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UnconnectedBedna edited this page Mar 23, 2026 · 12 revisions

There are multiple ways to acquire the script.
The recommended method is using git.


git

To download/clone the script/repo:

git clone https://github.com/UnconnectedBedna/shrink-backup

A directory called shrink-backup will be created containing required files.

Update

While in the directory where the script is located, type:

git pull

Switch branch

To switch between the main and testing branches:

# directory where the script is located
cd /path/to/shrink-backup

# switch to testing
git checkout testing

# switch back to main
git checkout main

release file

Check the release page and download the tar.gz file from desired release.
Extract the files in desired location and run script.


wget

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UnconnectedBedna/shrink-backup/main/shrink-backup -O shrink-backup

Be aware that only the script file will be downloaded. It will work just fine, but if not using default exclude directories (using option -t), the config file (exclude.txt) will have to be created manually. Please see: -t (exclude.txt)

To make the script executable:

chmod +x shrink-backup

To update, re-run the wget line to overwrite the old version of shrink-backup.


curl - shrink-backup install script

Special thanks to framps

By using this installer, files for the application will be installed at appropriate locations on your system, make the script executable and available within $PATH.

As always, when running scripts directly from the internet, make sure you know the code is safe, ESPECIALLY when used in combination with sudo.
The install script is located in its own branch of this repo.

Install with:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/UnconnectedBedna/shrink-backup/install/installer.sh | sudo bash

To update, rerun the install script with above line.

Note that exclude.txt is renamed to shrink-backup.conf and placed in /usr/local/etc.

Script location:       /usr/local/sbin/shrink-backup
Exclude file location: /usr/local/etc/shrink-backup.conf
README location:       /usr/share/doc/shrink-backup/README.md
LICENSE location:      /usr/share/doc/shrink-backup/LICENSE
Log location:          /var/log/shrink-backup.log

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