how to write a backup script?

[joseph2020]

Yet more backup questions. I use

sudo tar -cvf /media/disk/filedate.tar  /etc
sudo tar -cvf /media/disk/filedate.tar /home/joe

What I want to do is write a short script(mybackup) that will automate that for me, so when I type mybackup it executes the commands AND replaces the "filedate.tar" with "the date of that day".tar.

Possibly using some variation of the "date" command. I tried

 date %m%d%y

and that gives me the output I want. How do I sub that for filedate.tar in the script?

Thanks in advance

[bigtomrodney]

Well here are two things to start you off.

• I see you are using sudo. If the script needs root access, run it as root. You should use sudo in scripts. Maybe a cron job under root could do it for you
• When using the date command, you're best to use the YYYYMMDD format, i.e. high-to-low. That way you have an inherent file sorting and the output directory won't seem as garbled

Try this

tar -cvf /media/disk/$(date +%Y%m%d).tar /home/joe

If you intend using the date a few times, set it into a variable and then use the variable in each command. That way if the day changes during the script you won't get inconsistent results

BACKUPDATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
tar -cvf /media/disk/$BACKUPDATE.tar /home/joe

Also, you've used the same archive name for both backups. Don't forget to put something into the name to distinguish them, or at least don't use the create switch the second time.

[jmadero]

no need to do a script

sudo apt-get install sbackup

then go to system-> admin -> sbackup configuration

you can set it for however frequently and what folders. It'll auto make a compressed folder with everything in it

[joseph2020]

jmadero, thanks for your reply

bigtomrodney, thank you for your practical and clear reply. Sounds like you have the answer and I will try that very soon.

BACKUPDATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
tar -cvf /media/disk/$BACKUPDATE.tar /home/joe

Thanks again

[joseph2020]

Thank You for all your help. Problem is solved