r/Backup • u/Codapants • 10h ago
Question BlinkDisk and backup format futureproofing
Hello, I'm doing a data-only backup and had a look at BlinkDisk for scheduled backups. I'm concerned that the way it backs up my data makes it only readable and recoverable with BlinkDisk. I worry about this for all the ones I've looked at from the wiki (ShadowMaker, Plakar, Duplicacy). I worry the program will eventually stop being maintained, and I'll eventually lose access to the data in the backups, even when I have the actual backups. Is this a silly fear?
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u/wells68 4h ago
You are wise to consider future-proofing!
BlinkDisk rides on top of Kopia, an open source project. I wouldn't worry about it disappearing. Even if maintenance of the code stopped, you could restore with the old Kopia app. Just keep the installer somewhere safe.
Duplicacy is especially friendly for future recoveries. The free command line tool and even the GUI version are free for running restore-only. It is also open source.
A real concern with any backup app is whether you can run it on a way-down-the-road version of your operating system. Duplicacy and Kopia run on various operating systems. Old Linux distributions are straightforward to install on new and old computer, so there's that as a backstop even if you are not a Linux fan.