Getting started with UTBackup (KB0020242)

https://utbackup.utexas.edu

Exclusion list (CrashPlan-Labs/Tools on GitHub)

Tools/exclusions.txt at main · CrashPlan-Labs/Tools

Raw file (for copying into the console or API)

https://github.com/CrashPlan-Labs/Tools/raw/refs/heads/main/exclusions.txt

Change history for the list

History for exclusions.txt - CrashPlan-Labs/Tools

CrashPlan: Understanding default file exclusions

Files excluded from backup by default in CrashPlan

CrashPlan: Include and exclude files for backup (console and API)

Include and exclude files for backup from CrashPlan

CrashPlan: Exclude files using file type and regex

Exclude or filter files using file type and regular expressions (regex)

CrashPlan: Reference for including and excluding files

Reference information for including or excluding files for backup using CrashPlan

Matching

Each regular expression is matched against the file’s full absolute path, not just the file name.

Path separator

CrashPlan uses forward slashes on every platform. Windows paths are evaluated as C:/Users/..., not C:\Users\....

Processing order

Inclusions are processed first, then exclusions. A file that matches both is excluded.

Case sensitivity

Expressions that start with (?i) are case-insensitive. Expressions without it are case-sensitive.

Platform scope

Lines prefixed with win:, mac:, or linux: apply only to that OS. Lines with no prefix apply to all platforms.

Restricted characters

<, >, , and ' cannot be used in regex exclusions.

API updates

The /exclusions/update API resource overwrites existing exclusions, including exclusions set in the console. Export or record the current set before using it.

Applying changes

After changing exclusions, run Scan for file changes from Backup Set Settings in the CrashPlan app so the change is picked up.

All platforms

Temp and partial files (.tmp, .part, .crdownload), memory dumps, VM and disk images (.vhd/.vhdx, .vmdk, .vdi, .qcow2, .iso, sparse images), third-party backup images (.bkf, .tib/.tibx), Outlook .ost, .ini, .db, SQLite/database sidecar files (-journal, -wal, -shm, -lock), any folder named Cache, Temp, tmp, or Cookies, developer artifacts (.git, node_modules, .npm, .nvm, .gradle), LevelDB folders, Photos library internals, and CrashPlan’s own archive files

Windows

Windows, Windows.old, Program Files, most of ProgramData (except ProgramData/CrashPlan/user_settings), Recovery, boot, PerfLogs, upgrade and setup folders ($WINDOWS.~BT, $WINDOWS.~WS, ESD, swsetup, _SMSTaskSequence), OEM folders at a drive root (Dell, Intel, Oracle), pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys, swapfile.sys, NTUSER*, UsrClass.dat, $RECYCLE.BIN, System Volume Information, .etl, .mui, Steam libraries, iOS device backups (Apple/MobileSync), and most of AppData (see allowlist below)

macOS

/Applications, /System, /Library, /private, /usr, /opt, /etc, /var, /Users/Shared, Trash, Time Machine and local snapshots, Spotlight and fseventsd data, .DS_Store, .strings, media library caches and thumbnails, and most of ~/Library (see allowlist below)

Linux

/usr, /opt, /etc, /dev, /sbin, /proc, /sys, /run, /srv, /var/run, /var/lock, /var/spool, /var/tmp, /var/cache, lost+found, media mount points, and Chrome/Firefox profile folders under home directories

Folders named Cache, Temp, tmp, or Cookies are excluded anywhere in the path, case-insensitive

A user folder such as D:/Projects/Temp/ or Documents/Cache/ is not backed up.

iso, pkg, and raw are matched at the end of the path without a leading dot

Any file whose name ends in those letters is excluded. Examples: extensionless Withdraw, diagram.draw, and camera .raw files.

.ini and .db are excluded on all platforms

Application settings and SQLite databases stored in user folders are skipped.

Drive-root Windows rules use ^.:/, which matches any drive letter

D:/Program Files/, E:/Oracle/, and D:/Intel/ are excluded, not just C:.

AppData is excluded except for the allowlist

PST files in AppData/Local/Microsoft/Outlook/ are not backed up. Only RoamCache is allowed there. PSTs in other locations, such as Documents/Outlook Files, are not excluded by this list.

Outlook custom dictionary entry is Roaming/Microsoft/UProof$ (no trailing /.*)

This appears to allow only the folder itself, not the files inside it. Custom dictionaries may not actually be backed up. Verify by testing.

macOS line with /bin/, /home/, /private/, /var/ is matched anywherein the path and is case-sensitive

On Macs, ~/Projects/app/bin/ or ~/Documents/private/ is excluded.

macOS ~/Library is excluded except for the allowlist

Apple Mail local mail stores, Messages history, and most app data are not backed up.

macOS VS Code entry is /Users/.*/.vscode/extensions/ inside an expression already anchored with ^/

This produces //Users..., which appears never to match. The exclusion is likely ineffective, but the impact is low (extension cache).

.git folders are excluded, working files are not

Uncommitted changes in a repo are backed up, but local commit history and unpushed branches are not.

VM disk images and sparse images are excluded

Developer or lab VMs (Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, Parallels, QEMU) are not protected by CrashPlan.

Linux /srv, /opt, and /etc are excluded

If CrashPlan protects Linux servers, data stored under /srv or /opt is not backed up.

Last line excludes CrashPlan archive file structures

This prevents backing up CrashPlan’s own archives, for example on local or external backup destinations.