#999493 RFP: pika-backup -- simple backups based on borg

Package:
wnpp
Source:
wnpp
Submitter:
Debian Borg Collective
Date:
2025-11-29 16:49:46 UTC
Severity:
wishlist
#999493#5
Date:
2021-11-11 22:22:28 UTC
From:
To:
* Package name    : pika-backup
  Version         : 0.3.5
  Upstream Author : Sophie Herold
* URL             : https://apps.gnome.org/app/org.gnome.World.PikaBackup/
https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/PikaBackup
https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/pika-backup
* License         : GPL-3
  Programming Lang: Rust
  Description     : simple backups based on borg

Doing backups the easy way. Plugin your USB drive and let the Pika do the rest for you.

Features

 * Setup new backup repositories or uses existing ones
 * Create backups locally and remote
 * Save time and disk space because Pika Backup does not need to copy known data again
 * Encrypt your backups
 * List created archives and browse through their contents
 * Recover files or folders via your file browser

Pika Backup is powered by the well-tested borg-backup software.

Limitations

Currently, scheduled backups are not supported. Excluding files from a
backup via regular expressions and alike is not implemented yet. Pika
Backup is designed to save your personal data and does not support
complete system recovery.

#999493#10
Date:
2022-05-23 21:35:42 UTC
From:
To:
I'm converting this ITP to an RFP because six months have passed without
an update.  Please feel free to revert to an ITP if The Debian Borg
Collective is still working on this package.  Reply follows inline:

Now at v0.4.0

It might also be worth noting that remote backups are supported in the
short description (I haven't verified this functionality).

Scheduled backups are now supported :)

This functionality also appears to now be supported:

https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/pika-backup/uploads/1e287bea9923d89213442658e152cc6c/pika-backup-1.png

Unfortunately Vorta (which I maintain) cannot yet do this either.  An
additional limitation of Pika, as far as I can tell, is that it doesn't
support a mechanism to either a) make LVM or btrfs snapshots.  b) call a
pre & post script to do so.  This is something Vorta is working towards
supporting, while it's unclear whether it will be an eventual feature of
Pika.  I believe the absence of this support may pose an issue for
consistent backups of unquiesced user databases (eg: Akonadi), but maybe
this isn't an issue on GNOME?

From what I can tell, Relax-and-Recover looks like it may be the most
promising solution for full system recovery.  Its distinguishing
features are generation of bootable recovery media and incredible
flexibility.  Relax-and-Recover can also integrate with Borg, but it
does not have a user friendly GUI.

http://relax-and-recover.org

I'm the maintainer of Vorta (Qt-based), and I support a handful of happy
(GNOME) users, but Pika Backup looks easier to set up and has what
appears to be a GNOME HIG interface, and development towards (possibly
already ready) GTK4 support.  In other words, it looks like Pika may be
a better fit for users who use Debian's default desktop (GNOME).  As a
KDE Plasma user, I won't be packaging Pika.

Regards,
Nicholas

#999493#19
Date:
2024-10-02 17:22:41 UTC
From:
To:
On Mon, 23 May 2022 17:35:42 -0400 Nicholas D Steeves <sten@debian.org>  wrote:
 > Control: noowner -1
 > Control: retitle -1 RFP: pika-backup -- simple backups based on borg
 >
 > I'm converting this ITP to an RFP because six months have passed without
 > an update. Please feel free to revert to an ITP if The Debian Borg
 > Collective is still working on this package. Reply follows inline:

 > Now at v0.4.0
 >
 > > Upstream Author : Sophie Herold
 > > * URL : https://apps.gnome.org/app/org.gnome.World.PikaBackup/
 > > https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/PikaBackup
 > > https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/pika-backup
 > > * License : GPL-3
 > > Programming Lang: Rust
 > > Description : simple backups based on borg
 > >
 > > Doing backups the easy way. Plugin your USB drive and let the Pika
do the rest for you.
 > >
 >
 >
 > Scheduled backups are now supported :)
 >
 > > Excluding files from a backup via regular expressions and alike is not
 > > implemented yet.
 >
 > This functionality also appears to now be supported:
 >
 >
https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/pika-backup/uploads/1e287bea9923d89213442658e152cc6c/pika-backup-1.png
 >
 > > Pika Backup is designed to save your personal data and does not
 > > support complete system recovery.

 >

Hi Piper, putting you in CC since you expressed interest (I think). 
Right now no dependencies are missing; so this can be packaged as-is.
imo this package should be maintained with the GNOME team (since this is
a GNOME circle app). I can sponsor the initial upload. For the packaging
https://wiki.debian.org/Gnome/Rust_Packaging is a good start.


best,


werdahias

PS: If you want to package this please retitle this bug as ITP and own
it. Let me know if you need help with this.