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Backup Sets

Create, configure, and manage backup sets to control exactly what gets backed up and when.

What Is a Backup Set?

A backup set is a named configuration that groups together the folders you want to protect, the file patterns you want to exclude, and the schedule on which backups run. You can create multiple backup sets to organize different types of data — for example, one set for documents, another for project files, and a third for media.

Each backup set tracks its own version history independently, so you can restore any set to any previous point in time without affecting others.

Creating a Backup Set

As of v1.12.2, file-type backup sets can be created from the GUI wizard or the command line. Server-class types (Hyper-V, SQL, sysstate, BMR) still require the GUI wizard because they capture too many type-specific options to fit cleanly on a flag-driven CLI.

  • •Open the BackupEngine desktop agent and go to the Backup tab.
  • •Click New Backup Set in the top-right corner, or Create First Backup Set in the middle of the tab when the computer has no sets yet.
  • •Backup Set Name is filled in as the computer's name followed by "- Files", for example OFFICE-PC - Files. Keep it or type your own (e.g., 'Work Documents', 'Photos').
  • •Under Folders to Back Up, click Choose Folders, tick every folder you want and confirm. Ticking a folder includes everything inside it. See Choosing Folders below.
  • •Optionally, edit the exclude patterns to skip files you do not need (see below).
  • •Under Destinations, pick one or more: BackupEngine Cloud, Local PC, Network PC, Google Drive or OneDrive.
  • •Under Backup Schedule, choose One Time, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly or Monthly and the time (see Scheduling). To run the set on more schedules, for example every 2 hours during the day plus daily at 02:00, click Add another time.
  • •Turn on Continuous Data Protection (CDP) or Open File Backup (VSS) if you need them.
  • •Click Create Backup Set.

ℹ Note

Editing a set after creation (changing source list, destinations, schedule, retention) is GUI-only. The CLI's create/delete is intentionally narrow — for headless deployments you build a set once and let the runner do the heavy lifting.

⚠ Warning

sets delete removes the local set definition. It does NOT wipe data already uploaded to the destination — that is the GUI-only Cleanup-on-Delete dialog (multi-step confirmation by design).

Choosing Folders

From v1.37.0 you can choose many folders at once. Choose Folders opens a folder tree with Quick access (your own folders, such as Desktop, Documents and OneDrive) and This PC (your drives and their free space; as in File Explorer, empty CD drives and card readers without a card are left out). Nothing changes until you confirm, and Cancel leaves the set as it was.

  • •In the backup set form, under Folders to Back Up, click Choose Folders.
  • •Tick each folder to back up. Ticking a folder includes everything inside it. Click the same tick-box again to undo it; any folders you had ticked inside it come back. Click a folder's name to open or close it.
  • •To add a path the tree does not show, type or paste it in Add path…, one per line: a network share such as \\server\share, or several folders copied with File Explorer's Copy as path. If a path is still in the box when you confirm, it is added first; if it cannot be added, the dialog stays open and says why.
  • •Or click Browse with Windows… and Ctrl- or Shift-click several folders in the familiar Windows dialog.
  • •Confirm. The chosen folders appear under Folders to Back Up with their sizes once measured. If a folder you added as you confirmed gets a warning, the dialog stays open so you can see it; confirm again to close it.
  • •Keyboard: the arrow keys move through the tree, Space ticks, Enter confirms and Esc cancels. Tab moves between the tree, the chosen folders, the path box and the buttons; Tab to a folder's chip to read its warning.

⚠ Warning

A folder with a lock and a warning sign is one your Windows account cannot open. Leave it out: a folder the backup cannot read makes the whole set's backup fail, unless your backups run as an administrator or through the background service.

ℹ Note

Folders you choose on a mapped network drive such as Z: are saved by their network path (\\server\share\…), because backups that run in the background do not have your drive letters. They can reach the network path only if this computer is allowed to open that share. If the network path behind a drive cannot be found, the folder keeps its drive letter and a warning says to add it by its network path instead. A folder already in a set by a mapped drive letter shows a warning sign; untick it and tick it again to save it by its network path. Its earlier backups stay under the drive letter.

💡 Tip

Folder sizes are measured a few folders at a time. If you save before they are ready, the set's size appears on its card once it is measured, as long as the app keeps running.

