btrbk vs Restic Browser
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | btrbk | Restic Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 76 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Perl | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,155 | ★ 1,306 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are btrbk and Restic Browser?
btrbk
btrbk is a backup tool for creating and managing snapshots of Btrfs subvolumes and replicating them to local or remote targets. It is designed for incremental, atomic backups driven by a simple configuration file.
- Incremental Btrfs backups
- Remote replication over SSH
- Configurable retention
- Atomic snapshots
Restic Browser
Restic Browser is a cross-platform desktop application that lets you explore the contents of Restic backup repositories and restore individual files. It provides a graphical alternative to the CLI.
- Browse Restic snapshots visually
- Restore individual files
- Cross-platform desktop app
btrbk vs Restic Browser: key differences
Btrbk is written in Perl, while Restic Browser is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for btrbk versus MIT for Restic Browser. Btrbk is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Restic Browser. Btrbk is the more established project (first released 2014), while Restic Browser arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose btrbk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Btrfs only
- No graphical interface
Choose Restic Browser if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is btrbk or Restic Browser better?
Neither is universally better. btrbk has the larger community, while Restic Browser is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are btrbk and Restic Browser free and open-source?
Yes. btrbk is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Restic Browser under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run btrbk and Restic Browser with Docker?
btrbk: check the project docs for container support. Restic Browser: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, btrbk or Restic Browser?
btrbk has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Restic Browser. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.