Autorestic vs Tarsnap GUI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Autorestic | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 52 · Fair | 7 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,868 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2019 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Backblaze |
What are Autorestic and Tarsnap GUI?
Autorestic
Autorestic is a higher-level wrapper around Restic that makes it easy to manage multiple backups from a single declarative configuration file. It handles backends, locations, and scheduling.
- Declarative backup config
- Multiple backends and locations
- Cron-based scheduling
Tarsnap GUI
Tarsnap GUI is a cross-platform graphical client for the Tarsnap secure online backup service, making encrypted deduplicated backups accessible without the command line. It manages archives, scheduling, and restores through a desktop interface.
- Tarsnap archive management
- Scheduling support
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Cross-platform UI
Autorestic vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Autorestic is written in Go, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Autorestic versus BSD-2-Clause for Tarsnap GUI. Autorestic is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Tarsnap GUI. Tarsnap GUI is the more established project (first released 2016), while Autorestic arrived in 2019. Autorestic has the considerably larger community, at 1,868 GitHub stars versus 251. Autorestic lists first-class Docker deployment; Tarsnap GUI does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Autorestic if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
Choose Tarsnap GUI if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Tarsnap service is paid
- Requires Tarsnap CLI
Frequently asked questions
Is Autorestic or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Autorestic has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Autorestic and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Autorestic is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Autorestic and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Autorestic: yes. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Autorestic or Tarsnap GUI?
Autorestic has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Tarsnap GUI. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.