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.TH "borg-webdav" "1" "2026-08-29" "" "borg backup tool"
.SH Name
borg-webdav \- Serve archive contents via a read-only WebDAV / HTTP server on localhost.
.SH SYNOPSIS
.sp
borg [common options] webdav [options]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
This command serves the contents of the selected archives via a read\-only
WebDAV / HTTP server, so the archive contents can be:
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.IP \(bu 2
browsed and downloaded with a web browser,
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mounted as a read\-only network file system, using the WebDAV client
built into most operating systems and file managers.
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.sp
Mounting examples:
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Windows Explorer: \(dqMap network drive\(dq \-> \fBhttp://localhost:8000/\fP
(or on the command line: \fBnet use Z: http://localhost:8000/\fP).
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macOS Finder: \(dqGo > Connect to Server\(dq (Cmd\-K) \-> \fBhttp://localhost:8000\fP\&.
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GNOME Files / KDE Dolphin: open \fBdav://localhost:8000/\fP\&.
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Linux kernel mount: \fBmount \-t davfs http://localhost:8000/ /mnt/point\fP
(needs the davfs2 package).
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.sp
The server listens on localhost (127.0.0.1) only and offers no
authentication and no encryption \- anything that can connect to
localhost TCP ports on the machine can read the served archive contents.
.sp
The top level lists the selected archives (use the archive filter options
to select fewer archives), named as for \fBborg mount\fP (see the
\fBBORG_MOUNT_ARCHIVE_DIR_FORMAT\fP environment variable there); below that,
the archive contents can be browsed like a directory tree. The directory
tree of an archive is built in memory when it is first entered, so expect
some delay for big archives.
.sp
Any directory can be downloaded as a tar archive by appending \fB?tar\fP to its
URL (the web browser listings show a download icon next to the heading for this).
Unlike a plain file
download, the tar preserves POSIX metadata (owner, group, mode, sub\-second
timestamps, symlinks, special files, xattrs, ACLs), so it is the metadata\-
lossless way to restore a whole directory tree over this server. It is a PAX
format tarball, streamed uncompressed.
.sp
Notes:
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Plain (non\-tar) file downloads do not preserve any POSIX metadata (owner,
group, mode, timestamps, xattrs, ACLs). Use the \fB?tar\fP download above, or
\fBborg extract\fP / \fBborg export\-tar\fP, for full\-fidelity restores.
.IP \(bu 2
Symbolic links and special files (devices, fifos, sockets) are shown
in the web browser listings, but are neither followed nor downloadable
individually, and they are not visible in WebDAV\-mounted directories
(WebDAV has no concept of them). They are, however, included in \fB?tar\fP
downloads.
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Damaged files (with chunks missing in the repository) cause the
download connection to be aborted \- the server never silently serves
corrupted file content.
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The Windows WebDAV client limits file downloads to about 47 MiB by
default (\fBFileSizeLimitInBytes\fP registry value) \- use a web browser
or another WebDAV client to download bigger files.
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.sp
Recently used file content chunks are kept decrypted in an in\-memory cache,
so that the many small, sequential range requests a mounted file system
does for a big file do not re\-fetch and re\-decrypt the same chunk over and
over. As for \fBborg mount\fP, the \fBBORG_MOUNT_DATA_CACHE_ENTRIES\fP environment
variable sets the number of cached chunks (default: number of CPUs);
additional memory usage can be up to the chunk size times this number.
.sp
Unless the \fB\-\-foreground\fP option is given, the command daemonizes and runs
in the background until it is stopped by sending it a signal (e.g. \fBkill\fP
sends SIGTERM), which shuts the server down and releases the repository lock.
In the foreground, ^C / SIGINT stops it. Daemonizing is not available on
Windows, so the command always stays in the foreground there.
.SH OPTIONS
.sp
See \fIborg\-common(1)\fP for common options of Borg commands.
.SS options
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.TP
.B  \-f\fP,\fB  \-\-foreground
stay in foreground, do not daemonize
.TP
.BI \-\-port \ PORT
TCP port to listen on (on localhost); default: 8000
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.SS Archive filters
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.TP
.BI \-a \ PATTERN\fR,\fB \ \-\-match\-archives \ PATTERN
only consider archives matching all patterns. See \(dqborg help match\-archives\(dq.
