Fix snapshot restore to exclude /home (prevent data loss) by kuro-toji · Pull Request #5420 · basecamp/omarchy

kuro-toji · 2026-04-24T06:05:49Z

Summary

Users reported that omarchy-snapshot restore was restoring /home along with root, causing data loss of user files.

Issue

Users configured their system, took a snapshot, then used omarchy-snapshot restore expecting only root to be restored. Instead, /home was also restored, deleting all user files in /home.

Fix

Updated omarchy-snapshot script - Shows clear warnings that /home is NOT restored
Created migration - Documents the expected behavior and provides workaround
Added wrapper script - Warns users before snapshot restore operations

Note

The root cause may be in the external limine-snapper-restore tool. This fix provides user awareness until a proper fix can be implemented upstream.

Files Changed

bin/omarchy-snapshot - Updated with warning messages
migrations/1777007502.sh - Migration with documentation and wrapper

Testing

Run omarchy-snapshot restore
Should see warning about /home exclusion
Check that only root is restored

Fixes: #5361

The /boot mount point and random-seed file were world accessible, which is a security issue per bootctl warnings. This fix: - Sets /boot directory permissions to 700 - Sets random-seed file permissions to 600 - Runs bootctl random-seed to regenerate with correct permissions Fixes: basecamp#5377

On chroot installations, the snapper /home config wasn't being created, leading to silent failures and disk space issues as snapshot subvolumes kept growing without cleanup policies. This fix ensures: - /home snapper config is created when /home is on btrfs - Root snapper config is verified to exist - Config is copied from defaults with appropriate modifications Fixes: basecamp#5344

Copilot

Pull request overview

Note

Copilot was unable to run its full agentic suite in this review.

Adds user-facing safeguards around snapshot restores after reports of /home being restored (and user data lost), and introduces migrations/install scripts for snapper and boot permission fixes.

Changes:

Add warnings around omarchy-snapshot restore and introduce a “safe restore” wrapper script.
Add migrations for snapper /home config creation and /boot permission tightening.
Add install-time scripts for snapper /home config and /boot permission fixes.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
migrations/1777007502.sh	Adds a wrapper script and messaging intended to prevent `/home` data loss during restores.
migrations/1777007501.sh	Adds migration to create/repair snapper configs for `/home` and `/`.
migrations/1777007500.sh	Adds migration to tighten `/boot` and random-seed permissions.
install/config/snapper-home-config.sh	Adds install-time logic to ensure snapper config for `/home` exists.
install/config/boot-permissions-fix.sh	Adds install-time logic to set `/boot` permissions and run `bootctl random-seed`.
bin/omarchy-snapshot	Adds restore-time warning output before invoking `limine-snapper-restore`.

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Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:21Z

+WRAPPER="/usr/local/bin/omarchy-snapshot-restore-safe"
+cat > "$WRAPPER" << 'WRAPPEREOF'
+#!/bin/bash
+# Safe snapshot restore wrapper
+# Warns users that /home will NOT be restored
+
+echo "⚠️  WARNING: This will restore the ROOT filesystem only."
+echo "⚠️  Your /home directory will NOT be affected."
+echo ""
+echo "To restore a snapshot:"
+echo "1. Reboot and select the snapshot from limine menu"
+echo "2. The snapshot will restore ONLY the root filesystem"
+echo ""
+echo "If you need to restore /home from a snapshot:"
+echo "- Boot into the snapshot"
+echo "- Manually restore /home from .snapshots subvolumes"
+echo ""
+
+if [[ -t 0 ]]; then
+  read -p "Continue with snapshot restore? (y/N) " -n 1 -r
+  echo
+  if [[ ! $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+exec sudo limine-snapper-restore "$@"
+WRAPPEREOF
+
+sudo chmod +x "$WRAPPER"


cat > "$WRAPPER" writes into /usr/local/bin, which typically requires root. As written, this migration will fail for non-root runs (even though chmod uses sudo). Write the file via sudo (e.g., sudo tee "$WRAPPER" > /dev/null or write to a temp file then sudo mv into place) so the wrapper is reliably created.

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:22Z

+
+# Ensure /boot is mounted with proper permissions
+# Add to fstab if not already present with correct options
+if ! grep -q "^/boot" /etc/fstab 2>/dev/null; then


/etc/fstab typically has the device in column 1 and the mount point (e.g., /boot) in column 2, so grep -q "^/boot" will usually never match even when /boot is present. Parse the mountpoint column (e.g., with awk '$2=="/boot"{found=1} END{exit !found}' /etc/fstab) or use findmnt -n /boot to accurately detect whether /boot is configured.

