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Configuration

Mnemosynce is configured through a single YAML file (backup_config.yml) edited directly in the web UI or with any text editor.

Minimal example

dir_backup_local:  /mnt/backup/local
dir_backup_remote: user@backup-host:/mnt/backup/remote
email_sender:      your.account@gmail.com
email_report:      you@example.com

tasks:
  - name: ServerData
    dir_source: /data

Full example

# Where backups are staged locally
dir_backup_local: /mnt/backup/local

# Where the local backup is synced for offsite storage
# Can be user@host:/path (SSH) or a local path
dir_backup_remote: user@backup-host:/mnt/backup/remote

# Gmail address used as the SMTP sender
email_sender: your.account@gmail.com

# Who receives the status report
email_report: you@example.com

# CC'd only when a task fails. Omit or set equal to email_report to disable.
email_admin: admin@example.com

tasks:
  - name: ServerData
    dir_source: /data          # local path on this machine
    excludes:
      - downloads
      - tmp
      - "*.log"

  - name: DesktopHome
    dir_source: user@desktop:/home/user   # remote source over SSH
    excludes:
      - Downloads/*
      - .cache
      - .Trash
      - ".DS_Store"

Top-level fields

Field Required Description
dir_backup_local Yes Local directory where task snapshots are stored
dir_backup_remote Yes Remote destination for the final sync step. Use user@host:/path for SSH or an absolute path for a locally-mounted drive
email_sender Yes Gmail address used as the From address and SMTP username
email_report Yes Address that receives the status report after every run
email_admin No Additional CC address for failure-only notifications. Omit or leave equal to email_report to disable
tasks Yes List of one or more task definitions (see below)

Task fields

Field Required Description
name Yes Unique label used in reports and dashboard
dir_source Yes Source to back up. Local absolute path or user@host:/path for remote
excludes No List of rsync-style glob patterns to exclude from the backup

Source path formats

dir_source: /home/user

Backs up a directory on the same machine running Mnemosynce.

dir_source: user@hostname:/home/user

Backs up from a remote machine over SSH. The backup server's SSH key must be in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the remote host. See SSH keys.

Retention policy

Mnemosynce applies a fixed retention window — you cannot currently change it per-task. Snapshots older than any of these windows are deleted after each run:

Granularity Kept for
Daily 7 days
Weekly 4 weeks
Monthly 12 months
Yearly 5 years

Email password

The Gmail app password is never stored in the config file. Supply it through the environment:

docker-compose.yml
environment:
  GMAIL_PASSWORD: "your-16-char-app-password"

echo "your-app-password" > /etc/mnemosynce/gmail-password
chmod 600 /etc/mnemosynce/gmail-password
export GMAIL_PASSWORD_FILE=/etc/mnemosynce/gmail-password

nix-sops users can point GMAIL_PASSWORD_FILE at the decrypted secret file.

Generating a Gmail app password

Go to your Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords. Generate one labelled "Mnemosynce". The password is a 16-character string with no spaces.