346 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
346 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: How to monitor your backups
|
|
eleventyNavigation:
|
|
key: 🚨 Monitor your backups
|
|
parent: How-to guides
|
|
order: 5
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
## Monitoring and alerting
|
|
|
|
Having backups is great, but they won't do you a lot of good unless you have
|
|
confidence that they're running on a regular basis. That's where monitoring
|
|
and alerting comes in.
|
|
|
|
There are several different ways you can monitor your backups and find out
|
|
whether they're succeeding. Which of these you choose to do is up to you and
|
|
your particular infrastructure.
|
|
|
|
### Job runner alerts
|
|
|
|
The easiest place to start is with failure alerts from the [scheduled job
|
|
runner](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/set-up-backups/#autopilot)
|
|
(cron, systemd, etc.) that's running borgmatic. But note that if the job
|
|
doesn't even get scheduled (e.g. due to the job runner not running), you
|
|
probably won't get an alert at all! Still, this is a decent first line of
|
|
defense, especially when combined with some of the other approaches below.
|
|
|
|
### Commands run on error
|
|
|
|
The `on_error` hook allows you to run an arbitrary command or script when
|
|
borgmatic itself encounters an error running your backups. So for instance,
|
|
you can run a script to send yourself a text message alert. But note that if
|
|
borgmatic doesn't actually run, this alert won't fire. See [error
|
|
hooks](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#error-hooks)
|
|
below for how to configure this.
|
|
|
|
### Third-party monitoring services
|
|
|
|
borgmatic integrates with monitoring services like
|
|
[Healthchecks](https://healthchecks.io/), [Cronitor](https://cronitor.io),
|
|
[Cronhub](https://cronhub.io), [PagerDuty](https://www.pagerduty.com/), and
|
|
[ntfy](https://ntfy.sh/) and pings these services whenever borgmatic runs.
|
|
That way, you'll receive an alert when something goes wrong or (for certain
|
|
hooks) the service doesn't hear from borgmatic for a configured interval. See
|
|
[Healthchecks
|
|
hook](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#healthchecks-hook),
|
|
[Cronitor
|
|
hook](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#cronitor-hook),
|
|
[Cronhub
|
|
hook](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#cronhub-hook),
|
|
[PagerDuty
|
|
hook](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#pagerduty-hook),
|
|
and [ntfy hook](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#ntfy-hook)
|
|
below for how to configure this.
|
|
|
|
While these services offer different features, you probably only need to use
|
|
one of them at most.
|
|
|
|
### Third-party monitoring software
|
|
|
|
You can use traditional monitoring software to consume borgmatic JSON output
|
|
and track when the last successful backup occurred. See [scripting
|
|
borgmatic](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#scripting-borgmatic)
|
|
and [related
|
|
software](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/monitor-your-backups/#related-software)
|
|
below for how to configure this.
|
|
|
|
### Borg hosting providers
|
|
|
|
Most [Borg hosting
|
|
providers](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/#hosting-providers) include
|
|
monitoring and alerting as part of their offering. This gives you a dashboard
|
|
to check on all of your backups, and can alert you if the service doesn't hear
|
|
from borgmatic for a configured interval.
|
|
|
|
### Consistency checks
|
|
|
|
While not strictly part of monitoring, if you really want confidence that your
|
|
backups are not only running but are restorable as well, you can configure
|
|
particular [consistency
|
|
checks](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/deal-with-very-large-backups/#consistency-check-configuration)
|
|
or even script full [extract
|
|
tests](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/extract-a-backup/).
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Error hooks
|
|
|
|
When an error occurs during a `prune`, `compact`, `create`, or `check` action,
|
|
borgmatic can run configurable shell commands to fire off custom error
|
|
notifications or take other actions, so you can get alerted as soon as
|
|
something goes wrong. Here's a not-so-useful example:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
on_error:
|
|
- echo "Error while creating a backup or running a backup hook."
