Guides
Backup & Restore

Backup & Restore

Complete guide to backing up and restoring your pass-cli vault, including automatic backups, manual backups, and disaster recovery procedures.

Overview

Pass-CLI provides two types of vault backups:

  1. Automatic Backups: Created automatically before each vault modification
  2. Manual Backups: Created on-demand with timestamped filenames

Both backup types:

  • Use the same AES-256-GCM encryption as your vault
  • Include full integrity verification
  • Require no password to create (vault must exist)
  • Can be restored to replace a corrupted or lost vault

Backup File Locations

Default vault location:

  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.pass-cli\vault.enc
  • macOS/Linux: ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc

Backup files:

  • Automatic: vault.enc.backup (same directory as vault)
  • Manual: vault.enc.YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.manual.backup (timestamped)

Automatic Backups

Automatic backups are created before every vault modification (add, update, delete operations). The system maintains one automatic backup file that is overwritten with each new modification.

How Automatic Backups Work 

# When you modify the vault:
pass-cli add github --username myuser --password mypass

# Automatic backup created at:
# ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup

Backup Lifecycle:

  1. Before saving changes, the current vault is copied to vault.enc.backup
  2. Changes are saved to the main vault file
  3. Previous automatic backup is replaced

Benefits:

  • No action required - completely automatic
  • Always have the last known good state
  • Protects against accidental deletions or corrupted saves

Manual Backups

Manual backups create timestamped copies of your vault that persist alongside automatic backups. Use these for important checkpoints or before major changes.

Creating Manual Backups 

# Create a manual backup
pass-cli vault backup create

# Output:
# [OK] Backup created successfully
#
# Backup: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
# Size: 2.5 KB
# Created: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
#
# You can restore from this backup with: pass-cli vault backup restore

With Verbose Output 

# See detailed progress
pass-cli vault backup create --verbose

# Output includes:
# [VERBOSE] Vault path: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc
# [VERBOSE] Generating timestamped backup filename...
# [VERBOSE] Backup created at: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
# [VERBOSE] Verifying backup integrity...
# [VERBOSE] Backup verified successfully
# [VERBOSE] Backup creation completed

When to Create Manual Backups

  • Before bulk operations: Importing or deleting many credentials
  • Before experiments: Testing new workflows or scripts
  • Periodic checkpoints: Weekly or monthly snapshots
  • Before system changes: OS upgrades, migrations, or hardware changes
  • Before major updates: Upgrading pass-cli to a new version

Restoring From Backup

The restore command offers multiple ways to select which backup to restore:

ModeFlagDescription
Auto(default)Selects newest valid backup automatically
Specific--fileRestore from a specific backup file
Interactive--interactive / -iChoose from a numbered list of backups

Important: After restore, use the backup’s password to unlock. If you changed your password since the backup was created, use the OLD password.

Basic Restore (Auto Selection) 

# Restore with confirmation prompt (selects newest backup)
pass-cli vault backup restore

# Output:
# ⚠️  Warning: After restore, use the backup's master password to unlock.
#     If you changed your password since this backup, use the OLD password.
#
# Backup to restore:
#   File: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
#   Type: manual
#   Modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
#
# Are you sure you want to continue? (y/n):

Restore From Specific File

Use --file to restore from a specific backup file:

# Restore from a specific backup
pass-cli vault backup restore --file vault.enc.20241210-143022.manual.backup

# Full path also supported
pass-cli vault backup restore --file ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup

Interactive Backup Selection

Use --interactive or -i to choose from available backups:

pass-cli vault backup restore --interactive

# Output:
# Available backups:
#
# ┌───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────┬──────────┬──────────────────────┐
# │ # │ File                                               │ Type   │ Size     │ Modified             │
# ├───┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────┤
# │ 1 │ vault.enc.20251210-143022.manual.backup            │ manual │ 2.5 KB   │ 2025-12-10 14:30:22  │
# │ 2 │ vault.enc.backup                                   │ auto   │ 2.4 KB   │ 2025-12-10 12:15:00  │
# │ 3 │ vault.enc.20251209-091500.manual.backup            │ manual │ 2.3 KB   │ 2025-12-09 09:15:00  │
# └───┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────┘
#
# Select backup number (1-3):

Restore Without Confirmation 

# Use --force to skip confirmation (useful for scripts)
pass-cli vault backup restore --force

# Output:
# [OK] Vault restored successfully from backup
#
# Restored from: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
# Backup type: manual
#
# You can now unlock your vault with your master password.

