# NeverWiped and restic on your own

NeverWiped is built on restic (version 0.18.1), open-source backup software under the BSD 2-Clause licence ([restic](https://github.com/restic/restic)). You can run restic yourself, to storage you rent. This page says what NeverWiped adds to that, what it does not, and when doing it yourself is the better choice.

## What restic on your own means {#what}

- restic encrypts everything on the machine, before it is sent (AES-256 with Poly1305 authentication). That part is the same with NeverWiped.
- You choose the storage (SFTP, an S3-compatible bucket, restic’s own rest-server, and others), pay for it, and keep the repository password somewhere safe.
- restic has no scheduler of its own: you write the cron job or systemd timer, the database dumps before each backup, the retention rules (`restic forget` with `--prune`), the checks (`restic check`), and a way to hear about it when something fails or stops running.
- If the server’s storage login can delete (the usual case with an SFTP account or an S3 key that can write), whoever controls the server can delete the backups. restic’s rest-server has an append-only mode for this; you then prune from another machine.

## Side by side {#side-by-side}

| | NeverWiped | restic on your own |
|---|---|---|
| Backup format | A restic repository | A restic repository |
| Encryption | restic, with a repository key generated on your server and a recovery key shown to you once ([encryption](https://neverwiped.com/docs/encryption#how)) | restic, with the password you choose and store |
| Storage | Ours, in France: one repository and one login per server ([append-only](https://neverwiped.com/docs/storage#append-only)) | Yours, set up as you choose |
| Protection against deletion | Append-only day to day; pruning uses a separate login valid for one hour, at most once a week, and you can pause it ([pruning](https://neverwiped.com/docs/storage#pruning)) | What you set up (for example rest-server in append-only mode) |
| Schedule | The agent schedules itself: every night or every week, depending on the plan | You write it |
| What to back up | The agent finds your sites, databases and Docker volumes and shows you the plan before the first backup ([install](https://neverwiped.com/docs/getting-started#install)) | You list the paths |
| Databases | Full consistent dumps, made by the agent | You script them |
| Checks | Automatic checks of the stored backups; an email if errors are found twice in a row ([alert emails](https://neverwiped.com/docs/alerts#alerts)) | `restic check`, when you schedule it |
| Alerts | Emails when a backup fails, when none has run for too long, and before the storage is full | You build them |
| Several servers | One repository and key per server, one dashboard ([several servers](https://neverwiped.com/docs/encryption#several-servers)) | As you set it up |
| Losing the server | `neverwiped recover` on a new server, with an account API key and your recovery key ([a whole server](https://neverwiped.com/docs/getting-started#whole-server)) | `restic restore` from a new machine, with the password and the storage login |
| Price | Your plan ([pricing](https://neverwiped.com/pricing)) | Your storage, and your time |

## What you build yourself {#work}

If you run restic on your own, this is the list NeverWiped does for you, to tick off:

1. Storage, with a login that cannot delete, or a separate machine that prunes.
2. The repository password, stored outside the server.
3. A schedule, with a lock so two runs never overlap.
4. Database dumps before each backup, and a check that they are complete.
5. Retention rules and their pruning.
6. Regular `restic check` runs.
7. An alert when a backup fails, and another one when backups silently stop.
8. A restore test, written down, that you repeat.

## When restic on your own is the better choice {#fits}

- **You want your own storage**, several destinations, or a provider you pick.
- **The machine is not a Linux server.** restic runs on more systems; NeverWiped only on Linux (amd64 and arm64).
- **You need more storage than our plans** ([pricing](https://neverwiped.com/pricing)).
- **You like running it, and have the time** to keep the checks and alerts working.

## Moving between them {#both}

- The format is the same. Your NeverWiped backups can be read with restic alone ([restic alone](https://neverwiped.com/docs/if-we-disappear#plain-restic)), and copied to a repository you own with `restic copy` ([your own copy](https://neverwiped.com/docs/if-we-disappear#own-copy)). Leaving needs no conversion.
- Keeping your own restic copy next to NeverWiped is exactly what that guide describes: NeverWiped for the daily work, your copy as a second place.

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026. See also: [all comparisons](https://neverwiped.com/compare).