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The `on_error` hook supports interpolating particular runtime variables into
|
|
the hook command. Here's an example that assumes you provide a separate shell
|
|
script to handle the alerting:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
on_error:
|
|
- send-text-message.sh "{configuration_filename}" "{repository}"
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
In this example, when the error occurs, borgmatic interpolates runtime values
|
|
into the hook command: the borgmatic configuration filename, and the path of
|
|
the repository. Here's the full set of supported variables you can use here:
|
|
|
|
* `configuration_filename`: borgmatic configuration filename in which the
|
|
error occurred
|
|
* `repository`: path of the repository in which the error occurred (may be
|
|
blank if the error occurs in a hook)
|
|
* `error`: the error message itself
|
|
* `output`: output of the command that failed (may be blank if an error
|
|
occurred without running a command)
|
|
|
|
Note that borgmatic runs the `on_error` hooks only for `prune`, `compact`,
|
|
`create`, or `check` actions or hooks in which an error occurs, and not other
|
|
actions. borgmatic does not run `on_error` hooks if an error occurs within a
|
|
`before_everything` or `after_everything` hook. For more about hooks, see the
|
|
[borgmatic hooks
|
|
documentation](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/add-preparation-and-cleanup-steps-to-backups/),
|
|
especially the security information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Healthchecks hook
|
|
|
|
[Healthchecks](https://healthchecks.io/) is a service that provides "instant
|
|
alerts when your cron jobs fail silently", and borgmatic has built-in
|
|
integration with it. Once you create a Healthchecks account and project on
|
|
their site, all you need to do is configure borgmatic with the unique "Ping
|
|
URL" for your project. Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
healthchecks:
|
|
ping_url: https://hc-ping.com/addffa72-da17-40ae-be9c-ff591afb942a
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
With this hook in place, borgmatic pings your Healthchecks project when a
|
|
backup begins, ends, or errors. Specifically, after the <a
|
|
href="https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/add-preparation-and-cleanup-steps-to-backups/">`before_backup`
|
|
hooks</a> run, borgmatic lets Healthchecks know that it has started if any of
|
|
the `prune`, `compact`, `create`, or `check` actions are run.
|
|
|
|
Then, if the actions complete successfully, borgmatic notifies Healthchecks of
|
|
the success after the `after_backup` hooks run, and includes borgmatic logs in
|
|
the payload data sent to Healthchecks. This means that borgmatic logs show up
|
|
in the Healthchecks UI, although be aware that Healthchecks currently has a
|
|
10-kilobyte limit for the logs in each ping.
|
|
|
|
If an error occurs during any action or hook, borgmatic notifies Healthchecks
|
|
after the `on_error` hooks run, also tacking on logs including the error
|
|
itself. But the logs are only included for errors that occur when a `prune`,
|
|
`compact`, `create`, or `check` action is run.
|
|
|
|
You can customize the verbosity of the logs that are sent to Healthchecks with
|
|
borgmatic's `--monitoring-verbosity` flag. The `--files` and `--stats` flags
|
|
may also be of use. See `borgmatic --help` for more information. Additionally,
|
|
see the [borgmatic configuration
|
|
file](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/reference/configuration/) for
|
|
additional Healthchecks options.
|
|
|
|
You can configure Healthchecks to notify you by a [variety of
|
|
mechanisms](https://healthchecks.io/#welcome-integrations) when backups fail
|
|
or it doesn't hear from borgmatic for a certain period of time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Cronitor hook
|
|
|
|
[Cronitor](https://cronitor.io/) provides "Cron monitoring and uptime healthchecks
|
|
for websites, services and APIs", and borgmatic has built-in
|
|
integration with it. Once you create a Cronitor account and cron job monitor on
|
|
their site, all you need to do is configure borgmatic with the unique "Ping
|
|
API URL" for your monitor. Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
cronitor:
|
|
ping_url: https://cronitor.link/d3x0c1
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
With this hook in place, borgmatic pings your Cronitor monitor when a backup
|
|
begins, ends, or errors. Specifically, after the <a
|
|
href="https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/add-preparation-and-cleanup-steps-to-backups/">`before_backup`
|
|
hooks</a> run, borgmatic lets Cronitor know that it has started if any of the
|
|
`prune`, `compact`, `create`, or `check` actions are run. Then, if the actions
|
|
complete successfully, borgmatic notifies Cronitor of the success after the
|
|
`after_backup` hooks run. And if an error occurs during any action or hook,
|
|
borgmatic notifies Cronitor after the `on_error` hooks run.
|
|
|
|
You can configure Cronitor to notify you by a [variety of
|
|
mechanisms](https://cronitor.io/docs/cron-job-notifications) when backups fail
|
|
or it doesn't hear from borgmatic for a certain period of time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Cronhub hook
|
|
|
|
[Cronhub](https://cronhub.io/) provides "instant alerts when any of your
|
|
background jobs fail silently or run longer than expected", and borgmatic has
|
|
built-in integration with it. Once you create a Cronhub account and monitor on
|
|
their site, all you need to do is configure borgmatic with the unique "Ping
|
|
URL" for your monitor. Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
cronhub:
|
|
ping_url: https://cronhub.io/start/1f5e3410-254c-11e8-b61d-55875966d031
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
With this hook in place, borgmatic pings your Cronhub monitor when a backup
|
|
begins, ends, or errors. Specifically, after the <a
|
|
href="https://torsion.org/borgmatic/docs/how-to/add-preparation-and-cleanup-steps-to-backups/">`before_backup`
|
|
hooks</a> run, borgmatic lets Cronhub know that it has started if any of the
|
|
`prune`, `compact`, `create`, or `check` actions are run. Then, if the actions
|
|
complete successfully, borgmatic notifies Cronhub of the success after the
|
|
`after_backup` hooks run. And if an error occurs during any action or hook,
|
|
borgmatic notifies Cronhub after the `on_error` hooks run.
