AMADDCLIENT(8)

📦
version 3.5.4 · 8 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 AMADDCLIENT(8) — the add-a-client-to-your-Amanda-setup situation 💖

okay bestie, buckle up, because amaddclient is the little program in the System Administration Commands section of the manual that literally adds a client to a config you already have. that's it. that's the gig. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

amaddclient — the program to add a client to an existing Amanda configuration. yes she's that girl, and yes she's literally named after exactly what she does 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

       amaddclient --config config ||
                    --client client name ||
                    --diskdev directory to backup [--m] [--dumptype string]
                   [--includefile string] [--includelist string]
                   [--excludefile string] [--excludelist string]
                   [--user string] [--auth string] [--gnutar_list_dir string]
                   [--amandates string] [--no-client-update] [--batch] [--help]

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so here's the lore: once the Amanda rpms are installed and amserverconfig has been run, amaddclient will add a client to the Amanda configuration. she creates or updates the Amanda disklist(5) file, and she creates or updates the /var/lib/amanda/.amandahosts file on the server. two files, one function, iconic behavior fr fr ✨

and if you don't pass --no-client-update, she'll also try to update or create /var/lib/amanda/.amandahost (yes, spelled that way in this doc, we do not gatekeep ✋), plus amanda-client.conf, plus the gnutar-lists — all over on the client side. (go peek at ssh-keygen(1) and ssh-add(1) if you want the details on that whole ssh thing.)

🚨 rule number one, no cap: amaddclient must be run by user backup. like, that is not optional, that is the vibe check you must pass.
🚨 rule number two: --config, --client and --diskdev must be specified. the trio is mandatory bestie, no skipping 💀

👑 OPTIONS 👑

heads up before we dive in: options may be abbreviated, as long as the abbreviation isn't ambiguous. and the option argument can be separated by either = or a space. example, served fresh:

        --conf=v253, --client client8.zmanda.com

slay. now, the full menu:

  • --config config — the Amanda configuration that this program is gonna add the client to. 🫶
  • --client client — the name of the client machine to add. FQDN name is recommended, bestie, take the advice. 🌈
  • --diskdev diskdev — the directory for this Amanda configuration to back up. 📁
  • --m — modify an existing entry in the disklist(5) file.
🙈 note: if the disklist(5) file has been modified manually, this option might not work. she's a little picky like that, no shade.
  • --dumptype dumptype — the dumptype to use. the dumptype must be defined in /etc/amanda/template.d/dumptypes or in the /etc/amanda/$config/amanda.conf file. Default: [user-tar]. 💖
  • --user string — the name of the user using amrecover on the client. default is root. 👑
  • --auth string — the authentication method to use when running amrecover from the client. default is bsdtcp. 🔐
  • --gnutar_list_dir string — the directory where gnutar keeps its state file on the client. absolute path required, we are not playing around. default is /var/lib/amanda/gnutar-lists. and if --no-client-update is not set, this program will attempt to create the directory on the client. ✨
  • --amandates string — the file where amanda keeps the date of each dumplevel on the client. default is /etc/amandates. 📅
  • --batch — turn on batch mode when copying files to the client. default is off. 🎀
  • --no-client-update — if this option is set, amaddclient will not attempt to update/create the .amandahosts, amanda-client.conf and gnutar-lists file on the client. hands off, she respects the boundary 🫶
  • --help — display usage. the classic, the icon, the "pls tell me what to do" button 🦋
💡 and here's the little footnote-with-main-character-energy: if any of the following four options are used, amaddclient will extend the dumptype definition to an in-line definition in the disklist(5) file. so like, use them and things get chattier in that file, iykyk:
  • --includefile string — string is a glob expression 🍓
  • --includelist string — string is a file name on the client containing glob expressions. specify either --includefile or --includelist. pick one bestie, not both 💅
  • --excludefile string — string is a glob expression 🍓
  • --excludelist string — string is a file name on the client containing glob expressions. specify either --excludefile or --excludelist. again, one. just one. 😌

🧚 FILES 🧚

the sacred texts, aka every path this program cares about:

  • /var/lib/amanda/template.d — Amanda configuration template files install location 📦
  • /var/lib/amanda — backup home directory 🏠
  • /var/lib/amanda/.amandahosts — Amanda authentication file 🔐
  • /var/lib/amanda/gnutar-lists — a directory which contains backup timestamp and list of files backed up 🗂️
  • /etc/amanda/$config — Amanda configuration files location for $config (e.g: DailySet1). 📂
  • /etc/amanda/template.d — a directory contains dumptypes and tapetypes files used by all Amanda configurations 🎀
  • /etc/amandates — Amanda file on the client. it keeps track of structures of previous dumps. 📅
  • /tmp/amanda — directory contains Amanda debug log files 🐛

⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

  • on success, zero is returned. we love a zero, zero is the dream 🌟
  • on error, 1 is returned. 😭

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

amanda(8), amanda.conf(5), amserverconfig(8), ssh-keygen(1), ssh-add(1), scp(1)

the Amanda Wiki: http://wiki.zmanda.com/ 🌐

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Kevin Till <kevin.till@zmanda.com>

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 🫶 this was Amanda 3.5.4, dated 08/26/2026, and it lives in the AMADDCLIENT(8) section of the manual — go forth and add clients, periodt 💖✨

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