Simple Windows Backup Tool

Description

A simple Python tool for performing incremental backups of directories and files for multiple users based on a configuration file.

Reason

Frustrated with the limited backup options offered by Windows:

Windows Backups (cloud-based and incomplete - cannot backup extra directories)
File History (not easily configurable in Windows 11)
Backup & Restore (just doing system's snapshots)

I decided to come up with my own simple solution for performing incremental backups of directories and files.

Features

Configurable through a JSON file.
No installation required.
Can run as a Scheduled Task.
Optional notifications to the taskbar.
Use robocopy (Robust File Copy by Microsoft) under the hood.

Requirements

python 3.x (tested with Python 3.11.6)
pywin32 (only if using notification)

Installation

Download the latest stable release.

Clone directly the repository: git clone https://github.com/sim1angeloni/simple-windows-backup-tool.git

This tool can be run from any location of your choice. You have the flexibility to save the files wherever you prefer.

Usage

Configure the tool. See Configuration.
Set the dryrun mode to false.
To run the tool periodically as a Scheduled Task, see Scheduling the Backups.

To perform a manual run, use the following command: python -u \path\to\simple-windows-backup-tool\backup.py

Configuration

Specify the backup configuration in a JSON file called backup.json that must exist in the same directory of the python script. Here is an example of a configuration file (provided with the repository/stable release):

{
    "backup_directory": "D:\\backup",
    "home_directory": "C:\\Users",
    "source_directories": [
        "%HOME%\\Documents",
        "C:\\Path\\To\\Other\\Directory",
        "E:\\Path\\To\\Directory\\In\\Another\\Drive"
    ],
    "source_files": [
        "%HOME%\\.gitconfig"
    ],
    "debug": true,
    "dryrun": true,
    "notification": false
}

backup_directory: The root directory where backups will be stored. The backups are divided by user and by computer name so the final directory will be <backup_directory>\<username>\<computername>\
source_directories: An array of directories to be backed up. You must specify the absolute paths to each directory. You can use %HOME% to avoid specifying the full path of the subdirectories inside the User's home directory. Using %HOME% will ensure that the script works for multiple users.
source_files: An array of directories to be backed up. You can use %HOME% here too.
debug: Set it to true to log the list of all files that will be interested by the backup. (default: true - does not affect performances)
dryrun: Set it to true to simulate the backup without actually performing it. (default: true - set it to false to activate the backup system)
notification: Set it to true to activate the notifications (default: false - you need to pip install pywin32 to use this system)

Scheduling the Backups

To automate your backups, you can set up the backup tool as a Scheduled Task on your system.

Execute the following script to create and register the scheduled task: python \path\to\simple-windows-backup-tool\register_scheduled_task.py

This script configure the task and install it, specifically:

Create a Python virtual environment under the same simple-windows-backup-tool directory.
Configure the virtual environment with the necessary dependencies. See requirements.txt.
Configure the Scheduled Task reading & modifying the XML file scheduled_task_config.xml provided with the build.
Install the task ScheduledBackup.

After the task is installed you can configure it further:

Open your system's Task Scheduler and ensure that the task ScheduledBackup has been successfully created.
Right click on the task then click Properties to customize it.

By default the task is configured as following:

Run only when the user is logged on.
Run at 3 PM every day.
Can run on demand.
Stop the task if it runs longer than 1 hour.

Congratulations! You've now set up your Python backup script as a scheduled task, making regular backups a breeze. Your data will be protected without any manual intervention.

If you have configured notifications, you will get a notification every time a backup is completed (either successfully or with errors).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute to this project, please follow these steps:

Fork the repository.
Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix: git checkout -b feature-name.
Make your changes and commit them.
Push to your branch: git push origin feature-name.
Create a pull request on GitHub.

You can Report a bug too.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT - see the LICENSE file for details.

sim1angeloni/simple-windows-backup-tool