ProxmoxBackupClientPBSClientTool/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[Unreleased]

Added

• Multi-target backup support (v1.1.0 - COMPLETE)
  • Support for multiple backup destinations (different PBS servers for redundancy)
  • Named backup targets (e.g., "offsite", "local", "backup1")
  • Target management functions (COMPLETE):
    • list_targets() - List all configured target names
    • show_targets_list() - Display all targets with server/datastore/status
    • show_target_detail() - Show comprehensive target configuration
    • add_target() - Interactive target creation wizard
    • edit_target() - Edit connection, settings, or full reconfig
    • delete_target() - Remove target with confirmation and cleanup
    • validate_target_name() - Enforce naming rules (alphanumeric, dash, underscore)
  • Per-target wrapper functions (COMPLETE):
    • interactive_config_for_target() - Configure specific target
    • reconfigure_connection_for_target() - Update connection only
    • reconfigure_backup_settings_for_target() - Update backup settings only
    • run_backup_for_target() - Execute backup with live progress monitoring
  • Systemd service creation (COMPLETE):
    • create_systemd_service_for_target() - Generate all services for named target
    • Creates pbs-backup-TARGET.service (scheduled)
    • Creates pbs-backup-TARGET-manual.service (manual/full)
    • Creates pbs-backup-TARGET.timer (scheduler)
    • Generates target-specific backup scripts with embedded target name
  • Automatic migration (COMPLETE):
    • migrate_legacy_config() - Auto-migrate single-target to "default" target
    • Renames services: pbs-backup → pbs-backup-default
    • Preserves existing schedules and backups
    • Zero downtime migration
  • Configuration storage (COMPLETE):
    • /etc/proxmox-backup-client/targets/TARGET.conf
    • /etc/proxmox-backup-client/backup-TARGET.sh
    • /etc/systemd/system/pbs-backup-TARGET.{service,timer}
  • Main menu integration (COMPLETE):
    • Multi-target management menu with 8 options
    • First-time setup wizard for new installations
    • Automatic target name prompt for first target
    • Clean menu structure: List, Add, Edit, Delete, Run, View, Reinstall, Exit
  • Ready for testing:
    • All code paths implemented
    • Syntax validated
    • Needs functional testing
    • Needs migration testing from legacy configs
• Flexible block device scheduling in hybrid mode
  • Separate schedule configuration for block device backups vs file backups
  • Block device schedule options:
    • Weekly (specific day of week, default Sunday)
    • Biweekly (every other week on specific day)
    • Monthly (specific day of month)
    • Custom day of week (1-7, Monday-Sunday)
    • Custom day of month (1-31)
  • File backups run on main schedule, block device on independent schedule
  • Configuration stored in BLOCK_DEVICE_FREQUENCY and BLOCK_DEVICE_DAY variables
• Manual backup selection for hybrid mode
  • Interactive menu when running backup in hybrid mode
  • Three options:
    • Files only (fast ~2-3 minutes) - daily file archives
    • Block device only (slow ~20-30 minutes) - full disk image for VM conversion
    • Both files and block device (complete backup)
  • Allows selective backup execution without changing configuration
  • Backup script supports three FORCE_FULL values: "files", "block", "yes"
• Intelligent reconfiguration options when PBS client is already installed
  • Quick connection-only reconfiguration (server/credentials only)
  • Full reconfiguration of all settings
  • Reinstall option with reconfiguration
  • Exit without changes option
• 3-step connection verification process:
  • Step 1: Server reachability test (5s timeout with curl)
  • Step 2: Authentication test with automatic SSL fingerprint acceptance
  • Step 3: Datastore access verification
• Display available block devices when invalid device is entered
• Step-by-step progress indicators during connection testing
• test-connection.sh - Diagnostic script for testing PBS connections manually
  • Parameterized for security (no hardcoded credentials)
  • Tests server reachability, authentication, and datastore access
  • Handles SSL fingerprint acceptance interactively
• Comprehensive documentation in README:
  • Step-by-step walkthrough of complete installation (14 steps)
  • PBS server setup guide (API token creation and permissions)
  • Common permission error troubleshooting
  • Explanation of backup types, schedules, and retention policies
• Live backup progress monitoring
  • Real-time log following when running backups
  • Automatic completion detection
  • Shows PBS client's built-in progress bars and statistics
  • Can exit with Ctrl+C (backup continues in background)
  • Applied to both "Run backup now" menu option and post-install backup

Changed

• Installation instructions now use git clone instead of wget
• Connection test provides better user feedback during testing
• Script now detects existing configurations and offers appropriate options
• Block device detection now strips btrfs subvolume notation (e.g., [/@])
• Connection test succeeds if authentication works, even if no backups exist yet
• More specific error messages based on which step of connection test fails
• SSL certificate fingerprints are now automatically accepted during setup
• Reduced authentication timeout from 30s to 15s
• README now includes comprehensive step-by-step walkthrough
• Prerequisites section expanded with detailed PBS server setup instructions
• README updated with live backup progress examples in Step 13
• Reconfiguration section now documents "Run backup now" option (option 4)
• Manual Backup section updated to recommend easy method via installer
• Default realm changed from "pbs" to "pam" (more common for root authentication)
• Default encryption setting changed from "yes" to "no" (user can opt-in if needed)
• Main menu now includes "Run backup now" option for immediate backup testing
• Main menu now includes "Modify backup schedule/type" option (option 5)
• Repository renamed from PBSClientInstaller to PBSClientTool
• Manual backups now force full backup (files + block device) regardless of day
  • Created separate pbs-backup-manual.service for manual runs
  • Scheduled backups still follow daily/weekly pattern
  • Manual backups always include block device even on non-Sunday
• Script version bumped to 1.1.0 for multi-target support

