What is a Repository?

A repository is a BorgBackup storage location that holds deduplicated, compressed, and encrypted backup archives. Each repository belongs to a specific client and can contain many archives (recovery points). BorgBackup repositories provide:

Deduplication — Only unique data blocks are stored, dramatically reducing storage usage
Compression — Data is compressed using LZ4, zlib, or zstd algorithms
Encryption — AES-256 encryption keeps your data safe
Incremental backups — Only changed data is transferred after the first backup

Creating a Repository

To create a new repository, navigate to the client detail page, click the Repositories tab, then click Create Repository.

Screenshot coming soon

Storage Type

Local (this server) — Repository is stored on the BBS server's local disk. This is the default.
Remote SSH — Repository is created on a remote SSH host like rsync.net, BorgBase, or Hetzner Storage Box. No data is stored on the BBS server.

Encryption Mode

repokey-blake2 (Recommended) — AES-256 encryption with the key stored inside the repository, protected by your passphrase
keyfile-blake2 — AES-256 encryption with the key stored separately from the repository
none — No encryption (not recommended for production data)

Passphrase

For encrypted repositories, enter a strong passphrase. BBS encrypts this passphrase before storing it in the database, and the agent uses it automatically for all operations.

Important: If you lose both the passphrase and the BBS database, your backups cannot be recovered. Store your passphrase in a secure password manager.

Repository Detail Page

Click on any repository to view its detail page. The header shows key metrics: size, archive count, oldest/newest archive dates, and whether a job is currently running.

Repository Info

Encryption — Encryption method used
Borg Version — Version that created and last accessed the repository
Backup Plans — Number of plans using this repository
Recent Jobs — Table of the most recent jobs with time, type, status, and duration

Maintenance Operations

The repository detail page provides four maintenance operations, all queued as jobs:

Check Repository

Verifies integrity by checking all archives for corruption. Safe to run at any time. Run this monthly or after any suspected disk issues.

Compact Repository

Reclaims disk space by removing unused data chunks left behind after pruning. BBS also runs compact automatically every Saturday at 2:00 AM if auto-compact is enabled.

Repair Repository

Attempts to fix errors found by a check operation. Use with caution — repair may delete damaged data to restore consistency. Only use after a check reports errors.

Break Lock

Forcibly removes stale locks from interrupted operations. Only use if you're certain no operations are currently running and a previous operation left a stale lock.

S3 Offsite Mirror

Local repositories can be configured to automatically mirror to S3-compatible cloud storage for offsite disaster recovery. Enable S3 sync from the repository detail page by selecting an S3 configuration. See the Plugins guide for S3 setup details.

Tip: Use descriptive repository names that indicate the backup content, like "web-server-files" or "mysql-databases". Avoid generic names like "backup1".