Timeshift is a Linux system snapshot tool designed for OS rollback scenarios. It primarily protects system files and settings rather than full user-data backup workflows.
- Fast rollback after system update or configuration failure.
- Scheduled system snapshots on desktop and server Linux systems.
- Btrfs snapshot workflows on supported subvolume layouts.
- Snapshot modes: rsync + hardlinks or Btrfs snapshots.
- Scheduled snapshot levels (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, boot).
- Restore support from running system or live media.
- Hooks for backup/restore lifecycle actions.
- Vala/C++ user-space tooling
- rsync and Btrfs integrations
- GPL-3.0 family licensing in upstream repositories
- Maintained under the Linux Mint
timeshift repository.
- Upstream documentation explicitly states containerized usage is not supported.
¶ History and References