# Timeshift (open-source data recovery and backup tool)

> Timeshift is a free, open-source data recovery and backup tool for Linux. System restore tool for Linux. Creates filesystem snapshots using rsync+hardlinks, or BTRFS snapshots. It has 4,297 GitHub stars and is released under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, and people use it instead of Time Machine.

Timeshift for Linux is an application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature in Windows and the Time Machine tool in Mac OS. Timeshift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals. These snapshots can be restored at a later date to undo all changes to the system.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/linuxmint/timeshift |
| Platforms | Linux |
| Interface | desktop GUI |
| GitHub stars | 4,297 |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later (open source) |
| Replaces | Time Machine |
| Language | Vala |
| Website | https://xapp-project.org |
| Official | yes (published by the project behind the app) |
| Category | Data recovery & backup |
| Latest release | master.lmde7 (Sep 21, 2026) |
| Last commit | Sep 21, 2026 |

## Install

Download a build for your system from the project's releases (https://github.com/linuxmint/timeshift/releases) or website, or build it from source by following the README.

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