% zelta(8) | System Manager's Manual
zelta - perform safe, recursive ZFS operations locally and remotely
zelta -V | --version
zelta SUBCOMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGUMENTS]
zelta provides tools for ZFS replication, backup verification, dataset recovery, and policy-based automation. All operations work recursively on dataset trees and support both local and remote execution via ssh(1).
Remote dataset endpoints follow scp(1) conventions: [user@]host:[dataset]. Operations can be performed without installing zelta on remote systems—only standard ZFS utilities and SSH access are required.
Examples:
Local: zpool/dataset@snapshot
Remote: user@example.com:zpool/dataset@snapshot
See zfs(8) for dataset naming conventions.
For detailed usage of each subcommand, see the respective manual page.
zelta help
zelta -?
: Display help message.
zelta -V, --version
zelta version
: Display version information.
zelta match source target
: Compare two dataset trees and report matching snapshots or discrepancies. See zelta-match(8).
zelta backup source target
: Replicate a dataset tree. Creates snapshots if needed, detects optimal send options, and replicates intermediate datasets. See zelta-backup(8).
zelta sync source target
: Replicate only the most recent snapshot between dataset trees. See zelta-sync(8).
zelta revert dataset
: Rewind a dataset to a previous snapshot by renaming and cloning. Preserves current state. See zelta-revert(8).
zelta rotate source target
: Preserve divergent dataset versions through rename and clone operations. See zelta-rotate(8).
zelta clone dataset target
: Create a writable clone of a dataset tree. See zelta-clone(8).
zelta policy [options]
: Execute replication operations based on configuration file definitions. See zelta-policy(8).
Configuration follows a hierarchy from lowest to highest precedence:
1. Built-in defaults
2. `/usr/local/etc/zelta/zelta.env`
3. Policy configuration (`zelta.conf`)
4. Environment variables
5. Command-line arguments
See zelta-options(8) for details.
/usr/local/etc/zelta/zelta.conf
: Default policy configuration file.
/usr/local/etc/zelta/zelta.env
: Global default setting overrides.
Replicate a dataset to a remote host:
zelta backup sink/data/project user@backup.example.com:tank/backups/project
Compare local and remote dataset trees:
zelta match sink/data remote:tank/backups
Revert a dataset to its previous snapshot:
zelta revert sink/data/project
Update a target that has diverged:
zelta rotate sink/data/project user@backup.example.com:tank/backups/project
Back up everything defined in policy settings.
zelta policy
Returns 0 on success, non-zero on error.
zelta-backup(8), zelta-clone(8), zelta-match(8), zelta-options(8), zelta-policy(8), zelta-revert(8), zelta-rotate(8), zelta-sync(8), cron(8), ssh(1), zfs(8)
Daniel J. Bell bellta@belltower.it