Restic + REST Server + Prometheus

intermediate

Fast and secure backup program with REST server.

Overview

Restic REST Server is a dedicated HTTP server that provides a REST API backend for the Restic backup tool, enabling centralized backup storage over HTTP/HTTPS. Originally developed to offer a lightweight alternative to cloud storage backends, restic-rest-server allows organizations to maintain complete control over their backup infrastructure while providing the same deduplication and encryption benefits as cloud-based solutions. This stack combines restic-rest-server with Prometheus monitoring and Grafana visualization to create a comprehensive backup solution with full operational visibility. The integration leverages restic-rest-server's built-in Prometheus metrics endpoint to track backup operations, repository health, and storage utilization in real-time. This monitoring-enabled backup infrastructure is ideal for organizations that need reliable backup services with detailed operational insights, providing both the security of on-premises storage and the observability required for enterprise backup management.

Key Features

Built-in Prometheus metrics endpoint for backup operation monitoring
Client-side AES-256 encryption with user-controlled keys
Content-defined chunking for optimal deduplication ratios
RESTful API supporting all Restic backup operations
Real-time backup performance visualization through Grafana dashboards
Repository integrity verification and corruption detection
Multi-client support with concurrent backup operations
Incremental backup tracking with detailed storage analytics

Common Use Cases

1Centralized backup server for multiple Linux servers with monitoring dashboards
2Docker container backup solution with operational metrics for DevOps teams
3Small business backup infrastructure replacing expensive commercial solutions
4Homelab backup system with professional-grade monitoring capabilities
5Development environment backup with detailed storage utilization tracking
6Branch office backup consolidation with central monitoring oversight
7Cloud exit strategy for organizations moving backup storage in-house

Prerequisites

Minimum 1GB RAM for optimal Restic deduplication performance
Docker and Docker Compose installed on the host system
Available ports 3000, 8000, and 9090 for service access
Sufficient disk space for backup repository growth and time-series data
Basic understanding of Restic backup concepts and repository initialization
Network connectivity from backup clients to port 8000 on the Docker host

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  restic-rest-server: 
3    image: restic/rest-server:latest
4    environment: 
5      - OPTIONS=--prometheus --no-auth
6    volumes: 
7      - restic-data:/data
8    ports: 
9      - "8000:8000"
10    networks: 
11      - restic-network
12    restart: unless-stopped
13
14  prometheus: 
15    image: prom/prometheus:latest
16    command: 
17      - --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
18      - --storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus
19    volumes: 
20      - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:ro
21      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
22    ports: 
23      - "9090:9090"
24    networks: 
25      - restic-network
26    restart: unless-stopped
27
28  grafana: 
29    image: grafana/grafana:latest
30    environment: 
31      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${GRAFANA_PASSWORD}
32    volumes: 
33      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
34    ports: 
35      - "3000:3000"
36    depends_on: 
37      - prometheus
38    networks: 
39      - restic-network
40    restart: unless-stopped
41
42volumes: 
43  restic-data: 
44  prometheus-data: 
45  grafana-data: 
46
47networks: 
48  restic-network: 
49    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# Restic REST Server
2GRAFANA_PASSWORD=secure_grafana_password
3
4# Initialize repo:
5# restic -r rest:http://localhost:8000/myrepo init

Usage Notes

1REST server at http://localhost:8000
2Prometheus at http://localhost:9090
3Grafana at http://localhost:3000
4Initialize repo before use
5AES-256 encryption

Individual Services(3 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

restic-rest-server

restic-rest-server:
  image: restic/rest-server:latest
  environment:
    - OPTIONS=--prometheus --no-auth
  volumes:
    - restic-data:/data
  ports:
    - "8000:8000"
  networks:
    - restic-network
  restart: unless-stopped

prometheus

prometheus:
  image: prom/prometheus:latest
  command:
    - "--config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml"
    - "--storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus"
  volumes:
    - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:ro
    - prometheus-data:/prometheus
  ports:
    - "9090:9090"
  networks:
    - restic-network
  restart: unless-stopped

grafana

grafana:
  image: grafana/grafana:latest
  environment:
    - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${GRAFANA_PASSWORD}
  volumes:
    - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
  ports:
    - "3000:3000"
  depends_on:
    - prometheus
  networks:
    - restic-network
  restart: unless-stopped

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  restic-rest-server:
5    image: restic/rest-server:latest
6    environment:
7      - OPTIONS=--prometheus --no-auth
8    volumes:
9      - restic-data:/data
10    ports:
11      - "8000:8000"
12    networks:
13      - restic-network
14    restart: unless-stopped
15
16  prometheus:
17    image: prom/prometheus:latest
18    command:
19      - --config.file=/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
20      - --storage.tsdb.path=/prometheus
21    volumes:
22      - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml:ro
23      - prometheus-data:/prometheus
24    ports:
25      - "9090:9090"
26    networks:
27      - restic-network
28    restart: unless-stopped
29
30  grafana:
31    image: grafana/grafana:latest
32    environment:
33      - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${GRAFANA_PASSWORD}
34    volumes:
35      - grafana-data:/var/lib/grafana
36    ports:
37      - "3000:3000"
38    depends_on:
39      - prometheus
40    networks:
41      - restic-network
42    restart: unless-stopped
43
44volumes:
45  restic-data:
46  prometheus-data:
47  grafana-data:
48
49networks:
50  restic-network:
51    driver: bridge
52EOF
53
54# 2. Create the .env file
55cat > .env << 'EOF'
56# Restic REST Server
57GRAFANA_PASSWORD=secure_grafana_password
58
59# Initialize repo:
60# restic -r rest:http://localhost:8000/myrepo init
61EOF
62
63# 3. Start the services
64docker compose up -d
65
66# 4. View logs
67docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/restic-backup-server/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Repository does not exist error: Initialize the repository using 'restic -r rest:http://localhost:8000/repo init' before first backup
Prometheus metrics not appearing: Verify restic-rest-server started with --prometheus flag and check port 8000/metrics endpoint
Grafana shows no data: Confirm prometheus.yml includes restic-rest-server target at restic-rest-server:8000
High memory usage during backup: Adjust Restic's --limit-download and --limit-upload flags to reduce concurrent operations
Permission denied on volumes: Check Docker volume permissions and ensure containers can write to mounted directories
Connection refused from Restic client: Verify restic-rest-server is accessible on port 8000 and network connectivity is established

Community Notes

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Components

restic-rest-serverprometheusgrafana

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