Added

• System-wide installation support
  • New --install flag to install PBSClientTool to /usr/local/bin
  • Run from anywhere with sudo PBSClientTool command
  • No need to navigate to script directory
  • Includes --uninstall to remove from system
  • Added --help and --version flags for command-line usage
  • Installation preserves original script (safe to update via git pull)
  • install_script() function handles installation with overwrite confirmation
  • uninstall_script() function removes command but keeps configurations
  • Command-line argument parsing before main() execution
  • Menu option 7: "Install as system command" - Available in main menu
  • Post-installation prompt - Automatically asks if you want to install as system command after initial setup
  • Detects if already installed (skips prompt if /usr/local/bin/PBSClientTool exists)
• Automatic connection testing at startup
  • All configured targets are automatically tested when script starts
  • Quick authentication check (5 second timeout per target)
  • Shows connection status: ✓ Connected or ✗ Failed
  • Helps identify configuration issues before running backups
  • Warns user if any targets have connection problems
  • Runs in subshell to avoid environment pollution

Changed

• Documentation reorganization
  • README.md simplified from 750 lines to 243 lines
  • Removed redundant step-by-step walkthrough sections
  • Moved all troubleshooting content to TROUBLESHOOTING.md
  • Focused README on quick start and essential usage
  • New TROUBLESHOOTING.md covers:
    • Connection issues and SSL certificate problems
    • Permission errors with detailed PBS setup instructions
    • Installation issues (Ubuntu libssl1.1, Arch libfuse3)
    • Backup problems and configuration issues
    • Common misconfigurations with examples
  • Easier to find relevant information
  • Better navigation and organization
• Clearer installation flow when PBS client not installed
  • Shows what the script will do before proceeding
  • Lists 3 steps: Install PBS client, Configure target, Set up automation
  • Asks for confirmation before installation
  • Allows user to cancel if they change their mind
  • No menu options shown (install → configure → exit)
  • Clear progress messages throughout installation
• Improved menu flow for viewing target details
  • "View target details" moved from main menu option 6 to sub-menu under "List all backup targets"
  • After listing targets, users can choose:
    • View target details (select target to see comprehensive info)
    • Back to main menu
  • Main menu reduced from 8 options to 7 (cleaner, more focused)
  • More intuitive workflow: list → view details → back to menu
• Target selection now accepts both numbers and names
  • All target selection prompts now accept either:
    • Target number from the displayed list (e.g., "1")
    • Full target name (e.g., "default")
  • Applies to: Edit, Delete, Run backup, View details
  • Improves user experience - no need to remember target names
  • More intuitive for users familiar with numbered menus

Fixed

• CRITICAL: All input fields now trimmed to prevent whitespace issues
  • Added | xargs to all prompted variables (server, port, datastore, username, realm, token name, etc.)
  • Prevents trailing/leading whitespace from breaking PBS_REPOSITORY string
  • Fixes authentication failures caused by malformed repository strings
  • Example: "root@pam " (with space) now becomes "root@pam" automatically
  • Applied to both interactive_config_for_target() and reconfigure_connection_for_target()
• Main menu now loops properly after actions
  • Removed exit 0 calls from all menu options except Exit
  • Menu now continues after listing targets, running backups, or other actions
  • Users can perform multiple operations without restarting script
• Target list display improved for incomplete configurations
  • Shows warning message when PBS_SERVER or PBS_DATASTORE are empty
  • Suggests using "Edit target" option to fix incomplete configs
  • Uses process substitution to avoid variable scoping issues
  • Clears variables between iterations to prevent data carryover
• CRITICAL: SSL fingerprint prompt no longer causes authentication timeout
  • Script now automatically accepts SSL fingerprints by piping 'y' to login
  • This was the root cause of "authentication hanging" issues
• CRITICAL: Password/token capture no longer includes newline character
  • prompt_password() function now outputs formatting to stderr
  • Added defensive newline stripping when writing config file
  • Filters \n and \r characters from passwords using tr -d '\n\r'
  • Fixes "authentication failed - invalid credentials" in backup service
  • Config file now has properly formatted single-line passwords
  • Applied to both reconfigure_connection() and create_systemd_service()
• Script no longer hangs indefinitely when PBS server is unreachable
• Block device auto-detection now correctly handles btrfs subvolumes
• Invalid device paths like /dev/mapper/root[/@] are now properly cleaned
• Connection test now differentiates between network issues and authentication failures
• Shows actual PBS client error messages when authentication fails
• Authentication test now uses correct login command instead of non-existent status command
• Connection test no longer times out due to using wrong PBS client commands
• Backup progress logs now display properly during manual backup runs
  • Fixed journalctl following wrong service (was following pbs-backup.service instead of pbs-backup-manual.service)
  • Removed stderr suppression (2>/dev/null) that was hiding output
  • Added --since flag to capture logs from service start, not just new entries
  • Now shows verbose progress: "processed 65.6 GiB in 18m, uploaded 64.4 GiB"
• Backup logs now close automatically when backup completes (no more blank screen)

[1.0.0] - 2025-11-01

Added

• Initial release
• Auto-detection of Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, Arch)
• Interactive configuration via console prompts
• Automatic encryption key generation with paper backup
• Systemd service and timer for automated backups
• Configurable retention policies
• Connection testing before finalization
• Immediate backup option after installation
• Support for file-level (.pxar) backups
• Support for block device (.img) backups
• Hybrid backup mode (daily files + weekly block device)
• Comprehensive error handling and logging
• Uninstaller script