Removing backups

You can remove existing backups and restore points using vbr.

You can remove existing backups and restore points using vbr. When you use the remove task, vbr updates the manifests affected by the removal and maintains their integrity. If the backup archive contains multiple restore points, removing one does not affect the others. When you remove the last restore point, vbr removes the backup entirely.

Use the following template to perform a remove task:

$ vbr -t remove -c configfile.ini --archive timestamp

You can remove multiple restore points using the archive parameter. To obtain the timestamp for a particular restore point, use the listbackup task.

  • To remove multiple restore points, use a comma separator:

    --archive="restore-point1,restore-point2"
    
  • To remove an inclusive range of restore points, use a colon:

    --archive="oldest-restore-point:newest-restore-point"
    
  • To remove all restore points, specify an archive value of all:

    --archive all
    

The following example shows how you can remove a restore point from an existing backup:

$ vbr -t remove -c backup.ini --archive  20160414_134452
Removing restore points: 20160414_134452
Remove complete!