Package backup

Downloaded files can be automatically saved in a separate directory for backup purposes. This feature is useful for tracking download history and ensuring that packages are available in case they are no longer present in the official software repository.

To enable automatic backup, add the following lines to the gsm.conf file or enable the feature during setup:

backup_package_enable = True
backup_package_path = /home/data/gsm/backup

The default backup path is gsm/backup within the configured data_dir. Data and configuration packages are excluded, gsm reports them during installation:

INFO          elevation: The package is not supported by the backup operation.

While the backup is enabled, info reports the backup path and the disk space it occupies. The directory is never cleared automatically, use

./gsm clean backup

The backup directory has the following substructure:

│
└── module
    ├── version
    │ pkg-filename.tar.gz.1734436688      # Package file
    │ pkg-filename.tar.gz.dsc.1734436688  # Package description file
    │ pkg-filename.tar.gz.sig.1734436688  # Package signature file
    ...
...

The creation time of the downloaded package file is used as the reference time for the backup. The timestamp is in UTC and is appended to all files. A file which is already present in the backup is not written again.

Example of the backup structure:

│
├── seiscomp
│   ├── 7.2.1
│   │   ├── seiscomp-7.2.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.1774338356
│   │   ├── seiscomp-7.2.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.dsc.1774338356
│   │   └── seiscomp-7.2.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.sig.1774338356
│   └── 7.3.1
│       ├── seiscomp-7.3.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.1785914111
│       ├── seiscomp-7.3.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.dsc.1785914111
│       └── seiscomp-7.3.1-rhel-10-x86_64.tar.gz.sig.1785914111
└── seiscomp-tools
    └── 2026.175
        ├── seiscomp-tools-2026.175-seiscomp-7-any--noarch.tar.gz.1785910618
        ├── seiscomp-tools-2026.175-seiscomp-7-any--noarch.tar.gz.dsc.1785910618
        └── seiscomp-tools-2026.175-seiscomp-7-any--noarch.tar.gz.sig.1785910618

Note

The package backup is unrelated to the directory .restore in the gsm directory. There gsm stores an archive of gsm.conf and local before a release change or an operating system switch. It is removed with ./gsm clean restore.