Install plakar with Homebrew, apk, Nix, scoop

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• plakar

Project history

Gilles Chehade publicly described the first Plakar implementation in March 2021. It grew from his desire for simpler snapshot-oriented backups than custom rsync scripts, with easy browsing, comparison, compression, deduplication, and local or remote storage.

By 2025 the project had become Plakar Korp's open-source backup platform, with Kloset providing an immutable, content-addressed storage engine and integrations extending Plakar beyond ordinary files to databases, Kubernetes, object stores, and other data sources.

The project continued to harden its storage, restore, maintenance, mounting, and integration architecture through the 1.0 and 1.1 release lines.

Adoption history

Plakar evolved from a solo utility into a team-maintained open-source project supported by Plakar Korp. Its first general-testing beta arrived in February 2025, followed by the 1.0 line and an expanded integration ecosystem.

The 1.1 development cycle ran through a public beta and release candidates before a stable 1.1.3 release in June 2026. Official release reporting describes extensive real-world snapshot testing and coordinated development across Plakar, Kloset, and the integrations collection.

The supplied package facts record distribution through Homebrew, Alpine, Nix, and Scoop, reflecting the project's cross-platform, CLI-first packaging strategy.

How it is used

Operators create a local or remote Kloset store, back up files or configured data sources, list and browse snapshots, verify integrity, diff or mount snapshot contents, restore selected data, prune according to policy, and synchronize stores for off-site protection.

Named source, destination, and store configurations live in YAML files under `~/.config/plakar`. These files can contain locations, passphrases, access keys, secret keys, tokens, or other connector credentials, so the same paths serve as both configuration and credential stores.

Why package nerds care

Plakar combines several traits package and storage enthusiasts care about: a single operational CLI, content-defined deduplication, encrypted immutable storage, browsable snapshots, integrity verification, FUSE and HTTP mounting, a plugin package manager, and synchronization between heterogeneous stores.

Its separation into the Plakar application, Kloset storage engine, ptar archive format, and installable integrations makes the project an unusually visible example of backup software designed as a composable open-source ecosystem.

Timeline

• 2021: Gilles Chehade publicly introduced Plakar.
• 2025: Plakar's first general-testing beta was announced.
• 2025: The project established its 1.0 release line and expanded its integrations.
• 2026: The 1.1 cycle progressed from beta through release candidates to a stable release.

Related projects

• Kloset is the immutable, encrypted, deduplicating storage engine beneath Plakar. ptar provides a self-contained archive format, while Plakar's integration packages connect additional sources, destinations, and storage backends.
• Plakar officially supports importing rclone configurations, allowing existing rclone remotes and their credentials to be reused as Plakar stores or destinations.

Sources

• https://github.com/PlakarKorp/kloset
• https://github.com/PlakarKorp/plakar
• https://poolp.org/posts/2021-03-26/march-2021-backups-with-plakar/
• https://www.plakar.io/posts/2025-02-26/plakar-beta-release/
• https://www.plakar.io/posts/2026-06-16/plakar-v1.1.3-is-here/