The Rested agent

The agent is a small program that runs on your server and does the actual backup work. It runs restic on your schedule, encrypts backups on the host, and reports each run to Rested. The dashboard schedules and observes; the agent executes.

What it does

• Runs scheduled and on-demand backups where your files live, so nothing is copied through the web app.
• Encrypts backups with restic before upload, so your storage provider only ever holds ciphertext.
• Checks in with Rested to receive schedules and restore requests, and to report run history.
• Installs and pins the restic binary it uses, and can update itself.

Install the agent

Add a server in the dashboard to get a one-line install command with a short-lived enrollment token. It downloads the agent, verifies the signed release, enrolls the source, and starts the service:

curl -fsSL https://<your-rested-host>/install.sh \
  | sudo sh -s -- --enroll-token rse_your_token

The installer requires Linux with systemd, and it must run as root (via sudo) to install the binary and service. To back up more than one source on the same machine, run the installer again with a different enrollment token — the agent picks up the new source automatically.

Manage the service

The agent runs as the rested systemd service. Manage it with the usual commands:

sudo systemctl status rested      # is it running?
sudo systemctl restart rested     # restart it
sudo systemctl stop rested        # stop it
journalctl -u rested -f           # follow its logs

Update the agent

Update in place from the server. Both paths verify the signed release before replacing the binary and also refresh the pinned restic version:

sudo rested update
# or re-run the installer in update mode:
curl -fsSL https://<your-rested-host>/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --update-only

Where things live

• /usr/local/bin/rested — the agent binary.
• /usr/local/bin/restic — the restic binary the agent installs and pins.
• /etc/rested/agent.toml — the agent configuration and enrolled sources.
• /etc/rested/agent.env — optional environment overrides (see below).
• /etc/systemd/system/rested.service — the systemd unit.

Configuration

The agent works without configuration. By default it follows the check-in cadence Rested requests — roughly every 10 seconds while idle, and faster while a dashboard is open. To pin your own cadence, set RESTED_AGENT_POLL_INTERVAL in /etc/rested/agent.env and restart the service:

# /etc/rested/agent.env
RESTED_AGENT_POLL_INTERVAL=30s

Restore from the server

You can drive restores from the dashboard, or run the equivalent command directly on the host. See Restoring your data for details. The command looks like:

sudo rested restore --source <source-id> --snapshot <snapshot-id> --target /home/restore

Uninstall

To remove the agent from a server, stop and remove the service, its configuration, and the binary:

sudo rested uninstall

This stops and disables the restedservice, removes the systemd unit, and deletes the agent's configuration under /etc/rested. Your backups in remote storage are not touched — they remain restorable with restic and your recovery key.

Command reference

• rested run — run the agent loop (used by the service).
• rested once — run a single check-in cycle and exit.
• rested status— print the agent's current status.
• rested enroll --enroll-token rse_… — enroll a new source.
• rested restore … — restore a snapshot on the host.
• rested update — verify and install the latest agent.
• rested ensure-restic — install or repair the restic binary.
• rested uninstall — remove the service, config, and binary.
• rested version — print the installed version.