Dry Run Mode

Preview which backup would be restored without making changes:

pass-cli vault backup restore --dry-run

# Output:
# Dry-run mode: No changes will be made
#
# Would restore from:
#   Backup: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
#   Type: manual
#   Size: 2.5 KB
#   Modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
#
# To actually restore, run without --dry-run flag.

Restore with Verbose Output 

pass-cli vault backup restore --force --verbose

# Shows detailed progress:
# [VERBOSE] Vault path: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc
# [VERBOSE] Searching for backups...
# [VERBOSE] Found backup: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
# [VERBOSE] Backup type: manual
# [VERBOSE] Backup size: 2.5 KB
# [VERBOSE] Backup modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
# [VERBOSE] Starting restore operation...
# [VERBOSE] Backup copied to vault location
# [VERBOSE] Verifying vault file permissions...
# [VERBOSE] Vault permissions set to 0600
# [VERBOSE] Restore operation completed

Previewing Backup Contents

Use the preview command to see which credentials are stored in a backup before restoring it. This is useful when you have multiple backups and need to find one containing specific credentials.

Basic Preview 

pass-cli vault backup preview --file vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup

# You'll be prompted for the backup's password:
# Enter the backup's master password: ********
#
# Found 5 credential(s) in backup:
#
#   1. github.com
#   2. gitlab.com
#   3. aws-console
#   4. email-work
#   5. vpn-office
#
# Backup file: vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
# Modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22

Verbose Preview

Use --verbose to see detailed credential information:

pass-cli vault backup preview --file vault.enc.backup --verbose

# Output includes username, category, and creation date:
#
# ┌───┬──────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬────────────┐
# │ # │ Service      │ Username        │ Category │ Created    │
# ├───┼──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┤
# │ 1 │ github.com   │ myuser          │ dev      │ 2025-10-15 │
# │ 2 │ gitlab.com   │ myuser          │ dev      │ 2025-10-16 │
# │ 3 │ aws-console  │ admin@company   │ cloud    │ 2025-09-20 │
# │ 4 │ email-work   │ me@company.com  │ work     │ 2025-08-01 │
# │ 5 │ vpn-office   │ myuser          │ work     │ 2025-08-15 │
# └───┴──────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┘

Password Considerations

The preview command requires the password that was active when the backup was created:

  • If you haven’t changed your password → Use current password
  • If you changed your password after the backup → Use the OLD password
# Wrong password error:
# Error: decryption failed - incorrect password
#
# Make sure you're using the password that was active when this backup was created.
# If you've changed your password since then, use the OLD password.

Viewing Backup Status

Use the info command to see all available backups, their status, and disk usage.

Basic Info 

pass-cli vault backup info

# Output:
# 📦 Vault Backup Status
#
# Automatic Backup:
# [PASS] 2 hours ago, 2.5 KB
#
# Manual Backups (3 total):
#
# 1. [PASS] 2 hours ago, 2.5 KB
# 2. [PASS] 1 day ago, 2.4 KB
# 3. [PASS] 1 week ago, 2.3 KB
#
# Total backup size: 7.2 KB
#
# [PASS] Restore priority: manual backup (2 hours ago)

Info with Verbose Output 

pass-cli vault backup info --verbose

# Shows full paths:
# 📦 Vault Backup Status
#
# Automatic Backup:
# [PASS] 2 hours ago, 2.5 KB
#    Path: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup
#    Modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
#
# Manual Backups (3 total):
#
# 1. [PASS] 2 hours ago, 2.5 KB
#    Path: /home/user/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20251111-143022.manual.backup
#    Modified: 2025-11-11 14:30:22
# ...

Understanding Info Output

  • [PASS] = Backup passed integrity verification
  • [WARNING] = Backup is corrupted or invalid
  • Restore priority = Which backup will be used for restore
  • Total backup size = Combined size of all backups

Warnings in Info Output 

# Old backup warning (>30 days)
[WARNING]  Warning: Backup is 45 days old. Consider creating a fresh backup.

# Too many manual backups (>5)
[WARNING]  Warning: 12 manual backups found. Consider removing old backups to free disk space.

Best Practices

Backup Strategy

  1. Rely on automatic backups for daily protection
  2. Create manual backups before:
    • Major changes (bulk operations, migrations)
    • Version upgrades
    • System changes
  3. Test restore periodically to verify backups work
  4. Store backups externally for disaster recovery:
    # Copy backup to external location
cp ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup ~/Dropbox/pass-cli-backup/

Backup Retention

Manual backups accumulate over time. Clean up old backups periodically:

# List all manual backups
ls -lh ~/.pass-cli/*.manual.backup

# Remove backups older than 90 days (example)
find ~/.pass-cli -name "*.manual.backup" -mtime +90 -delete

External Backup Storage

For critical vaults, store backups in multiple locations:

# Encrypted cloud storage (recommended)
cp ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup ~/Dropbox/backups/

# USB drive
cp ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup /media/usb/pass-cli-backup/

# Network storage
cp ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.backup /mnt/nas/backups/

Note: Backup files are already encrypted with AES-256-GCM. They’re safe to store on cloud services or external media.