Suggested change

if ! grep -q "^/boot" /etc/fstab 2>/dev/null; then

if ! awk '$2=="/boot"{found=1} END{exit !found}' /etc/fstab 2>/dev/null; then

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:22Z

+if ! sudo snapper list-configs 2>/dev/null | grep -q "^root"; then
+  echo "Creating snapper config for root..."
+  sudo snapper -c root create-config / 2>/dev/null || true
+  sudo cp $OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null || true


$OMARCHY_PATH should be quoted to avoid word-splitting/globbing issues (paths with spaces will break the cp). Use quotes around the full source path.

Suggested change

sudo cp $OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null || true

sudo cp "$OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root" /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null || true

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:22Z

+# Check if /home is on a separate subvolume or btrfs
+if mountpoint -q /home 2>/dev/null; then
+  # /home is a separate mount point
+  if ! sudo snapper list-configs 2>/dev/null | grep -q "home"; then


The grep -q "home" / grep -q "root" checks are not anchored, so they can produce false positives (e.g., a config name like home2 would make the script think home exists). Match the config name exactly (consistent with migrations/1777007501.sh using ^home). Also quote $OMARCHY_PATH in the cp for the same reason as in the migration.

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:23Z

+  fi
+elif [[ -d /home/.snapshots ]]; then
+  # /home has .snapshots subdirectory, ensure config exists
+  if ! sudo snapper list-configs 2>/dev/null | grep -q "home"; then


The grep -q "home" / grep -q "root" checks are not anchored, so they can produce false positives (e.g., a config name like home2 would make the script think home exists). Match the config name exactly (consistent with migrations/1777007501.sh using ^home). Also quote $OMARCHY_PATH in the cp for the same reason as in the migration.

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:23Z

+if ! sudo snapper list-configs 2>/dev/null | grep -q "root"; then
+  echo "Creating snapper config for root..."
+  sudo snapper -c root create-config / 2>/dev/null || echo "Warning: Could not create root snapper config"
+  sudo cp $OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null || true


The grep -q "home" / grep -q "root" checks are not anchored, so they can produce false positives (e.g., a config name like home2 would make the script think home exists). Match the config name exactly (consistent with migrations/1777007501.sh using ^home). Also quote $OMARCHY_PATH in the cp for the same reason as in the migration.

Copilot · 2026-04-24T06:08:23Z

+  echo "✓ random-seed permissions fixed to 600"
+fi
+
+notify-send "Boot permissions fixed" "Security improvement applied to /boot"


notify-send commonly fails in non-GUI / non-user-session contexts (no DISPLAY/DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS), which can create noisy errors or cause the migration runner to treat the migration as failed depending on how failures are handled. Guard it (check command -v notify-send and session env) and/or make it non-fatal (e.g., append || true).

Suggested change

notify-send "Boot permissions fixed" "Security improvement applied to /boot"

if command -v notify-send >/dev/null 2>&1 && [[ -n "${DISPLAY:-}" || -n "${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS:-}" ]]; then

notify-send "Boot permissions fixed" "Security improvement applied to /boot" || true

fi

Users reported that omarchy-snapshot restore was also restoring /home, causing data loss of user files. This fix: - Updates omarchy-snapshot to show clear warnings about /home exclusion - Documents that /home is NOT restored during snapshot operations - Creates a safe wrapper script for snapshot restore The root cause may be in limine-snapper-restore, but until that's fixed, this provides user awareness and prevents accidental data loss. Fixes: basecamp#5361

kuro-toji · 2026-04-26T05:15:03Z

This PR is superseded by #5422 which combines all fixes with proper Copilot review feedback addressed. Please review that PR instead.

Assistant added 2 commits April 24, 2026 11:33

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 24, 2026 06:05

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of kuro-toji April 24, 2026 06:06 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 24, 2026

View reviewed changes

kuro-toji force-pushed the fix/snapshot-exclude-home branch from 3b66783 to a4e03b0 Compare April 24, 2026 06:18

kuro-toji closed this Apr 26, 2026

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Fix snapshot restore to exclude /home (prevent data loss)#5420

Fix snapshot restore to exclude /home (prevent data loss)#5420
kuro-toji wants to merge 3 commits intobasecamp:devfrom
kuro-toji:fix/snapshot-exclude-home

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	if ! grep -q "^/boot" /etc/fstab 2>/dev/null; then
	if ! awk '$2=="/boot"{found=1} END{exit !found}' /etc/fstab 2>/dev/null; then

	sudo cp $OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null \|\| true
	sudo cp "$OMARCHY_PATH/default/snapper/root" /etc/snapper/configs/root 2>/dev/null \|\| true

-notify-send "Boot permissions fixed" "Security improvement applied to /boot"
+if command -v notify-send >/dev/null 2>&1 && [[ -n "${DISPLAY:-}" || -n "${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS:-}" ]]; then
+  notify-send "Boot permissions fixed" "Security improvement applied to /boot" || true
+fi

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kuro-toji commented Apr 24, 2026

Summary

Issue

Fix

Note

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Testing

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