tarsnapper
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Description:
Tarsnap wrapper which expires backups using a gfs-scheme
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Devops
Tags: backup tarsnap gfs automation devops
Install: brew install tarsnapper
About:
Tarsnapper is a command-line utility that wraps the Tarsnap backup client to provide intelligent backup expiration. It implements Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS) rotation schemes, allowing you to maintain a tiered history of backups (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly) while automatically pruning older archives. This simplifies long-term backup management on Tarsnap without requiring custom scripting.
Key Features:
  • Implements GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) rotation schemes
  • Automatic expiration of old backups based on custom rules
  • Wrapper around Tarsnap for seamless integration
  • Configuration file support for defining backup jobs
Use Cases:
  • Automating long-term server backups with tiered retention
  • Managing backup history without manual cleanup scripts
  • Ensuring compliance with data retention policies
Alternatives:
  • tarsnapper-go – A Go rewrite of tarsnapper offering similar GFS functionality with potential performance improvements
  • restic – Modern backup tool with built-in pruning and repository management, but uses different storage backends
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 12, 2025 3:20am 1 VERSION_BUMP 7cc7faab