How to Generate a Full VPS Backup Using rclone (Simple 3-Minute Guide)

This article provides a detailed step-by-step description of how to generate a full VPS backup using rclone.

What is rclone?

Rclone is a powerful open-source command-line tool for managing files on cloud storage services and local storage. You can think of it as kind of like “rsync” (the popular file-copying tool), but specifically designed to work with cloud providers.

At its core, rclone can:

• Upload, download, sync, and copy files between your local computer, servers, and over 90 cloud storage providers (like Google Drive, Dropbox, S3, OneDrive, Backblaze B2, etc.)
• Mount cloud storage as a local filesystem
• Encrypt files before uploading
• Serve files over HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, or SFTP
• Schedule backups, sync directories, and even do server-to-server migrations with no local download

Some common use cases:

• Backup your VPS to Google Drive automatically
• Move large datasets between AWS S3 and Wasabi
• Mount your Dropbox as a drive on your Linux server
• Sync an encrypted folder to Backblaze B2
• Copy a full remote Google Drive folder to a local NAS

Quick example command:

rclone sync /local/folder remote:backup-folder

Where remote could be, say, your Google Drive or Dropbox account (configured beforehand).

Why people love it:

• Lightweight and fast
• Highly configurable
• Supports crypt, compression, bandwidth throttling
• Free and open source

How to Generate a Full VPS Backup Using rclone

To generate a full VPS backup using rclone, follow the steps provided below:

1. Install rclone on your VPS

   First, you need rclone installed.

   curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash

   Check it’s installed:

   rclone version

2. Set Up Your Remote Storage

   You need to tell rclone where you want to send the backup (Google Drive, S3, Dropbox, etc.).

   Start config:

   rclone config
   

   Follow the prompts:

   • New remote → n
   • Name → (something like gdrive_backup)
   • Storage type → pick your cloud provider
   • Authentication → follow the steps (may need browser auth)

   Check your remote:

   rclone listremotes
   

   You should see something like:

   gdrive_backup:
   

3. Decide What to Back Up

   You can back up:

   • Your entire / (full filesystem), or
   • Just key directories: /etc, /home, /var/www, /opt, etc.

   ⚠️ Warning: Backing up the entire system including /proc, /sys, /dev and /tmp is a bad idea. Those are virtual or ephemeral filesystems.

   Better strategy:
   Create a backup folder that excludes risky stuff.

   Example exclude list:

   /etc
   /home
   /var/www
   /opt
   /root
   /usr/local
   

4. Create a Backup Archive (Optional but Recommended)

   Why?

   • Compresses files = faster upload
   • Packs everything = easier to restore

   Use tar to create an archive:

   sudo tar --exclude=/proc --exclude=/sys --exclude=/dev --exclude=/tmp --exclude=/mnt --exclude=/media --exclude=/run -czvf /root/fullbackup.tar.gz /
   

   Explained:

   • --exclude skips volatile directories
   • -czvf = compress, zip, verbose, file

   You’ll get /root/fullbackup.tar.gz.

5. Upload Backup to Remote Storage

   Simple upload:

   rclone copy /root/fullbackup.tar.gz gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/

   Or if you’re backing up folders directly without tar:

   rclone sync /etc gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/etc rclone sync /home gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/home rclone sync /var/www gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/www

6. (Optional) Automate with a Cron Job

   You don’t want to remember this every day. Set up a cronjob.

   Edit crontab:

   crontab -e
   

   Add a line like:

   0 3 * * * /usr/bin/tar --exclude=/proc --exclude=/sys --exclude=/dev --exclude=/tmp --exclude=/mnt --exclude=/media --exclude=/run -czf /root/fullbackup.tar.gz / && /usr/bin/rclone copy /root/fullbackup.tar.gz gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/
   

   Meaning: Every day at 3:00 AM, it will:

   • Create a fresh tar.gz
   • Upload it

7. (Optional) Add Encryption

   To make it safer, encrypt backups.

   Use rclone‘s crypt backend:

   During rclone config, create a crypt remote that encrypts gdrive_backup:/VPS-Backups/ so data is encrypted at rest.

   Then upload to the encrypted remote instead.

Quick Summary

Alternate Guide: Generate a Full VPS Backup with rclone – 1 Step Guide

To generate a full VPS backup with rclone and store the backup in Google Drive (at “VPS Backups” folder), you can use our convenient 1-step process:

1. Login via SSH as root, run the following commands:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Rad-Web-Hosting/vps-backup-rclone/refs/heads/main/vps_backup.sh chmod +x vps_backup.sh ./vps_backup.sh

That’s it! The backup will be generated and sent to your Google Drive folder, titled “VPS Backups”.

Conclusion

You now know how to generate a full VPS backup using rclone.