macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install znapzendlocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 10372
Install znapzend with Homebrew, Nix
ZFS backup with remote capabilities and mbuffer integration. Version 0.23.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-06. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#znapzend.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#znapzendnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/zn/znapzend/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
ZFS backup with remote capabilities and mbuffer integration
Project links
Commands and aliases
- znapzend
- znapzendzetup
- znapzendztatz
history
Project history and usage
ZnapZend is a ZFS-centric backup and replication daemon by Tobias Oetiker that automates snapshots, local retention, and remote send/receive workflows with optional mbuffer acceleration.
Project history
The oetiker/znapzend repository was created in 2013, during the period when ZFS users were building higher-level automation around native snapshots and zfs send/receive. Its README describes a tool that relies on the existing ZFS snapshot, send, and receive commands rather than inventing a backup format.
ZnapZend's design stores configuration in custom ZFS properties on datasets. That makes the backup policy travel with the fileset structure and lets the daemon manage local snapshots and remote copies while thinning them as they age.
The project also invested in transfer mechanics. The website highlights ssh and optional mbuffer support for remote destinations, and the setup documentation includes detailed mbuffer behavior and cautions, reflecting real-world ZFS replication tuning rather than a generic backup wrapper.
Adoption history
ZnapZend found a niche among ZFS administrators who wanted scheduled snapshots, retention policy, and replication without writing their own shell scripts. Its adoption is visible mostly through systems-administration packaging, ZFS community discussion, and deployment guides rather than high-profile papers.
Its main appeal has been pragmatic: it automates native ZFS primitives while preserving the administrator's mental model of datasets, snapshots, send streams, ssh, and mbuffer.
How it is used
Users define backup plans per dataset with znapzendzetup, then run znapzend as a service. The daemon creates scheduled snapshots, sends them to configured destinations, and expires older snapshots according to thinning rules.
Typical deployments use local retention for quick rollback and one or more remote ZFS destinations for disaster recovery. Pre- and post-snapshot hooks can quiet databases or other writers before the snapshot is taken.
Why package nerds care
ZnapZend is classic storage-admin package material: small enough to install as a daemon, opinionated enough to encode a retention model, and close enough to native ZFS that experienced users can reason about the data path.
It matters because it packages the tedious but essential parts of ZFS backup hygiene: schedule, retention, replication, and transfer buffering.
Timeline
- 2013-09-22: The oetiker/znapzend GitHub repository is created.
- 2010s: ZnapZend establishes a model of ZFS-property-based backup configuration.
- 2010s-2020s: Documentation grows around recursive datasets, mbuffer paths, transfer behavior, and pre/post snapshot hooks.
- 2020s: ZnapZend remains a maintained option for ZFS snapshot and replication automation.
Related projects
- OpenZFS provides the snapshot and send/receive primitives ZnapZend orchestrates.
- mbuffer is commonly used with ZnapZend to smooth and speed replication streams.
- sanoid/syncoid and pve-zsync are adjacent ZFS snapshot and replication automation tools.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. formula declares a Homebrew service.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- formula declares a Homebrew service
Signals
- metadata:service
- text:backup
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
znapzend | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
znapzendzetup | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
znapzendztatz | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version0.23.6
manager updated2026-07-06
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:znapzend |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.23.6 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://www.znapzend.org/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/oetiker/znapzend |
| Last updated | 2026-07-06T22:19:46Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
znapzend
nix profile install nixpkgs#znapzend- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Znapzend
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation