BackStash
$ backs up only what changed
A desktop backup tool for the folders you actually care about — to an external drive, to Google Drive, or both. It watches for changes, keeps old versions, and checks its own work.
Windows will flag this installer the first time — here's why, and how to get past it.
Three choices, then it runs itself
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Step 1
Pick a folder
The one you would be sick to lose. Documents, a projects directory, this year's photos.
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Step 2
Pick where it goes
An external drive, your own Google Drive, or both at once.
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Step 3
Pick when
The moment something changes, on a schedule, or only when you say so.
About two minutes. Nothing else to configure.
What you actually see
What it does
Incremental
Compares size and modification time, then copies only what changed. Skip what you don't want with globs like node_modules.
Runs by itself
Backs up moments after a file changes, or on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. Closing the window minimises to the tray.
Versions
An overwritten file keeps its previous copies in a .versions folder. Undo a bad save, not just a lost drive.
Verified
Scans for ransomware patterns before backing up, then checks the finished backup against BLAKE3 hash manifests.
Restore
Put files back where they were, or somewhere new. Per conflict: skip newer, overwrite, or keep both.
Google Drive
Connects over OAuth to your own account, skips what's already uploaded, and can cap the upload speed. Works cloud-only.
Every build
Portable still 1.1.0
One .exe, nothing installed — use this if you can’t install software on your machine. Doesn’t self-update.MSI still 1.3.3
For Group Policy and managed rollouts.What changed in 1.3.5
- Fixed Read-only files back up again A job with Verify after backup on failed every read-only file it copied (git marks its object files read-only), which showed up as hundreds of problems the first time a job was pointed at a new destination. Those files now back up and verify normally. Unfinished copies are also cleaned up correctly on exFAT drives, and a copy still being written by another backup into the same folder is never mistaken for one left behind.
- New Since 1.3.0 — Snapshots and blobs Your backup now keeps dated points in time you can browse and restore from — the whole tree, one folder, or a single file as it was on a given day. Old versions are stored by content instead of as whole extra copies, and an existing .versions folder is imported automatically without being deleted. Also: proof-by-restore checks and scheduled verification; optional hidden file names; add-only backup folders that never remove or replace anything; and Amazon S3 / Backblaze B2 as backup destinations.
Only the installer and the AppImage were published for this release: the MSI and .deb are still 1.3.3, the portable .exe 1.1.0 and the snap 1.0.0.
Checksums
Installer BackStash_1.3.5_x64-setup.exe
73A34CC8107E7D138810A40240E56165898B4A2E662647196F11F7040EB16A8A
Portable BackStash_1.1.0_x64-portable.exe
F7818D895C8D9097BA1BE597616D0ED4F8143C4A5878927001ECFAFCA1C915DD
MSI BackStash_1.3.3_x64_en-US.msi
4801EF39DAB3F78F3E13A612203AB426521C32B9B722CE5FEB60FD70A58BEA95
Check it before running:
Get-FileHash .\<file> in PowerShell, and compare.
Older builds (12)
v1.3.3 · 13 Sep 2026
v1.3.2 · 13 Sep 2026
v1.3.1 · 12 Sep 2026
v1.3.0 · 12 Sep 2026
v1.2.0 · 30 Aug 2026
v1.1.0 · 21 Aug 2026
v1.0.1 · 11 Aug 2026
v1.0.0 · 8 Aug 2026
AppImage Recommended
Runs from anywhere, nothing installed, no root. Updates itself.chmod +x ./BackStash_1.3.5_amd64.AppImage./BackStash_1.3.5_amd64.AppImage
Debian / Ubuntu still 1.3.3
Installs through apt like any other package.sudo apt install ./BackStash_1.3.3_amd64.deb
Snap still 1.0.0
Not published on the Snap Store, so snap wants--dangerous before it will take a local file — that flag means “unsigned by the store”, not “unsafe”. Grant it removable-media afterwards or it can’t reach external drives.
sudo snap install --dangerous ./backstash_1.0.0_amd64.snapsudo snap connect backstash:removable-media
What changed in 1.3.5
- Fixed Read-only files back up again A job with Verify after backup on failed every read-only file it copied (git marks its object files read-only), which showed up as hundreds of problems the first time a job was pointed at a new destination. Those files now back up and verify normally. Unfinished copies are also cleaned up correctly on exFAT drives, and a copy still being written by another backup into the same folder is never mistaken for one left behind.
- New Since 1.3.0 — Snapshots and blobs Your backup now keeps dated points in time you can browse and restore from — the whole tree, one folder, or a single file as it was on a given day. Old versions are stored by content instead of as whole extra copies, and an existing .versions folder is imported automatically without being deleted. Also: proof-by-restore checks and scheduled verification; optional hidden file names; add-only backup folders that never remove or replace anything; and Amazon S3 / Backblaze B2 as backup destinations.
Only the installer and the AppImage were published for this release: the MSI and .deb are still 1.3.3, the portable .exe 1.1.0 and the snap 1.0.0.
Checksums
AppImage BackStash_1.3.5_amd64.AppImage
BA27F2EC570B2A941C7DAE6604416E70AFEC7FB0A424FE4CCAB9E61729C8593E
Debian / Ubuntu BackStash_1.3.3_amd64.deb
C3434C5F98D838C6F86C69C4451536F14D38CA92DF91AD7A91BFCE1FD27B6699
Snap backstash_1.0.0_amd64.snap
D15BC6FF2C0323D868410B9C72A68AD2F6792A8ED7F70C61D24DBC91FC4E4EFD
Check it before running:
sha256sum <file>, and compare.
Older builds (10)
v1.3.3 · 13 Sep 2026
v1.3.2 · 13 Sep 2026
v1.3.1 · 12 Sep 2026
v1.3.0 · 12 Sep 2026
v1.2.0 · 30 Aug 2026
v1.1.0 · 21 Aug 2026
v1.0.0 · 8 Aug 2026
This installer isn't code-signed — a certificate costs a few hundred a year and this is free software — so SmartScreen shows “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info, then Run anyway. If you'd rather not take my word for it, the checksum above is how you confirm the file is exactly the one I published.
The Windows installer and the Linux AppImage update themselves. The portable build, the .deb and the .snap have to be replaced by hand.
Licence, and how to remove it
- Licence
- Not open source — all rights reserved. Free to download and use; the source isn’t public.
- Uninstall
- Windows: Settings → Apps → BackStash → Uninstall. Linux:
sudo apt remove backstash,sudo snap remove backstash, or just delete the AppImage. - What stays
- Uninstalling leaves your backups and your settings alone. Settings live in
%APPDATA%\BackStashon Windows,~/.config/BackStashon Linux — delete those by hand if you want them gone.