Install duply with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• duply

Project history

The duply homepage traces the project back to ftplicity, a GPLv2 shell frontend released by the German computer magazine c't in 2006 for encrypted FTP backups with duplicity. After duplicity changes broke the original software, several fixes appeared, and duply began as one of those ftplicity continuations.

The SourceForge ftplicity project was created to maintain and extend the tool. In version 1.5, the limitation to FTP as the only backend was removed, all duplicity backends became supported, and the project was renamed from ftplicity to duply, short for simple duplicity.

Adoption history

duply's adoption is tied directly to duplicity users who want profiles, batch commands, key import/export helpers, pre/post scripts, and precondition checks without writing their own shell wrapper.

Package metadata shows duply distributed by Homebrew, Alpine, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Ubuntu, and zypper-style ecosystems, which fits its role as a small admin helper installed alongside duplicity.

How it is used

Users create a profile under `~/.duply/<profile>/conf` or use a system profile such as `/etc/duply/conf`, then run duply commands for backup, verify, purge, or combined batch operations. The homepage gives `backup_verify_purge` as an example of batch execution.

duply is not a backup engine by itself; it delegates the actual encrypted incremental backup work to duplicity and adds persistent profile configuration plus hook scripts.

Why package nerds care

duply matters because it is classic Unix packaging glue: a small shell frontend that turns a powerful but option-heavy backup command into repeatable named jobs.

Its ftplicity-to-duply rename is also a neat packaging history footnote: the name changed when the wrapper stopped being FTP-specific and inherited duplicity's broader backend universe.

Timeline

• 2006: c't releases ftplicity as a GPLv2 duplicity frontend for encrypted FTP backups.
• 2009: The duply homepage identifies ftplicity 1.2 from October 21, 2009 as a c't ftplicity version.
• Version 1.5: ftplicity removes the FTP-only limitation and is renamed duply.
• 2026: The duply homepage lists 2.5.6 as a release download.

Related projects

• duplicity is the underlying backup engine and duply's reason to exist.
• Déjà Dup, Backupninja, duplicity-unattended, and other shell wrappers are adjacent frontends listed by duply's alternatives section.

Sources

• https://duply.net/Main_Page documents duply's purpose, profile features, ftplicity origin, rename history, related tools, and release-download link.
• https://duply.net/Code documents the official source-code location.
• https://sourceforge.net/p/ftplicity/code/HEAD/tree/duply/trunk documents the official SourceForge source tree.
• https://duplicity.us/ documents duplicity and names duply as a shell frontend formerly known as ftplicity.