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7487b1a72352247c18b33f26c51ab5766eab84ae

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Verified · cmc

cmc <hello@cleberg.net> · 2026-04-22 20:04 UTC

publish new post: self-hosting-zerobyte

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content/blog/2026-04-22-self-hosting-zerobyte.org added +182

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	1	#+date: [2026-04-22 Wed 09:59:21]
	2	#+title: Automating Backups with Zerobyte & Cloudflare R2
	3	#+description: Learn how to self-host Zerobyte and automate your backups!
	4	#+slug: self-hosting-zerobyte
	5	#+filetags: :self-hosting:
	6
	7	[[https://zerobyte.app][Zerobyte]] is a slick backup solution you can self host. It's one of the easiest
	8	apps I've self hosted and the backup jobs are running smoothly.
	9
	10	In this post, I will show you how I've configured backups on my server to backup
	11	data to Cloudflare R2.
	12
	13	* Installation
	14	** Docker
	15
	16	First, let's install the app with Docker Compose. Create a directory for your
	17	=compose.yml= file in a location you'll remember.
	18
	19	#+begin_src bash
	20	mkdir ~/zerobyte
	21	cd ~/zerobyte
	22	nano compose.yml
	23	#+end_src
	24
	25	Next, paste the following content into the =compose.yml= file. You may want to
	26	customize the =ports=, =environment=, and =volumes= sections.
	27
	28	#+begin_src yaml
	29	services:
	30	zerobyte:
	31	image: ghcr.io/nicotsx/zerobyte:v0.30
	32	container_name: zerobyte
	33	restart: unless-stopped
	34	cap_add:
	35	- SYS_ADMIN
	36	ports:
	37	- "4096:4096"
	38	devices:
	39	- /dev/fuse:/dev/fuse
	40	environment:
	41	- TZ=America/Chicago
	42	- BASE_URL=https://zb.example.com
	43	- APP_SECRET=...
	44	volumes:
	45	- /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
	46	- /var/lib/zerobyte:/var/lib/zerobyte
	47	- /path/to/backup:/path/to/backup
	48	#+end_src
	49
	50	When you're done editing, launch the container.
	51
	52	#+begin_src bash
	53	sudo docker compose up -d
	54	#+end_src
	55
	56	At this point, you can access the app via [[http://localhost:4096]].
	57
	58	** Nginx
	59
	60	If you want to be able to access the app remotely, you'll need to utilize
	61	something like a reverse proxy or tunnelling software.
	62
	63	This example uses Nginx as a reverse proxy. To start, edit a configuration file
	64	in Nginx:
	65
	66	#+begin_src bash
	67	cd /etc/nginx/conf.d
	68	nano zb.conf
	69	#+end_src
	70
	71	#+begin_src conf
	72	server {
	73	listen 80;
	74	server_name zb.example.com;
	75	location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4096; }
	76	}
	77	#+end_src
	78
	79	Once you've created the file, test your Nginx configuration and restart the web
	80	server.
	81
	82	#+begin_src bash
	83	sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
	84	#+end_src
	85
	86	If your version of Nginx uses the =sites-available= structure instead, do this:
	87
	88	#+begin_src bash
	89	cd /etc/nginx/sites-available
	90	nano zb
	91	# Edit the file
	92	sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/zb /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/zb
	93	#+end_src
	94
	95	You may also need to provision a TLS/SSL certificate and add a =443= block to your
	96	Nginx configuration above, if you wish to connect securely.
	97
	98	* Configuration
	99
	100	At this point, you will be able to access the app. Upon first login, you will
	101	need to create an administrator account.
	102
	103	I won't be diving fully into the setup process. I highly suggest reading the
	104	[[https://zerobyte.app/docs][Zerobyte Docs]]. They are very helpful and will walk you through the setup for
	105	your provider.
	106
	107	** Volumes
	108
	109	First, create a volume. This is a file or directory on your server that you wish
	110	to back up. You can see I have two directories connected as volumes.
	111
	112	#+CAPTION: Volumes List
	113	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/volumes_01.webp]]
	114
	115	When you create a volume, you will be able to dictate the name, path, and type.
	116
	117	Remember to add a =volume= in your =compose.yml= file to ensure it's available
	118	within the app!
	119
	120	#+CAPTION: Volume Configuration
	121	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/volumes_02.webp]]
	122
	123	Finally, you can inspect the files within your volume.
	124
	125	#+CAPTION: Volume Files
	126	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/volumes_03.webp]]
	127
	128	** Repositories
	129
	130	The next step is to connect to a remote repository. This example uses Cloudflare
	131	R2 buckets.
	132
	133	#+CAPTION: Repositories List
	134	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/repositories_01.webp]]
	135
	136	Within this configuration page, you can see the =Configuration= section in the
	137	bottom-right detailing the connection information.
	138
	139	#+CAPTION: Repository Configuration
	140	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/repositories_02.webp]]
	141
	142	When each backup runs, it produces a snapshot that you can view and explore.
	143
	144	#+CAPTION: Repository Snapshots
	145	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/repositories_03.webp]]
	146
	147	Within a snapshot, you can review information about the backup job that ran and
	148	produced the snapshot, as well as the files at that point in time.
	149
	150	#+CAPTION: Snapshot Details
	151	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/repositories_04.webp]]
	152
	153	** Backups
	154
	155	You can create any backup jobs (daily, weekly, monthly, specific days, or with a
	156	cron pattern). This allows you to specify:
	157	- The volume to be backed up
	158	- The repository to back up to
	159	- The schedule
	160	- The files to backup (all will be backed up if nothing is specifically selected)
	161	- Include/exclude patterns
	162	- Retention policies
	163	- Custom restic patterns
	164
	165	#+CAPTION: Backup Jobs
	166	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/backups_01.webp]]
	167
	168	Within a backup job, you can configure the related notifications, snapshots, or
	169	backup/edit/cleanup the job.
	170
	171	#+CAPTION: Backup Job Details
	172	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/backups_02.webp]]
	173
	174	** Notifications
	175
	176	Lastly, you can enable various notification channels to receive alerts when jobs
	177	start, fail, complete, etc.
	178
	179	I have used an SMTP email provider to send myself emails upon these points.
	180
	181	#+CAPTION: Notification Settings
	182	[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20260422-self-hosting-zerobyte/notifications.webp]]

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