Timeshift
Shares rank 14 of 19 backup tools by recommenders
Free Linux tool that makes restore points, so a broken change or bad upgrade can be undone with a reboot.
Free Linux tool that makes restore points, so a broken change or bad upgrade can be undone with a reboot.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy restore points for breakage and upgrades
“Timeshift for when you accidentally break something. One reboot and it's fixed.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Microsoft Account bugs locked me out of Notepad – are Thin Clients ruining PCs?” “It's not hard to set up regular restore points with Timeshift or similar”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too” “to be handy & assuring from the dangers of tinkering and/or an upgrade”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Is Linux Safe to Daily drive in 2026?”
Other backup tools people recommend
The four most recommended other backup tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| restic | 83 | 5 | 94% | 12 | — | Approved |
| pgBackRest | 32 | 6 | 84% | 6 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| Borg Backup | 30 | 8 | 79% | 12 | — | Approved |
| iCloud Photos Downloader | 18 | 4 | 82% | 2 | — | — |
| TimeshiftThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The only Linux Software I miss on Windows is Timeshift.”
“The commits that introduced two of them have been identified”
“Doesn't require a GUI, so it can be used for servers/headless too.”
“Timeshift for when you accidentally break something. One reboot and it's fixed.”
“to be handy & assuring from the dangers of tinkering and/or an upgrade”
“It's not hard to set up regular restore points with Timeshift or similar”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.