To better understand how Timeshift works, read this

[AZgl1800]

as Jennie just mentioned,

/home should ONLY contain hidden files.

[fstjohn]

I think the idea behind the new backup program is to be used along with Homi, which is the paid app to back up the home directory. They both use Borg as a backend. I can attest to Homi's space saving, and I can assume the new root backup will be about the same. I have Homi set to backup:
24 hourly snapshots
14 daily snapshots
4 weekly snapshots
1 monthly snapshot
This totals 43 snapshots
An individual snapshot is about 39GB
Compressed size is 26GB
Deduplicated size is 137MB
All 43 snapshots total 1.7TB
Compressed size 1.15TB
Deduplicated size 42.5GB
Total size rarely varies more than a couple GB
Typical snapshot takes about 60 seconds, including deleting the oldest snapshot.

Using the Homi app you can, indeed, (Using the Homi app) delete any one or more snapshots without affecting the remaining snapshots.
I store these snapshots on a 1TB external USB Disk along with numerous other backups including Timeshift. Total usage is 309GB.
Homi does backup the settings (hidden directories) so the combination of Homi snapshot restore and Timeshift(or the new system backup) should restore the complete system. The advantage being the proposed new system backup should be much more space efficient than Timeshift. I suggested to Tony that he should name the new app "Rooti" to pair with "Homi".

[AZgl1800]

I too used to push about using HOMI,
but got chastised on here for doing so.

glad to see that I am NOT the only one who sees the value of using it.

Timeshift and Homi are two extremely useful tools in my backup scheme.

I have tried all of the other methods, and none of them come close to be so useful, and simple to use.

[Dullard du Jour]

I too used to push about using HOMI,
but got chastised on here for doing so.

glad to see that I am NOT the only one who sees the value of using it.

Timeshift and Homi are two extremely useful tools in my backup scheme.

I have tried all of the other methods, and none of them come close to be so useful, and simple to use.

Being the board dullard that I am, what are the "Junk files and folders" mentioned in the comparison of Homi and BaqPaq? As the dullard du jour, I read it as all folders are excluded, I also do not have a Junk folder, much less any idea of what is considered a junk file.

.

[fstjohn]

Being the board dullard that I am, what are the "Junk files and folders" mentioned in the comparison of Homi and BaqPaq? As the dullard du jour, I read it as all folders are excluded, I also do not have a Junk folder, much less any idea of what is considered a junk file.

Where did you see the comparison between Homi and Baqpaq?

[Dullard du Jour]

Being the board dullard that I am, what are the "Junk files and folders" mentioned in the comparison of Homi and BaqPaq? As the dullard du jour, I read it as all folders are excluded, I also do not have a Junk folder, much less any idea of what is considered a junk file.

Where did you see the comparison between Homi and Baqpaq?

Scroll down a bit...

Homi - Baqpaq Comparison

[Dullard du Jour]

I downloaded the .iso for Homi and burned it to a 16 gig USB drive, booted and all went well. Quick and simple, darn near dullard proof.

When I looked at the backup files, I was confused for a moment as I forgot the backup was for the live USB and not my working drive. I believe I will purchase a license for Homi. The .iso contains his other apps as well, so you can test drive his complete offerings.

[Hoser Rob]

Looks promising. Incremental snapshots will save a lot of space ...

Isn't that what Timeshift already does? That's the point of rsync based backup and why it's such an industry standard.

[fstjohn]

Looks promising. Incremental snapshots will save a lot of space ...

Isn't that what Timeshift already does? That's the point of rsync based backup and why it's such an industry standard.

Timeshift uses rsync. Both Homi and the new, unnamed root backup both use Borg Backup. The main difference is that if rsync finds a changed file it backs up the whole file. With Borg, say a 100GB file is changed, but only 1kb is different. Borg backs up that 1kb.