Introduction
The snapshot feature of the Btrfs filesystem can be used to perform system snapshots and rollbacks. Timeshift is a user-friendly graphical application that makes this process easy!
When properly configured, grub-btrfs allows you to boot into Timeshift Btrfs snapshots directly from the GRUB menu, making system rollbacks easy and quick.
To install grub-btrfs, run:
sudo pacman -S grub-btrfs
Once installed, every time the GRUB configuration file gets updated, GRUB boot entries for existing Timeshift Btrfs snapshots will automatically be created. You can update the GRUB configuration with:
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Grub-btrfs can automate the GRUB update process whenever a new Timeshift Btrfs snapshot is created.
Run the following command to edit the grub-btrfs path unit:
sudo systemctl edit --full grub-btrfs.path
Replace the content with the following:
[Unit]
Description=Monitors for new snapshots
DefaultDependencies=no
Requires=run-timeshift-backup.mount
After=run-timeshift-backup.mount
BindsTo=run-timeshift-backup.mount
[Path]
PathModified=/run/timeshift/backup/timeshift-btrfs/snapshots
[Install]
WantedBy=run-timeshift-backup.mount
This step is reversible if needed, using:
systemctl revert grub-btrfs.path
Activate the automatic update of the GRUB configuration file by running:
sudo systemctl enable --now grub-btrfs.path
You can further configure grub-btrfs by editing the file located at:
/etc/default/grub-btrfs/config
You might want to install timeshift-autosnap, which automatically creates Timeshift snapshots before performing any package upgrades via Pacman. This ensures that you always have a restore point before changes are made to your system. 🛡️
To install timeshift-autosnap, run:
sudo pacman -S timeshift-autosnap
To avoid GRUB being updated twice when a snapshot is created by timeshift-autosnap, I recommend modifying the configuration file. Set updateGrub to false by editing the following file:
sudo nano /etc/timeshift-autosnap.conf
Change the line:
updateGrub=true
To:
updateGrub=false
I hope this guide has helped you successfully set up Btrfs system snapshots and rollbacks with Timeshift! 😊🔧 Having a robust snapshot system can save your day in case something goes wrong during an update or system change. Happy computing! 🖥️✨