Duplicati
Duplicati is an open-source backup client that makes encrypted, incremental and compressed backups from your machine to cloud, remote or local storage. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and can be self-hosted via a local web UI, CLI or container image; you keep control of the backup destination (your NAS, object store or preferred cloud provider).
The tool targets home users, power users and small businesses that want a low-cost, flexible backup solution with client-side AES-256/GPG encryption, scheduling and multiple storage backends. It’s feature-rich for an MIT‑licensed project, but certain operational trade-offs — a local SQLite metadata DB and community-driven support — affect suitability for larger or mission‑critical deployments.
Use Cases
- Personal or household backups to a home NAS, Raspberry Pi or inexpensive object storage (Backblaze B2, S3-compatible buckets).
- Small-business backups where cost and control matter more than enterprise SLAs — scheduled encrypted backups to self‑hosted servers or cloud accounts.
- Developers and ops using Docker or containers to pull a simple backup stack into Synology / TrueNAS / generic Docker hosts.
- Remote or hybrid workers who need client-side encryption before uploading to third‑party cloud providers (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.).
- Environments that require consistent backups of open files using VSS (Windows) or LVM snapshots (Linux).
Strengths
- Client-side encryption (AES-256/GPG): keeps data private before it leaves your host — good for privacy and compliance needs.
- Wide backend and protocol support: S3/B2/Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox, SFTP, WebDAV, FTP and local filesystems — reduces vendor lock‑in.
- Incremental, block-based uploads and compression: saves bandwidth and storage after the initial backup.
- Scheduler and retention rules: automate backup cadence and version pruning (daily/weekly/monthly policies).
- Web UI and CLI: lowers the barrier for non‑technical users while remaining scriptable for headless servers.
- Cross-platform and containerized: runs on Windows/macOS/Linux and as Docker images for easy deployment on diverse hosts.
- Volume snapshot support and verification: can capture live files consistently and validate repositories.
- Open-source MIT license and active community resources: no licensing cost and community documentation/support.
Limitations
- Local metadata DB is a single point of failure: the SQLite DB can become corrupted; repairing may require rebuilding or reindexing repositories.
- Reliability concerns reported by community: some users report corrupted backup sets or repository issues — plan for extra safeguards and frequent tests.
- Performance and scalability limits: high CPU/I/O for large datasets or many small files; may be slow for very large restores or massive file counts.
- Restore fragility and speed: long or fragile restores reported in some scenarios; interrupted restores can be problematic.
- Occasional bugs and slower development cadence: while maintained, edge‑case fixes and enterprise‑grade SLAs are not guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
Duplicati is a practical, low‑cost choice for self‑hosters who prioritize client‑side encryption, flexible destination choices and a user-friendly setup. It fits well for personal use, small teams and mixed OS environments where you want control over storage and encryption without vendor lock‑in.
Before committing to Duplicati for critical data, run a short pilot: configure backups to your target storage, perform full restores, and verify repository integrity. Operational recommendations: back up the local SQLite metadata DB regularly, keep an independent secondary copy of critical data, enable object‑store versioning when available, and monitor CPU/I/O on backup windows. For enterprise requirements — large‑scale datasets, guaranteed SLAs, or avoidance of local metadata — evaluate alternatives (for example, tools that embed metadata in the repository such as Restic or Kopia, or commercial backup services).