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Asked: 2020-02-15 09:21:14 +0800 CST

Setup a cron job to archive a directory and all its sub-directories including hidden files using tar

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I'm trying to setup a cron job to archive/backup /home/username/.mozilla/ directory and all its sub-directories, including hidden files, using tar. I like to run the job at 12:01 AM every night.

Here's what I have planned so far:

crontab -e

1 0 * * * tar -zcf /home/username/Dropbox/Backups/Firefox_Profile_$(date +%b_%d_%Y_"%H-%M").tgz home/username/.mozilla/ && echo "Firefox profile backed up on:" `date` >> /home/username/jobs

Though I have not actually setup the cron job yet, when I run this command in terminal:

tar -zcf /home/username/Dropbox/Backups/Firefox_Profile_$(date +%b_%d_%Y_"%H-%M").tgz home/username/.mozilla/

it does create a compressed archive, but upon exctraction, it creates a directory home > username > .mozilla and its sub-directories.

What I am looking for is:

(1) upon extraction there would be either .mozilla or preferably mozilla (removing the dot), and its sub-directories, including hidden files (no home or username directories).

(2) is tar -zcf the best way to get maximum compression.

(3) keep all the file permissions as it is.

(4) do I need to have [user] (which is "username") in this command: 1 0 * * * username tar -zcf

Thanks a lot.

command-line permissions cron backup tar

2 Answers

    1. Use the -C option, like this: tar -zcC /home/username -f output.tgz .mozilla
    2. Read this answer.
    3. Use the -p option.
    4. I do not understand your question.
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  2. Best Answer

    Posting my own answer as, though fliegendewurst's answer helped me somewhat, I wasn't able to complete the command to run a cron job. Comments from bac0n and steeldriver help me figure out the rest.

    What's working for me:

    crontab -e 

    1 0 * * * tar -I 'gzip -9' -pcf /home/username/Dropbox/Backups/Firefox_Profile_$(date "+\%b_\%d_\%Y_\%H-\%M").tgz -C /home/username/ .mozilla/ && echo "Firefox profile backed up on:" `date` >> /home/username/jobs

    Reference for specifying the gzip compression level using -I option: https://superuser.com/a/1091640

    Note: If Firefox is open/running at the time of running this command, you might get a message that a file was being written.

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