How to decrypt my backup properly

[PW_Zarechniy]

Hi there,
I’m using Duplicati for backups on my NAS. And I’d like to clarify 2 things.

1. How can I decrypt my backup if something will go wrong? These articles are good

https://forum.duplicati.com/t/restore-not-possible-on-manually-decrypted-gpg-backup/19536/4

https://docs.duplicati.com/using-tools/encrypting-and-decrypting-files

https://docs.duplicati.com/duplicati-programs/command-line-interface-cli-1/sharpaescrypt

but at the destination folder a looooot of *.aes files.

2. Is this ok, when I use 3 backup tasks, 3 folders as data source, but at the same time I have only 1 backup (destination) folder?

3. And how does Duplicati or other decryption software will find out which files with which versions should be recovered?

Thanks in advance.

[kenkendk]

@PW_Zarechniy

1. How can I decrypt my backup if something will go wrong?

Should everything be severely damaged, Duplicati ships with RecoveryTool which is designed to enable restores, even on seriously damaged backup storage.

If you prefer, there is also a Python script that can do recovery:

duplicati/Tools/Commandline/RestoreFromPython at master · duplicati/duplicati

@PW_Zarechniy

2. Is this ok, when I use 3 backup tasks, 3 folders as data source, but at the same time I have only 1 backup (destination) folder?

That does not sound correct. Duplicati will generally need one folder per backup task. You can add/remove sources to the backup, but each backup configuration needs a single remote folder.

@PW_Zarechniy

3. And how does Duplicati or other decryption software will find out which files with which versions should be recovered?

Decryption is the easy part. You can use any tool that implements the AESCrypt specification, and Duplicati ships with one.

If you want to restore data, you need to understand how Duplicati works internally. This document essentially describes what the recovery tool does:

How the restore process works

Duplicati Restore Process If you have read the How the backup process works document, you might be wondering how the restore process uses the stored data to restore your files. This document explains this process, using the Duplicati.CommandLine.RecoveryTool.exe process as the starting point, so we can skip the complications added by the local database. Unless you are curious about the inner workings of Duplicati, you do not need to read this document, you can simply use the normal restore proce…

[PW_Zarechniy]

Great, thanks, I’ll fix my setup like that 3 backups - 3 destination folders. Thanks a lot for your quick answer and support!

[Sarah03]

One thing I’d do is test the decryption on a small backup first, just to make sure you have the correct passphrase and process. It’s a lot less stressful than finding out during a full restore.

[PW_Zarechniy]

Thanks a lot for your suggestion. I’ll reinstall Duplicati as a normal app (not a container), then will configure everything from the scratch and will test my backups!