Proxmox Backup Automation Bundle

Proxmox Backup Automation Bundle

The community scripts install services but nobody has touched backup strategy. This bundle sets up a complete backup pipeline: Proxmox Backup Server jobs scheduled and configured, automatic offsite replication to any S3-compatible bucket (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, AWS S3), nightly restore tests, and email alerts when something goes wrong. Losing your homelab to a failed disk with no recent backup is a bad day — this prevents it.

What's Included

• PBS job configuration script — Creates backup jobs for all VMs and LXCs with a configurable retention policy (daily/weekly/monthly)
• Offsite replication script — Syncs PBS datastore snapshots to S3-compatible storage using rclone, with bandwidth limiting and incremental transfers
• Restore test script — Spins up a test restore of the most recent VM backup into a temporary VM, runs a basic connectivity check, then tears it down
• Email notification hooks — PBS job hooks that send success/failure emails via any SMTP server or msmtp
• Retention dashboard query — One-liner to show backup age, size, and verify status for all protected VMs

How It Works

• Run the setup script on your PBS host — it creates jobs, sets retention, and installs the notification hooks
• Configure rclone with your S3 credentials (guided in the README) and set a cron-style systemd timer for offsite sync
• Schedule the restore test script weekly via systemd timer — it emails you the result
• All scripts are idempotent — safe to re-run after config changes

What You Get

• setup-backup-jobs.sh — configures PBS jobs and retention via the PBS API
• offsite-sync.sh — rclone-based incremental sync to S3-compatible storage
• test-restore.sh — automated restore verification with pass/fail email
• notify-hooks/ — PBS job notification scripts for success and failure
• systemd/ — ready-to-install timer and service units for offsite sync and restore testing
• rclone.conf.example — pre-filled config templates for Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and AWS S3
• README.md — full setup guide, retention strategy recommendations, and recovery runbook

Requirements

Proxmox Backup Server 2.x or 3.x (standalone or co-located on your Proxmox node). rclone installed on the PBS host. An S3-compatible bucket for offsite storage. msmtp or SMTP credentials for email alerts.