Borg Backup UI

Unraid plugin for BorgBackup with guided backup jobs, repository management, restore verification, archive browsing, reports, notifications, and system health checks.

Borg Backup UI is built for Unraid users who want the reliability of BorgBackup without maintaining custom shell scripts for everyday operation. BorgBackup remains the backup engine; this project adds the Unraid-focused control layer around jobs, storage targets, schedules, restore workflows, checks, and support diagnostics.

Status: pre-publication candidate for Unraid Community Apps. Public installation instructions will be added after Community Apps approval. This project is not affiliated with BorgBackup or other Borg UI projects.

Overview

• Guided job wizard for common Unraid backup workflows.
• Storage profiles for local paths, USB devices, SMB shares, SSH targets, and Hetzner Storage Box style repositories.
• Docker container and VM runtime handling during backup runs.
• Dashboard overview for backup runs, restore proof, storage data, and checks.
• Browse and Restore assistant with configurable safe restore target roots.
• Automated restore tests with structured reports and restore history.
• Notifications through Apprise profiles, Unraid notifications, and email.
• Import/export, support bundle, system health, and auditable migrations.

Feature Overview

Backup Jobs

• Create and edit jobs through a guided multi-step wizard.
• Choose backup type, source paths, repository target, retention, passphrase, schedule, and runtime behavior.
• Stop all Docker containers, selected containers, or all except selected containers before a backup, then restart them after the run.
• Stop selected VMs when a VM backup requires consistent runtime state.
• Review a flow preview before saving the job.

Storage and Repositories

• Manage storage targets and profiles for local, USB, SMB, SSH, and Storagebox style repositories.
• Run connection and repository checks from the UI.
• View repository size, compression, deduplication, and check state.
• Keep location grouping consistent across Dashboard, Jobs, History, Reports, Restore Tests, and Browse & Restore.

Restore and Verification

• Browse Borg archives and restore selected files or directories.
• Restrict restore targets to administrator-approved safe roots.
• Prevent unsafe backup and restore write operations from using the same repository at the same time.
• Track active restore runs and completed restore history.
• Configure and run automated restore tests for backup verification.
• Use restore test reports to verify repository accessibility, archive readability, metadata checks, sample restore, integrity comparison, and cleanup.

Monitoring and Notifications

• Dashboard overview for backup runs, restore verification, and growth/check state.
• Backup history and reports for operational review.
• Notification events for successful, warning, failed, skipped, and overdue backup runs.
• Restore test notifications for success, failure, and overdue tests.
• Notification channels are configured through Apprise profiles and can include providers such as ntfy, email-capable services, and other Apprise-supported targets.

Operations and Safety

• System health and migration status inside Settings.
• Structured migration state and JSONL audit logs.
• Support bundle creation for troubleshooting.
• Import/export flows for jobs, profiles, and secrets.
• Plugin packaging for Unraid with bundled BorgBackup runtime.
• Admin access recovery from the Unraid control page through a short-lived, one-time recovery link.

Requirements

• Unraid with a running array.
• Python 3.10 or newer.
• Recommended on Unraid: Python 3 for Unraid from Community Applications.
• Reachable storage targets for the selected backup locations.

BorgBackup is bundled with the plugin package. No pip-based runtime dependency installation is required for normal operation.

First Run

1. Install the required Python runtime on Unraid.
2. Install Borg Backup UI through the approved project or release channel.
3. Open the Borg Backup UI plugin page from Unraid.
4. Start Borg Backup UI from the Unraid control page.
5. Create the first administrator account.
6. Confirm the main data directory in the setup wizard.
7. Create or select a storage target and repository.
8. Create the first backup job with the guided wizard.
9. Run the first backup manually and review Dashboard, History, and Reports.
10. Restore a small sample into a separate test folder and verify the result.
11. Configure restore tests and notifications for ongoing verification.

Public installation instructions will be added after the Community Apps publication requirements are complete.

For first tests, start with a small test folder or non-critical share. Do not begin with irreplaceable data until backup and restore behavior has been verified on your system.

Screenshots

Dashboard

Backup status, restore verification, repository health, and recent activity in one overview.

Jobs

Grouped backup jobs with operational status, next run information, restore verification state, and manual start controls.

Job Wizard

A step-by-step workflow for sources, repositories, Docker/VM handling, retention, description, schedule, and flow preview.

Browse and Restore

Browse archives, select content, precheck the restore target, and restore into administrator-approved paths.

Restore Tests

Plan and review automated restore checks so backups are not only written, but also verified.

Data and Secrets

The plugin stores configuration below the Unraid flash configuration area and keeps runtime data below the configured data directory. Repository passphrases and profile secrets are stored in dedicated secret files and are excluded from normal logs, public artifacts, and support bundle output.

Backups are only useful when restores are proven. Borg Backup UI therefore treats restore tests and restore history as first-class operating data.

Support

Use GitHub Issues for bugs, feature requests, and design discussions. When reporting runtime problems, include the generated support bundle where possible and remove private infrastructure details before sharing logs publicly.

License

• Project: MIT, see LICENSE
• Bundled BorgBackup: BSD-3-Clause, see runtime/licenses/borg/LICENSE
• Bundled Apprise notification runtime: BSD-2-Clause and permissive Python dependency licenses, see runtime/licenses/THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md