Choosing a backup tool
CapyArk speaks standard protocols — SFTP, rsync over SSH, and raw ZFS — so nearly every backup tool ever written works with it. Here's the ladder, from "drag and drop" to "incremental-forever block replication", all free.
The ladder at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Automation | Encryption by tool* | Effort | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FileZilla / WinSCP | One-off copies, browsing your backups | Manual | — | None |
| 2 | FreeFileSync | Desktop folders, non-technical users | Scheduled GUI | — | 10 min |
| 3 | rsync | Servers, anything scriptable | cron / systemd | — | 15 min |
| 4 | rclone | Power users, many sources, filters | cron / systemd | Optional | 20 min |
| 5 | restic | Versioned, deduplicated, client-encrypted backups | cron / systemd | Always | 30 min |
| 6 | ZFS send/receive | Whole ZFS pools, block-level incremental-forever | scripts / sanoid | — | Advanced |
* Independent of the tool, your CapyArk dataset is encrypted at rest and every transfer travels inside your encrypted private network. "Encryption by tool" means the tool additionally encrypts file contents client-side, so even filenames are opaque in storage.
How to pick in 30 seconds
- “I just want this folder safe, with a GUI.” → FreeFileSync. Mirror your folders on a schedule, see exactly what changed.
- “I have a Linux server.” → rsync with a systemd timer. Boring, bulletproof, done in 15 minutes.
- “I want backup versions I can browse, deduplication, and client-side encryption.” → restic. This is the strongest general recommendation for anyone comfortable with a terminal.
- “My source machine already runs ZFS.” → ZFS send/receive. Nothing else comes close for efficiency.
Sync vs. versioned backup — know the difference
Tools 1–4 synchronize: the destination mirrors the source. If ransomware encrypts your files and the sync runs, the destination gets the encrypted files too. With CapyArk this is still safe — automatic ZFS snapshots preserve the pre-sync state and are immutable from the client side — but your plan’s snapshot retention defines how far back you can reach.
Tools 5–6 are versioned by design: every run creates a new restorable state, and history handling is explicit.
Rule of thumb: sync tools + CapyArk snapshots is a solid setup for most people; restic or ZFS send is the upgrade when you want versioning under your own control too.
A note on tools that don’t fit
- BorgBackup — excellent tool, but it requires the
borgbinary to run on the storage server, which CapyArk’s restricted SSH doesn’t allow. Use restic instead; it’s the same concept over plain SFTP. - Syncthing — designed for two-way sync between live machines, not backups; it also needs a daemon on both ends.
- Duplicati / Kopia — both work fine over SFTP if you prefer their GUIs; configure them with your storage hostname and the SFTP protocol, following the same connection settings as FreeFileSync.