n8n-nodes-restic-backup

Run Restic backups from n8n.

Requirements

The restic binary must be installed in the n8n container or host environment where n8n runs.

Credentials

Create a Restic Repository credential with:

• Repository: Restic repository location, for example /backups/repo, sftp:user@host:/repo, or s3:s3.amazonaws.com/bucket.
• Password or Password File: Repository password source.
• SFTP Command: Optional inner SSH command passed as -o sftp.command=....
• Environment Variables: Optional KEY=VALUE lines for backends such as S3, B2, Azure, or rclone.

For example, set SFTP Command to:

ssh -i /hostdata/services/restic/ssh/restic-ssh-key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new restic@sygnas.local -s sftp

Do not include the outer -o sftp.command="..." wrapper in the credential field; the node adds that part.

Parameters

• Paths: Local paths to back up, one per line.
• Tags: Optional comma or newline-separated Restic tags.
• Exclude Patterns: Optional exclude patterns, one per line.
• Hostname: Optional Restic host override.
• Restic Binary: Binary name or absolute path. Defaults to restic.
• Command Timeout: Maximum seconds the backup command may run.
• Additional Arguments: Optional extra arguments passed directly to restic backup.

The node runs restic backup --json and returns the parsed summary when Restic emits one. Long-running backups can emit many status messages, so the node stores the latest status, the summary, and up to 250 parsed JSON messages. If more messages are emitted, omittedMessageCount reports how many were skipped from the returned item.