borgbackup
Deduplicated, encrypted, authenticated and compressed backups
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, with conditions. BorgBackup is worth installing if you need space-efficient, encrypted backups and can tolerate high install friction (compilation required). The active maintenance, strong security model (client-side encryption, HMAC authentication), and lack of known vulnerabilities make it reliable. However, expect compatibility breaks between major releases; review the changelog before upgrading and test recovery procedures in advance.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires C compiler and development headers for compilation during installation; Python >=3.10 required.
- High install friction: the package requires compilation (C/Cython components).
- Maintenance is active with recent releases (27 days since last), strong community engagement (13607 GitHub stars), and support for current Python versions (3.10–3.14).
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — Licensed under BSD-3-Clause (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; source code can be audited independently for security.
last release 2026-07-18 (27 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 13,607 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 76,514 downloads/mo, #14,619 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install borgbackup
borg init -e repokey /path/to/repo
borg create /path/to/repo::backup-name ~/Documents- Whether pre-built binaries are available for your platform to avoid compilation.
- Performance characteristics and resource usage for large-scale backup scenarios.
- Compatibility and migration path between major version releases (1.x to 2.x).
What it is and what it does
BorgBackup is a deduplicating backup program designed for efficient, secure storage of data. It splits files into variable-length chunks and stores only new chunks, making it suitable for frequent incremental backups even when files change partially. All data can be encrypted client-side with AES-256 and authenticated with HMAC-SHA256; deduplication works across machines, time, and file locations, so moving or modifying files does not break backup efficiency.
The tool is implemented with performance-critical operations in C/Cython and supports multiple compression algorithms (lz4, zstd, zlib, lzma). It can store backups locally or remotely over SSH, and archives can be mounted as user-space file systems for interactive recovery. The project is actively maintained, supports modern Python versions (3.10–3.14), and is licensed under BSD-3-Clause.
Use it for
- Daily incremental backups of workstations or servers where only changed blocks are stored, reducing storage and bandwidth.
- Secure off-site backups to untrusted remote hosts using SSH with client-side encryption and authentication.
- Backup of virtual machines or raw disks where partial file changes are common and deduplication across versions saves space.
- Interactive backup recovery by mounting archives as file systems to browse and restore specific files without full extraction.
- Multi-machine backup consolidation to a shared repository where deduplication works across different hosts and backup runs.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, with conditions.
BorgBackup is worth installing if you need space-efficient, encrypted backups and can tolerate high install friction (compilation required). The active maintenance, strong security model (client-side encryption, HMAC authentication), and lack of known vulnerabilities make it reliable. However, expect compatibility breaks between major releases; review the changelog before upgrading and test recovery procedures in advance.
Install
borgbackup on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction: the package requires compilation (C/Cython components). Maintenance is active with recent releases (27 days since last), strong community engagement (13607 GitHub stars), and support for current Python versions (3.10–3.14).
Requires C compiler and development headers for compilation during installation; Python >=3.10 required.
License in practice
Licensed under BSD-3-Clause (permissive), allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; source code can be audited independently for security.
Quickstart
pip install borgbackup
borg init -e repokey /path/to/repo
borg create /path/to/repo::backup-name ~/DocumentsVerify before relying
- Whether pre-built binaries are available for your platform to avoid compilation.
- Performance characteristics and resource usage for large-scale backup scenarios.
- Compatibility and migration path between major version releases (1.x to 2.x).
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesmsgpackpackaging |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 27 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 76,514 / month, #14,619 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: POSIX :: BSD :: FreeBSDOperating System :: POSIX :: BSD :: NetBSDOperating System :: POSIX :: BSD :: OpenBSDOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Security :: CryptographyTopic :: System :: Archiving :: Backup |
Evidence: borgbackup-1.4.5.tar.gz
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