|
|
|
|
Note that even though you configure borgmatic with the "start" variant of the
|
|
ping URL, borgmatic substitutes the correct state into the URL when pinging
|
|
Cronhub ("start", "finish", or "fail").
|
|
|
|
You can configure Cronhub to notify you by a [variety of
|
|
mechanisms](https://docs.cronhub.io/integrations.html) when backups fail
|
|
or it doesn't hear from borgmatic for a certain period of time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## PagerDuty hook
|
|
|
|
In case you're new here: [borgmatic](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/) is
|
|
simple, configuration-driven backup software for servers and workstations,
|
|
powered by [Borg Backup](https://www.borgbackup.org/).
|
|
|
|
[PagerDuty](https://www.pagerduty.com/) provides incident monitoring and
|
|
alerting. borgmatic has built-in integration that can notify you via PagerDuty
|
|
as soon as a backup fails, so you can make sure your backups keep working.
|
|
|
|
First, create a PagerDuty account and <a
|
|
href="https://support.pagerduty.com/docs/services-and-integrations">service</a>
|
|
on their site. On the service, add an integration and set the Integration Type
|
|
to "borgmatic".
|
|
|
|
Then, configure borgmatic with the unique "Integration Key" for your service.
|
|
Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
pagerduty:
|
|
integration_key: a177cad45bd374409f78906a810a3074
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
With this hook in place, borgmatic creates a PagerDuty event for your service
|
|
whenever backups fail. Specifically, if an error occurs during a `create`,
|
|
`prune`, `compact`, or `check` action, borgmatic sends an event to PagerDuty
|
|
before the `on_error` hooks run. Note that borgmatic does not contact
|
|
PagerDuty when a backup starts or ends without error.
|
|
|
|
You can configure PagerDuty to notify you by a [variety of
|
|
mechanisms](https://support.pagerduty.com/docs/notifications) when backups
|
|
fail.
|
|
|
|
If you have any issues with the integration, [please contact
|
|
us](https://torsion.org/borgmatic/#support-and-contributing).
|
|
|
|
|
|
## ntfy hook
|
|
|
|
[ntfy](https://ntfy.sh) is a free, simple, service (either hosted or self-hosted)
|
|
which offers simple pub/sub push notifications to multiple platforms including
|
|
[web](https://ntfy.sh/stats), [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.heckel.ntfy)
|
|
and [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ntfy/id1625396347).
|
|
|
|
Since push notifications for regular events might soon become quite annoying,
|
|
this hook only fires on any errors by default in order to instantly alert you to issues.
|
|
The `states` list can override this.
|
|
|
|
As ntfy is unauthenticated, it isn't a suitable channel for any private information
|
|
so the default messages are intentionally generic. These can be overridden, depending
|
|
on your risk assessment. Each `state` can have its own custom messages, priorities and tags
|
|
or, if none are provided, will use the default.
|
|
|
|
An example configuration is shown here, with all the available options, including
|
|
[priorities](https://ntfy.sh/docs/publish/#message-priority) and
|
|
[tags](https://ntfy.sh/docs/publish/#tags-emojis):
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
hooks:
|
|
ntfy:
|
|
topic: my-unique-topic
|
|
server: https://ntfy.my-domain.com
|
|
start:
|
|
title: A Borgmatic backup started
|
|
message: Watch this space...
|
|
tags: borgmatic
|
|
priority: min
|
|
finish:
|
|
title: A Borgmatic backup completed successfully
|
|
message: Nice!
|
|
tags: borgmatic,+1
|
|
priority: min
|
|
fail:
|
|
title: A Borgmatic backup failed
|
|
message: You should probably fix it
|
|
tags: borgmatic,-1,skull
|
|
priority: max
|
|
states:
|
|
- start
|
|
- finish
|
|
- fail
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Scripting borgmatic
|
|
|
|
To consume the output of borgmatic in other software, you can include an
|
|
optional `--json` flag with `create`, `list`, or `info` to get the output
|
|
formatted as JSON.
|
|
|
|
Note that when you specify the `--json` flag, Borg's other non-JSON output is
|
|
suppressed so as not to interfere with the captured JSON. Also note that JSON
|
|
output only shows up at the console, and not in syslog.
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Related software
|
|
|
|
* [Borgmacator GNOME AppIndicator](https://github.com/N-Coder/borgmacator/)
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Latest backups
|
|
|
|
All borgmatic actions that accept an "--archive" flag allow you to specify an
|
|
archive name of "latest". This lets you get the latest archive without having
|
|
to first run "borgmatic list" manually, which can be handy in automated
|
|
scripts. Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
```bash
|
|
borgmatic info --archive latest
|
|
```
|