Backup Verification

Verify backups are valid before relying on them:

# Check backup status
pass-cli vault backup info

# Look for:
# - [PASS] (checkmark) = valid backup
# - [WARNING] (warning) = corrupted backup

# Test restore (dry run)
pass-cli vault backup restore --dry-run

Troubleshooting

No Backups Found 

Error: no backup available

No backup files found. Create a backup with: pass-cli vault backup create

Solution: Create your first backup:

pass-cli vault backup create

Corrupted Backup 

# Info shows corrupted backup
[WARNING] 2 hours ago, 2.5 KB

Causes:

  • Incomplete backup (disk full, interrupted operation)
  • File system corruption
  • Manual modification of backup file

Solution:

  1. Check if other backups are available: pass-cli vault backup info
  2. Create a new backup from current vault: pass-cli vault backup create
  3. If all backups are corrupted, focus on recovering the main vault with pass-cli doctor

Permission Denied 

Error: permission denied creating backup

Check directory permissions for: /home/user/.pass-cli

Solution:

# Fix directory permissions
chmod 700 ~/.pass-cli

# Fix vault file permissions
chmod 600 ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc

Backup Too Large

Backups are the same size as your vault. If backups are consuming too much disk space:

# Check backup sizes
pass-cli vault backup info

# Remove old manual backups
rm ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.20241001-*.manual.backup

Restore Fails 

Error: failed to restore from backup: <reason>

Common causes:

  1. Backup file missing: Check if backup exists
  2. Corrupted backup: Try another backup
  3. Permission error: Fix file permissions (see above)

Recovery steps:

# 1. View all available backups
pass-cli vault backup info

# 2. Try dry-run to see which backup would be used
pass-cli vault backup restore --dry-run

# 3. If automatic backup is corrupted, newest manual backup will be used
pass-cli vault backup restore --force

Advanced Usage

Scripting with Backup Commands 

#!/bin/bash
# Automated backup script

# Create daily backup with error handling
if pass-cli vault backup create &>/dev/null; then
    echo "[PASS] Backup created: $(date)"
else
    echo "[FAIL] Backup failed: $(date)" >&2
    exit 1
fi

# Copy to external storage
cp ~/.pass-cli/vault.enc.*.manual.backup /mnt/nas/backups/

# Clean up backups older than 30 days
find ~/.pass-cli -name "*.manual.backup" -mtime +30 -delete

Pre-Migration Backup

Before migrating to a new system:

# 1. Create final backup on old system
pass-cli vault backup create

# 2. Copy vault and all backups
tar czf pass-cli-migration.tar.gz ~/.pass-cli/

# 3. Transfer to new system
scp pass-cli-migration.tar.gz newhost:~/

# 4. Extract on new system
ssh newhost 'tar xzf pass-cli-migration.tar.gz'

# 5. Verify on new system
ssh newhost 'pass-cli vault backup info'

Backup Rotation Script

Automated backup rotation to maintain 7 daily, 4 weekly backups:

#!/bin/bash
# backup-rotation.sh

VAULT_DIR="$HOME/.pass-cli"
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/vault-backups"

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"/{daily,weekly}

# Create new backup
pass-cli vault backup create

# Get newest manual backup
NEWEST=$(ls -t "$VAULT_DIR"/*.manual.backup 2>/dev/null | head -1)

if [ -n "$NEWEST" ]; then
    # Daily backup
    cp "$NEWEST" "$BACKUP_DIR/daily/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).enc"

    # Weekly backup (Sundays)
    if [ "$(date +%u)" = "7" ]; then
        cp "$NEWEST" "$BACKUP_DIR/weekly/backup-$(date +%Y-W%V).enc"
    fi

    # Rotate: keep last 7 daily backups
    ls -t "$BACKUP_DIR"/daily/*.enc | tail -n +8 | xargs rm -f

    # Rotate: keep last 4 weekly backups
    ls -t "$BACKUP_DIR"/weekly/*.enc | tail -n +5 | xargs rm -f
fi

Continuous Backup Monitoring

Monitor backup health with cron:

# Add to crontab: check backup health daily
0 2 * * * pass-cli vault backup info | grep -q "[WARNING]" && echo "Warning: Backup issue detected" | mail -s "pass-cli backup alert" admin@example.com

See Also

Usage TrackingCloud Sync