Tools to create a backup of a running Raspbian system to an SD card image file.
This is a copy of the files that Raspberry Pi Forums user RonR posted to the topic Image File Utilities on 2019-08-01. File attachments to this forum don't seem to be persistent, so this repo was created to ensure a working snapshot is always available.
Copies of the original post/attachment are also available on the Internet Archive:
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article: https://web.archive.org/web/20190824163430/https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=247568
NB from repo creator: This is not my code. I don't use it, but I saw that others do and were being frustrated by the forum download links expiring. I won't be responding to issues posted here.
Original README converted to markdown follows:
image-backup creates a backup of a running Raspbian system to a standard 'raw' image file that can be written to an SD card or a USB device card with Etcher, imageUSB, etc. It will also perform incremental updates to an existing backup image file.
Running image-backup with no parameters will create a full backup. To create the smallest possible image, specify an Image ROOT filesystem size of 0 to determine the minimum allowed size. If you plan to incrementally update the image file, specify a considerably larger size to allow for additional growth.
Running image-backup with a parameter of an existing image filename will incrementally update that image file.
image-check will check the integrity of a standard 'raw' image file. Usage is:
image-check imagefile [W95|Linux]
where W95 checks the BOOT partition and Linux checks the ROOT partition. If neither is specified, Linux is assumed.
image-compare compares a running Raspbian system to an existing standard 'raw' image file and displays the incremental changes that image-backup would perform if run. Usage is:
image-compare [imagefile]
image-mount mounts a standard 'raw' image file to allow it to be read or written as if it were a device. Usage is:
image-mount imagefile mountpoint [W95|Linux]
where W95 mounts the BOOT partition and Linux mounts the ROOT partition. If neither is specified, Linux is assumed.
image-set-ptuuid sets the Partition Table UUID value of a standard 'raw' image file. Usage is:
image-set-ptuuid imagefile ptuuid
where ptuuid is 8 hex digits
image-shrink shrinks a standard 'raw' image file to its smallest possible size (plus an optional additional amount of free space). Usage is:
image-shrink imagefile [Additional MB]
where Additional MB is an additional amount of free space to be added.