Restic Cheatsheet

The cheat sheets below provide a quick guide for things you might already know but forget the commands/variable names.

CLI Args

Arg	Notes
`-r/--repo/--repository /path/to/repo`	When running `restic` commands, sets the path to the repository.
`--repository-file /path/to/restic_repo_path`	Read the path to a restic repository. Same as passing the path with `-r`, but reads it from a file instead.
`--password-file /path/to/restic_password`	Read the password to a Restic repository from a file.
`--password-command <command>`	Shell command to obtain repository password (i.e. password manager CLI, read vault secret, etc).
`--key-hint <key>`	Key ID of a Restic repository key.

Command	Explained
`restic init --repo /path/to/repo`	Initializes a restic repository at the given path. Note that the path must exist before you run the init command (`mkdir -p /path/to/repo`).
`restic --repo /path/to/backup_repository --password-file ~/.restic/passwords/main backup /home/username --exclude-file ~/.restic/ignores/default --exclude *.jpg`	Creates a backup of `/home/repository` at the path in the `/path/to/backup_repository` path, provides the password in a file `restic` can read, provides a file defining patterns & paths to ignore, and explicitly excludes `.jpg` files from the backup.

Environment Variable	Example Value	Notes
`RESTIC_REPOSITORY`	`/opt/backups/restic/repo_name`	When running `restic` commands, provides the `--repo` value.
`RESTIC_REPOSITORY_FILE`	`/path/to/restic_repo_path`	Read the path to a Restic repository from a file. You do not need to use `-r/--repo` when this is set.
`RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE`	`/path/to/restic_password`	Read the password to a Restic repository from a file. Without this, you will be prompted for the repository's password.
`RESTIC_KEY_HINT`	`eb78040b`	Key ID of a Restic repository key.