can use one Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive account to hold multiple vaults, but each vault can only be used by one computer running Replicaro.
What is a snapshot?
A snapshot is what a backup job saves into a vault. Snapshots are what hold your actual backed up data. Vaults hold all your snapshots. Each snapshot holds your backed up files/folders.
Can I exclude some files/folders from a backup?
Yes. Replicaro allows you to exclude files and folders from backup jobs.
Can one job back up to more than one vault?
Yes. You can easily select multiple destination vaults for a job. For example, one job can simultaneously backup to an external drive vault and a cloud vault.
Can I restore just one file?
Yes. Restore a single file or folder, several selected items, or an entire snapshot. Replicaro supports it all.
What if my external drive or network folder is disconnected?
Replicaro detects when removable or network source or destinations are unavailable and defers affected backup jobs. When that storage becomes available again, Replicaro automatically resumes eligible backup jobs.
What if I need to recover files on a new computer?
Easy. Install Replicaro on that computer, connect to your existing vault (you will need to remember the encryption password), and choose the individual files/folders or whole snapshots to restore.
Does Replicaro support notifications for when something does wrong?
Yes. Desktop notifiations and webhooks are both supported for successes and failures.
How can I check that my backups are restorable and not corrupt?
Replicaro has built in integrity checks that disover corrupted backups. These integrity checks are disabled by default because they download files from your vault to check them. Remember to enable integrity checks if you want them.
What are Restic and Kopia?
Restic and Kopia are two reliable, fast, and open source backup engines. Replicaro uses these two engines under-the-hood to perform all backup & restore work. Think of Replicaro as a unified graphical frontend to Restic and Kopia, both of which are powerful backup engines but are not very easy to use; Restic, in particular, requires command-line knowledge while Kopia has a graphical interface that is not as easy-to-use like Replicaro. And neither of them have Replicaro's File History.