Backup Destinations

BackupEngine supports multiple backup destination types. You can back up to a single destination or simultaneously to multiple destinations for redundancy. See Multi-Destination Backup to learn how to implement a 3-2-1 backup strategy in one backup set.

  • •BackupEngine Cloud — encrypted storage on iDrive e2 with zero egress fees. Default, recommended for off-site protection.
  • •Local PC — back up to a local folder or external drive on the same machine. Fast, no internet required.
  • •Network PC — back up to a shared network folder (SMB/CIFS). Good for on-premises NAS or file server.
  • •Google Drive — back up to your Google Drive account via OAuth. Uses your existing Google storage.
  • •OneDrive — back up to your Microsoft OneDrive account via OAuth. Uses your existing Microsoft storage.

💡 Tip

For maximum protection, add multiple destinations to the same backup set: BackupEngine Cloud (off-site) and Local PC or Network PC (on-site, for fast restore).

Exclude Patterns

Exclude patterns let you skip files and directories that do not need to be backed up. This reduces backup size, speeds up scans, and avoids wasting storage on temporary or generated files.

  • •Wildcard patterns: *.tmp, *.log, *.cache — skip files by extension.
  • •Directory names: node_modules, .git, __pycache__, build, dist — skip entire folders.
  • •Path patterns: /Users/me/Downloads/** — skip a specific directory tree.
  • •Size filters: files larger than a configured threshold can be excluded automatically.
  • •Hidden files: optionally exclude dot-files and dot-directories.

💡 Tip

BackupEngine ships with a default exclude list that covers common temporary files, OS caches, and build artifacts. You can customize this list per backup set or globally in Settings.

Inspecting and Running Backup Sets

Once the set exists, both the GUI and the CLI can list the configuration, kick off a manual run, and tail recent jobs.

  • •Open the Backup tab. Each set shows its name, schedule, destinations, last-run status, and total size.
  • •Click a set to expand its destination list and see per-destination success/fail counts.
  • •Use Run Now to trigger an immediate backup outside the regular schedule.
  • •Click the kebab menu to Pause, Duplicate, or Delete a set.

ℹ Note

v1.12.2+ backup start <name> drives the real runner end-to-end (it was a print-only stub through v1.11.x). After a successful run the CLI also runs retention prune + chunk-GC sweep inline (v1.12.4+), matching GUI behaviour exactly.

⚠ Warning

Removing a backup set permanently is the Cleanup-on-Delete dialog in the GUI — it optionally wipes uploaded data, diagnostic logs, and report history. The CLI's sets delete only removes the local set definition; uploaded data on the destination stays put. See Cleanup on Delete for the wipe flow.

Cancelling a Running Backup

Both the Files tab and the Server Backup tab cards expose a Cancel button while a backup is in flight. The runner stops at the next file or chunk boundary (typically <1 second). Per-type cleanup runs automatically — Hyper-V drops the in-progress reference checkpoint, BMR / System State delete their staging directories, SQL drops the temp .bak. Chunks already uploaded remain on the destination and dedup automatically on the next run; no manifest is written for a cancelled run, so it will not appear in the Restore picker.

  • •Find the running set on either the Files tab or the Server Backup tab.
  • •Click Cancel on the card.
  • •Confirm in the "Cancel running backup?" dialog.
  • •Within ~1 second the run stops and the card returns to its idle state.

ℹ Note

Cooperative cancel landed across all backup types in v1.11.3 (Hyper-V), v1.11.4 (SQL/BMR/System State), and v1.11.6 (file backups). The Cancel button on Server Backup cards specifically arrived in v1.11.7. See the dedicated Cancel Operations page for what each backup type does on cancel.

Cleanup on Delete (v1.11.8)

When you delete a backup set the GUI shows a three-checkbox dialog so you can decide what other artefacts to clean up alongside the set record. Defaults are deliberately conservative — only the local diagnostic logs are pre-checked.

  • •Delete uploaded backup data — wipes every chunk + manifest at every destination configured for the set. CANNOT BE UNDONE — restores from this set become impossible. Default OFF.
  • •Delete diagnostic logs on this machine — per-run text files saved locally for troubleshooting. Default ON (cosmetic).
  • •Delete report history (server-side) — every entry in the Reports tab for this set. Default OFF (preserves audit history).

ℹ Note

The dialog is GUI-only. There is no CLI equivalent for the cleanup options — see the dedicated Cleanup on Delete page for the full walk-through.
Scheduling