WinBorg Manager

The native Windows GUI for BorgBackup.

Borg backups on Windows — with guided setup, scheduling, and restores.

Quick links: Download (Installer) • All Releases • Docs • Testing • Security

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⚡ What is WinBorg?

WinBorg Manager is a modern Windows 10/11 desktop app that brings BorgBackup to a Windows-native GUI:

Encrypted, deduplicated, compressed backups (Borg)
Guided onboarding for WSL2 + Ubuntu + Borg (no CLI wrestling)
Jobs & schedules, retention/prune, notifications
Restore, browse, diff, mount — because backups without restore aren’t backups

WinBorg is Windows-first. Your backups remain standard Borg repositories (no vendor lock-in).

🖼️ Gallery

🚀 Quickstart (5 minutes)

Download & install
- Download the latest installer
First launch / onboarding
- Launch WinBorg and complete onboarding for WSL2 + Ubuntu + BorgBackup.
- Note: WinBorg runs Borg inside WSL, but you manage everything from the Windows UI.
Create your Connection (SSH)
- Go to Connections → Add Connection.
- Enter a server URL (example: ssh://user@host:22; some providers use non-standard ports).
- Generate an SSH key if needed → Deploy Key → Test SSH.
Add your repository
- Go to Repositories → Add Repository.
- Select an existing Connection and enter only the repo path (example: /./backup).
- Click Test SSH & Remote Connection → Connect / Initialize.
Create your first backup
- Go to Jobs → Create Job → pick source folders (Documents/Desktop/Pictures) → Run.
- Verify you see a new archive under Archives.
Recommended (quick sanity check)
- Do a small test restore (extract a file from an older archive).

If anything gets stuck, see docs/OPERATIONS.md and docs/TESTING.md.

🧰 Manual install (advanced)

If you prefer to install dependencies yourself (or you’re in a locked-down environment), you can prepare WSL + Ubuntu + Borg manually and then run WinBorg.

1) Enable WSL (Admin)

Run PowerShell as Administrator:

wsl --install --no-distribution
# Restart Windows after this finishes.

2) Install Ubuntu (Non-Admin)

After reboot, run PowerShell as your normal user:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu

Ubuntu may prompt you to create a new Linux username/password — complete that step.

3) Install BorgBackup inside Ubuntu

Open the Ubuntu terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y borgbackup

4) Verify Borg

which borg
# Expected: /usr/bin/borg

After that, open WinBorg and you should be able to skip most onboarding steps.

🧩 Why WSL?

Borg is most stable and best supported on Linux. WinBorg uses WSL2 to run the official Linux Borg binaries — while giving you a polished Windows UI.

This means:

maximum compatibility with the Borg ecosystem (CLI, BorgBase, borgmatic, etc.)
no proprietary backup format
Windows integration where it matters (tray, autostart, Explorer open, etc.)

✨ Features (user-facing)

Setup & Security

Guided system checks and installation for WSL2, Ubuntu, BorgBackup
SSH key management (Connections): generate keys, deploy keys per connection, test connectivity
Optional provisioning: install Borg on a remote Debian/Ubuntu server
Key export / recovery for Borg repositories

Backup & Automation

Jobs with multiple source paths, exclude patterns, compression
Scheduling (e.g. hourly/daily) + rules (e.g. battery/offline)
Retention/Prune policies (e.g. keep 7 daily, 4 weekly, …)
Maintenance: prune + compact

Restore & Transparency

Archive list with metadata & stats
Archive browser: find files/folders in older snapshots
Restore / extract: selectively bring data back
Diff viewer: see what changed between two archives
Mounts: mount archives as a filesystem (FUSE inside WSL)

Monitoring & UX

Native Windows notifications + Discord webhook + SMTP
Tray menu (quick actions, update check, stop mounts)
Settings export/import (optionally including secrets)

🎯 Who is WinBorg for?

Windows users who want Borg but don’t want to live in a Borg CLI
HomeLab/NAS users with SSH-based repositories
BorgBase / Hetzner StorageBox users
Security- and ransomware-aware users (client-side encryption + append-only via BorgBase)

✅ Requirements

Windows 10/11 with WSL2 (virtualization enabled)
Ubuntu WSL distro (WinBorg can install this during onboarding)
BorgBackup inside Ubuntu (WinBorg can install this during onboarding)
For remote repos: SSH access to your backup target (StorageBox/BorgBase/VPS/NAS)
For mounts: FUSE prerequisites inside WSL (WinBorg checks/fixes many things automatically; missing /dev/fuse may require WSL update + reboot/shutdown)

🛠️ Troubleshooting (FAQ)

WSL setup required / install fails: ensure virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V) is enabled; reboot after wsl --install.
Ubuntu asks for username/password: expected; complete Ubuntu first-run setup.
BorgBackup not found: use WinBorg auto-install or run sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y borgbackup in Ubuntu.
SSH permission denied (publickey): go to Connections → Deploy Key; verify host/user/port (Hetzner StorageBox often uses port 23).
Mounts fail: FUSE preflight runs; if /dev/fuse is missing, update WSL and reboot/shutdown; see docs/OPERATIONS.md.

🆚 Comparison (short & honest)

Vorta: excellent Borg desktop client, but primarily macOS/Linux — WinBorg is Windows-first with WSL onboarding.
Duplicati: huge range of cloud backends and central management — WinBorg focuses on Borg-native workflows, restore/mount UX, and no lock-in.
BorgBase: hosting/monitoring/2FA/append-only — WinBorg is a great Windows client for BorgBase repositories.

🔒 Security

Please read SECURITY.md.

Important: With Borg, if you lose both your key and passphrase, the data cannot be recovered. WinBorg includes key export/recovery to help prevent this.

🧪 Testing

See docs/TESTING.md

npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run test:coverage
npm run test:e2e

🧱 Developers / Project structure

Renderer: React + TypeScript in src/
Main process: electron-main.js
Unit-testable main modules: main/

More: docs/README.md and docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

🤝 Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Quick notes:

Create a branch.
Run checks locally (see docs/TESTING.md).
Open a Pull Request targeting main.

WinBorg

Install / Use

README