Scenario

Configuration files in /etc are at risk of being lost due to accidental changes or deletions, and there's currently no automated backup process in place.

Task

Write a shell script at /usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh that accepts a target backup path (where files will be saved at) as a command-line argument, creates a compressed archive of /etc with the naming format etc-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz, automatically removes backups older than 7 days, and exits with an error if no path is provided. Make the script executable and create a cron job to run it daily at 02:00 AM, storing backups in /backups/etc/ using crontab command. You can use https://crontab.guru for cronjob format.

Once script is created execute it /usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh /backups/etc/

Example

# Before (no automated backups)

No backup script exists
/etc directory unprotected
Manual backups required

# After (automated backup system configured)

Backup script created and executable
Running without argument:
  Error: Backup directory path required

Running with argument creates timestamped backup:
  /backups/etc/etc-backup-2025-11-06.tar.gz

After 7 days of daily backups:
  etc-backup-2025-11-01.tar.gz (deleted - older than 7 days)
  etc-backup-2025-11-02.tar.gz (deleted - older than 7 days)
  etc-backup-2025-11-03.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-04.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-05.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-06.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-07.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-08.tar.gz
  etc-backup-2025-11-09.tar.gz

Cron job configured: runs daily at 02:00 AM

Step 1: Create the backup script

nano /usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh

Step 2: Add the script content

#!/bin/bash

if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    echo "Error: Backup directory path required"
    exit 1
fi

BACKUP_DIR="$1"
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
BACKUP_FILE="etc-backup-${DATE}.tar.gz"

tar -czf "${BACKUP_DIR}/${BACKUP_FILE}" /etc

find "${BACKUP_DIR}" -name "etc-backup-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

Save and exit.

Step 3: Make the script executable

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh

Step 4: Create the backup destination directory

mkdir -p /backups/etc/

Step 5: Test the script manually

/usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh /backups/etc/

tar: Removing leading '/' from member names

This is normal and expected.

Step 6: Verify the backup was created

ls -lh /backups/etc/

Step 7: Add a cron job to run daily at 02:00

crontab -e

Add this line at the end:

0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup_etc.sh /backups/etc/

Save and exit.

Step 8: Verify the cron job is scheduled

crontab -l