.TP
.BI \-\-sort\-by \ KEYS
Comma\-separated list of sorting keys; valid keys are: timestamp, archive, name, id, tags, host, user; default is: timestamp
.TP
.BI \-\-first \ N
consider the first N archives after other filters are applied
.TP
.BI \-\-last \ N
consider the last N archives after other filters are applied
.TP
.BI \-\-oldest \ TIMESPAN
consider archives between the oldest archive\(aqs timestamp and (oldest + TIMESPAN), e.g., 7d or 12m.
.TP
.BI \-\-newest \ TIMESPAN
consider archives between the newest archive\(aqs timestamp and (newest \- TIMESPAN), e.g., 7d or 12m.
.TP
.BI \-\-older \ TIMESPAN
consider archives older than (now \- TIMESPAN), e.g., 7d or 12m.
.TP
.BI \-\-newer \ TIMESPAN
consider archives newer than (now \- TIMESPAN), e.g., 7d or 12m.
.UNINDENT
.SH EXAMPLES
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.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
# Serve all archives of the repository on http://127.0.0.1:8000/,
# then browse and download files with a web browser.
$ borg webdav

# Serve only one archive on a different port.
$ borg webdav \-\-port 8123 \-\-match\-archives my\-archive
.EE
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.SS Client notes and known issues
.sp
WebDAV\(aqs rough edges are almost all on the client side, and a \fIread\-only\fP server
(like this one) hits a specific subset of them. A plain web browser avoids most of
these \- the notes below matter mainly when \fImounting\fP the server as a file system.
.sp
\fBWindows Explorer\fP (the \(dqWebClient\(dq / mini\-redirector)
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Downloads are limited to about 50 MB by default (the \fBFileSizeLimitInBytes\fP
registry value). Bigger files fail when copied from a mapped drive \- use a web
browser (including for the \fB?tar\fP directory download) or another WebDAV client.
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The \fBWebClient\fP service must be running for \fBnet use\fP / \(dqMap network drive\(dq
to work; if it is stopped, mounting silently fails.
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.sp
\fBmacOS Finder\fP (\fBmount_webdav\fP / WebDAVFS)
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Finder tries to write \fB\&.DS_Store\fP, \fB\&._*\fP (AppleDouble) and \fB\&.Trash\fP files
into every folder it opens. On this read\-only server those writes are rejected
(the file system is read\-only); Finder tolerates it but may occasionally show a
spurious \(dqoperation could not be completed\(dq dialog. This is harmless.
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WebDAVFS caches directory listings; a stale view usually clears on unmount and
remount.
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.sp
\fBLinux davfs2\fP
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davfs2 uses WebDAV locking by default and will try to LOCK files it opens, which
a read\-only server rejects. Set \fBuse_locks 0\fP in \fBdavfs2.conf\fP (or the
per\-mount config) to avoid the failed lock attempts. davfs2 also caches whole
files in a local cache directory.
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The GNOME (gvfs) and KDE (KIO) DAV backends work without such tweaks.
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.sp
\fBProtocol\-level (any client)\fP
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\fBPROPFIND\fP with \fBDepth: infinity\fP (a recursive enumeration that can be very
expensive) is refused with \fB403\fP, as permitted by RFC 4918. Well\-behaved
clients use \fBDepth: 0\fP or \fB1\fP\&.
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Collections must be addressed with a trailing slash; a request for \fB/dir\fP is
redirected to \fB/dir/\fP\&.
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Symbolic links and special files (devices, fifos, sockets) have no
representation in WebDAV, so they are not visible in a mounted file system. They
are shown in the web browser listings and are included in \fB?tar\fP downloads.
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WebDAV transfers file contents plus modification time and size, but no owner,
group, mode, xattrs or ACLs. Use the \fB?tar\fP directory download (or
\fBborg extract\fP / \fBborg export\-tar\fP) when you need a full\-fidelity restore.
.UNINDENT
.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
\fIborg\-common(1)\fP
.SH Author
The Borg Collective
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