Restic commands

Feb 11, 2026 • Cheatsheet/restic • 3 min read

docker run --rm
-v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo
-e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo
-e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass
restic/restic init

docker run --rm -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass -v /mnt/disk2/docker/authelia:/data:ro restic/restic backup /data

Since you’ve successfully initialized your repository, you’re ready to manage your backups like a pro. Because you are using Docker, remember that almost every command will need the -v /your/path:/repo and -e RESTIC_PASSWORD flags.

Here are the commands you’ll use 90% of the time:

To make these commands work with your specific setup, you need to include the volume flags every time. Using the /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost as your repository and /mnt/disk2/docker/ as your source, here are the commands you will use most often.

1. View All Backups (Snapshots)

Use this to see your history, the IDs of your backups, and which tags you’ve used.

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic snapshots

2. Backing Up with Tags

Adding a --tag is essential when you have multiple containers (Immich, Authelia, 11ty) going into the same repository. It makes restoring much easier.

For Authelia:

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -v /mnt/disk2/docker/authelia:/data:ro \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic backup /data --tag authelia

For Immich (Photos/Library):

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -v /mnt/disk2/immich/library:/data:ro \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic backup /data --tag immich-photos

3. Checking Storage Stats

If you want to know how much physical space your backups are taking up after deduplication:

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic stats

4. Restoring a Specific Backup

To restore, you need the Snapshot ID (a 8-character code like 90f06811) from the snapshots command.

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -v /mnt/omv/restore/dockerhost:/restore \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic restore [SNAPSHOT_ID] --target /restore

5. Cleaning Up (Retention Policy)

This command "forgets" old backups based on your rules and then "prunes" (deletes) the actual data chunks from your OMV drive to free up space.

Keep the last 7 daily and 4 weekly backups:

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic forget --keep-daily 7 --keep-weekly 4 --prune

6. Comparing Two Backups

If you want to see exactly which files changed between two points in time:

docker run --rm \
  -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo \
  -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo \
  -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass \
  restic/restic diff [OLD_ID] [NEW_ID]

Pro-Tip: Avoid Typing This Every Time

Since these commands are very long, you should create an alias in your .bashrc or .zshrc file:

alias myrestic='docker run --rm -v /mnt/omv/backup/dockerhost:/repo -e RESTIC_REPOSITORY=/repo -e RESTIC_PASSWORD=mypass restic/restic'

After saving that, you could simply run: myrestic snapshots or myrestic backup /mnt/disk2/docker/authelia:/data:ro

Would you like me to create a "Master Backup Script" that loops through all your folders and runs these commands automatically?