Timeshift

Timeshift is a backup and restore tool for Linux that creates system snapshots, allowing users to revert their system to a previous state in case of errors, updates gone wrong, or system corruption. It works similarly to Windows System Restore or macOS Time Machine but focuses on system files rather than personal data. Timeshift supports rsync (incremental backups with hard links) and btrfs snapshots (for filesystems with built-in snapshot support).

A good practice is to make a system snapshot with timeshift before making a full system upgrade. Here I will provide a basic setup to accomplish this, but you can read the Timeshift Arch Wiki Page for more information.

Install the package and enable a chosen cron scheduler (cronie for this case)

sudo pacman -S timeshift cronie
sudo systemctl start cronie.service
sudo systemctl enable cronie.service

Open the Timeshift GUI from your applications menu and make an initial setup by clicking on Wizard
For ext4 filesystems:

1. Choose rsync.
2. Choose your disk.
3. Select daily snapshots and keep from 2-3 of them.
4. Click finish

Although you can use Timeshift through a GUI, the command-line interface (CLI) is useful for automating snapshots. For example, you can make a Bash script that creates a snapshot and then performs a full system upgrade:

#!/bin/bash

sudo timeshift --create --comments "update $(date +%y)w$(date +%U)"
sudo pacman -Syu

This creates a snapshot with a comment like update ##w## that updates with the year and current week. For example, 25w13 means Week 13 of 2025.

After the snapshot, it upgrades the system.