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borg-extract(1) borg backup tool borg-extract(1)

Name

borg-extract - Extracts archive contents.

SYNOPSIS

borg [common options] extract [options] NAME [PATH...]

DESCRIPTION

This command extracts the contents of an archive.

By default, the entire archive is extracted, but a subset of files and directories can be selected by passing a list of PATH arguments. The default interpretation for the paths to extract is pp: which is a literal path-prefix match. If you want to use e.g. a wildcard, you must select a different pattern style such as sh: or fm:. See borg_patterns for more information.

The file selection can be further restricted by using the --exclude option. For more help on include/exclude patterns, see the borg_patterns command output.

By using --dry-run, you can do all extraction steps except actually writing the output data: reading metadata and data chunks from the repository, checking the hash/HMAC, decrypting, and decompressing.

--progress can be slower than no progress display, since it makes one additional pass over the archive metadata.

Note:

Currently, extract always writes into the current working directory ("."), so make sure you cd to the right place before calling borg extract.

When parent directories are not extracted (because of using file/directory selection or any other reason), Borg cannot restore parent directories' metadata, e.g., owner, group, permissions, etc.



OPTIONS

See borg-common(1) for common options of Borg commands.

arguments

specify the archive name
paths to extract; patterns are supported

options

output a verbose list of items (files, dirs, ...)
do not actually change any files
only use numeric user and group identifiers
do not extract/set flags (e.g. NODUMP, IMMUTABLE)
do not extract/set ACLs
do not extract/set xattrs
write all extracted data to stdout
create holes in the output sparse file from all-zero chunks
continue a previously interrupted extraction of the same archive

Include/Exclude options

exclude paths matching PATTERN
read exclude patterns from EXCLUDEFILE, one per line
include/exclude paths matching PATTERN
read include/exclude patterns from PATTERNFILE, one per line
Remove the specified number of leading path elements. Paths with fewer elements will be silently skipped.

EXAMPLES

# Extract entire archive
$ borg extract my-files
# Extract entire archive and list files while processing
$ borg extract --list my-files
# Verify whether an archive could be successfully extracted, but do not write files to disk
$ borg extract --dry-run my-files
# Extract the "src" directory
$ borg extract my-files home/USERNAME/src
# Extract the "src" directory but exclude object files
$ borg extract my-files home/USERNAME/src --exclude '*.o'
# Extract only the C files
$ borg extract my-files 'sh:home/USERNAME/src/*.c'
# Restore a raw device (must not be active/in use/mounted at that time)
$ borg extract --stdout my-sdx | dd of=/dev/sdx bs=10M


SEE ALSO

borg-common(1), borg-mount(1)

Author

The Borg Collective

2025-12-24