Moraine: fast, hard-linked snapshot backups for Windows and servers
Moraine creates versioned, hard-linked snapshots that preserve a full file tree while sharing physical disk blocks for unchanged files, and it pairs a GTK desktop with a scriptable CLI. Jonaz Thern built the tool in Rust to prioritise speed and memory safety, and it supports SSH, rsync and rclone backends. Home server owners and developers who need automated, space-efficient history get a tool that can run scheduled backups and prune with GFS retention.
What Moraine does and how it stores history
Moraine runs backup jobs that produce named snapshots, then uses filesystem hard links so unchanged files occupy no extra space across snapshots. The tool exposes the same configuration to both the desktop GUI and the CLI, letting you browse or script the same snapshot tree. Supported backends include local storage, SSH/rsync for NAS targets, and cloud providers through rclone, which lets the snapshot set reach remote storage without bespoke adapters.
How it affects system resources during operation
The Rust engine focuses on performance and memory safety, which explains the low-overhead design noted in its tooling choices. Because it operates by creating hard links and transferring only changed data via supported backends, CPU and RAM usage remain bounded compared with full-file copy approaches. The native desktop and CLI share logic, so background scheduled runs use the same efficient routines whether launched from the GUI or a script.
Safety, recovery workflow, and automation controls
The app offers selective restoration from any historical snapshot and includes Grandfather-Father-Son pruning to automate retention, which reduces manual snapshot management. It supports integrated scheduling and per-target VPN settings for remote targets. Read-and-restore operations reveal full file trees because of hard links, and the command-line client makes it possible to integrate pre- or post- hooks into existing automation pipelines for consistent backups.
Moraine suits technically minded users who need efficient versioned backups
Moraine fits home server operators and developers who want deep, space-efficient history and remote backend support; its Rust core and hard-link strategy deliver the space savings seen in the snapshot model. The desktop GUI eases daily use while the CLI supports automation. Recommended. Keep in mind that the hard-link approach depends on filesystems that support links and that some cloud backends require rclone integration for remote storage.
