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pds-backup is a Bash script that automates backups of your AT Protocol Personal Data Server. It stops the PDS service, creates a timestamped .tar.gz archive of /pds, compares SHA-256 checksums against the most recent remote backup to skip unchanged runs, transfers via rsync over SSH (with up to 3 retries), then restarts the PDS. Cron jobs are installed automatically for twice-daily runs at midnight and noon.

Requirements

Linux with systemd (systemctl for PDS service management)
Root privileges (sudo)
Passwordless SSH configured to the destination machine
The bluesky-social/pds server installed

Configuration

Edit the variables at the top of the script:

SOURCE_DIR="/pds"                          # PDS data directory
DEST_USER="user"                           # Destination SSH username
DEST_IP="192.168.1.100"                    # Destination IP
DEST_BASE_DIR="/path/to/remote/backup"     # Remote backup root
MAX_RETRIES=3
RETRY_INTERVAL=60

What Happens on Each Run

Pings the destination to check it's reachable
Stops the PDS service
Creates a timestamped .tar.gz of SOURCE_DIR
Compares SHA-256 checksum against the latest remote backup — skips transfer if unchanged
Creates a timestamped directory on the remote and transfers via rsync
Deletes the local archive on success
Removes remote backup directories older than 30 days
Rotates local logs (>1000 lines or >30 days old); deletes logs older than 90 days
Restarts the PDS service
Updates the crontab for midnight and noon daily runs

If any step fails, the script attempts to restart the PDS service before exiting to minimise downtime.

Usage

sudo ./pds-backup.sh

Cron jobs are installed automatically on each run. Monitor logs:

tail -f /path/to/script/logs/pds-backup/*.log

Licence

See repository.