Intelligent Backup Orchestrator for Unraid

🇩🇪 Deutsch  |  🇬🇧 English

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HELBACKUP is a self-hosted backup solution built specifically for Unraid. It runs as a single Docker container and gives you full control over what gets backed up, when, and where — with a clean web interface, no cloud dependency, and no subscription.

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Features

• Automated Backup Jobs — Flash Drive, Appdata, VMs, Docker Images, System Config
• Multiple Target Types — Local filesystem, remote server or NAS via SSH+Rsync
• AES-256 Encryption — Optional end-to-end encryption with recovery key
• GFS Retention — Grandfather-Father-Son rotation saves up to 90% storage
• Disaster Recovery — Granular file restore and full server restore wizard
• Onboarding Wizard — Get your first backup running in minutes with the guided setup
• 7 Notification Channels — Email, Gotify, ntfy, Pushover, Telegram, Discord, Slack
• REST API & Webhooks — Token-based API, HMAC-signed webhook events
• Prometheus Metrics — Ready-made monitoring integration
• Dark UI — React 18 web interface, available in German and English

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Installation

Unraid Community Apps (recommended)

1. Open the Apps tab in Unraid
2. Search for HELBACKUP
3. Click Install and follow the template

HELBACKUP will be available at http://YOUR-UNRAID-IP:3000.

Docker Compose

services:
  helbackup:
    image: ghcr.io/kreuzbube88/helbackup:latest
    container_name: helbackup
    restart: unless-stopped
    privileged: false
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - JWT_SECRET=your_secret_here   # openssl rand -hex 32
      - SECURE_COOKIES=false          # true when using HTTPS via reverse proxy
      - TZ=Europe/Berlin
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
      - PUID=99
      - PGID=100
      - LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI=qemu:///system
    volumes:
      - /mnt/user/appdata/helbackup/config:/app/config
      - /mnt/user/appdata/helbackup/data:/app/data
      - /mnt/user/appdata/helbackup/logs:/app/logs
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /boot:/unraid/boot                          # rw — required for Flash backup/restore
      - /mnt/user:/unraid/user                      # rw — required for Appdata/VM backup/restore
      # Optional — required for VM backups:
      # - /mnt/cache:/mnt/cache:ro
      # - /etc/libvirt:/unraid/libvirt:ro
      # - /var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock:/var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock

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Quick Start

After installation, open the web UI and follow the onboarding wizard — it walks you through creating your first backup target and job in under 5 minutes. You can also launch it anytime via the Quick Start Guide button on the Dashboard.

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Documentation

Full documentation is available in the docs/ folder in both German and English, covering installation, backup types, targets, encryption, recovery, API, and more.

For a technical deep-dive into the architecture, data flow, and security model, see docs/architecture.md.

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Requirements

• Docker socket /var/run/docker.sock — required for container stop/start during backups
• Host mounts /boot and /mnt/user — required for Flash Drive and Appdata/VM restore
• Network access — required for remote targets (SSH/Rsync), Wake-on-LAN
• VM backups (optional): Libvirt socket /var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock and config mount /etc/libvirt — required for VM stop/start and XML export
• Community Apps plugin (only required for store installation)

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Verified Restore

A backup is not a backup until you have restored from it.

Creating backup jobs is only the first step. Before you need it in an emergency, test the full recovery path:

1. Run a backup job and let it complete
2. Go to Recovery and run Verify Backup — confirms checksums match
3. At least once, follow Disaster Recovery — Day Zero end-to-end on a test machine or in a VM

3-2-1 rule: Keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different media types, with 1 copy offsite (or at minimum on a separate NAS from your primary array).

HELBACKUP supports this pattern with multiple targets per job — assign a local target and an off-site SSH/Rsync target to the same job.

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License

MIT © HEL*Apps