📦 Paperless Backup

An automated Docker-based backup system for Paperless-ngx with email notifications and retention policies.

✨ Features

• 🔄 Automated Backups - Time-scheduled backups with cron integration
• 📧 Email Notifications - Success and failure alerts via SMTP
• 🧹 Retention Policy - Automatic cleanup of old backups

📦 Available on Docker Hub

• 📦 Docker Hub

🚀 Quick Start

minimal Docker Run

docker run -d \
  --name paperless-backup \
  -e PAPERLESS_CONTAINER_NAME=paperless \
  -e PAPERLESS_EXPORT_DIR=../export \
  -v /path/to/paperless/export:/export \
  -v /path/to/backups:/backups \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  ghcr.io/rossberi/paperless-backup:latest

Docker Compose (with SMTP)

services:
  paperless-backup:
    image: ghcr.io/rossberi/paperless-backup:latest
    container_name: paperless-backup
    environment:
      PAPERLESS_CONTAINER_NAME: paperless
      PAPERLESS_EXPORT_DIR: '../export'
      BACKUP_DIR: '/backups'
      EXPORT_DIR: '/export'
      BACKUP_PREFIX: 'backup'
      BACKUP_SCHEDULE: "0 2 * * *"  # Optional: Daily at 02:00
      KEEP_BACKUPS: 7
      BACKUP_ON_STARTUP: False
      
      # Optional: SMTP Configuration
      # SMTP_SERVER: smtp.example.com
      # SMTP_PORT: 587
      # SMTP_USERNAME: your-email@example.com
      # SMTP_PASSWORD: your-app-password
      # SMTP_SENDER: your-email@example.com
      # SMTP_RECIPIENT: recipient@example.com
      # SMTP_SUBJECT_SUCCESS: "✅ Paperless Backup successful"
      # SMTP_SUBJECT_FAILURE: "❌ Paperless Backup failed"
      # SMTP_SECURITY: starttls
    volumes:
      - /path/to/paperless/export:/export
      - /path/to/backups:/backups
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock

📋 Configuration

Required Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
PAPERLESS_CONTAINER_NAME	paperless	Name of the Paperless Docker container
PAPERLESS_EXPORT_DIR	../export	Export directory inside Paperless container
BACKUP_DIR	/backup	Target directory for backups
BACKUP_PREFIX	backup	Prefix of the backup files
EXPORT_DIR	/export	Local export directory
KEEP_BACKUPS	7	Number of backup versions to keep
BACKUP_ON_STARTUP	False	Run a backup on startup

Optional: SMTP Configuration

To enable email notifications, set the following variables:

Variable	Description
SMTP_SERVER	SMTP server address
SMTP_PORT	SMTP port (default: 587)
SMTP_USERNAME	Username for SMTP authentication
SMTP_PASSWORD	Password for SMTP authentication
SMTP_SENDER	Sender email address
SMTP_RECIPIENT	Recipient email address
SMTP_SUBJECT_SUCCESS	Subject line for successful backup
SMTP_SUBJECT_FAILURE	Subject line for failed backup
SMTP_SECURITY	Security type: starttls (default), ssl, or plain

Cron Syntax

The BACKUP_SCHEDULE variable uses standard cron syntax:

┌───────────── Minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── Hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── Day of Month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── Month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── Day of Week (0 - 6) (Sunday = 0)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Examples:

• 0 2 * * * - Daily at 02:00 AM
• 0 3 * * 0 - Every Sunday at 03:00 AM
• 30 1 * * * - Daily at 01:30 AM
• 0 */4 * * * - Every 4 hours

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

📞 Support

• 🐛 Issues
• 📪 Discord

📚 Resources

• Paperless-ngx Documentation
• Docker Documentation
• Cron Syntax Reference

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Note: Make sure to regularly test your backups and keep them in a safe location! 🔒