Backup research: add post-speedrun filesystem snapshot (6.8G, 69% outside /root) + reference to competitor profiling speed-run
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Oliver
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# 001 — Why backing up an agent is so hard
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**Status:** Idea
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**Status:** Research
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**Tags:** Technical, Backups, DevOps
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## Research notes
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### Real filesystem changes after one week of work on a Linux agent
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### Real filesystem changes — from clean start through all speed-runs
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#### Snapshot 1: After one week of basic work (original data)
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```
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504.6M ./usr
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43.3M ./var
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448.9M ./root
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54.0K ./etc
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996.8M .
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996.8M total
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```
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Most users only back up the home directory (`/root` = 448.9M). But over half the changes live outside it — `/usr` (504.6M) and `/var` (43.3M) contain installed packages, pip/npm global installs, database files, logs, and system configs. A naive home-dir-only backup misses 55% of what changed.
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Home-dir-only backup would capture 448.9M (45%) — already missing 55% of what changed.
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At restore time, you get your config back but the agent won't run — missing dependencies, missing system packages, missing database files.
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#### Snapshot 2: After all speed-run setups including competitor profiling (current)
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```
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4.3G ./usr ← 8.5× growth from 504.6M
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487.0M ./var ← 11.2× growth from 43.3M
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2.1G ./root ← 4.7× growth from 448.9M
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1.9M ./etc ← 35× growth from 54K
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6.8G total ← 6.8× growth from 996.8M
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```
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**Home-dir-only backup now captures 2.1G (31%) — missing 69% of what changed.**
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#### What accounted for the growth (drill-down)
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| Location | Size | What | Speed-Run Trigger |
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|----------|------|------|-------------------|
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| `/usr/local/lib` | 2.3G | Hermes runtime, node_modules, python3.11 libs | Hermes Agent installation |
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| `/root/.npm/_cacache` | 390M | npm package cache | Node.js tooling for Hermes |
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| `/root/.hermes` | 412M | 19 skills, 1 plugin, 2 cron jobs, memories, config | All speed-runs |
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| `/root/.cache/huggingface` | 142M | HuggingFace model weights | STT / model download |
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| `/root/.cache/uv` | 186M | UV Python package cache | Hermes venv management |
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| `/var/cache/apt` | 379M | Debian package cache | System dependencies |
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| `/var/lib/apt` | 80M | APT package state | System dependencies |
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| `/usr/local/bin` | 28M | Executables (hermes CLI, etc.) | Hermes Agent installation |
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| `/root/.config` | 475K | App configs | Misc tools |
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| `/etc` | 1.9M | System config (hostname, apt sources, etc.) | OS configuration |
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**Total blog content created:** 5 posts (Odoo, Hermes setup, competitor profiling, cold email, mobile.de research)
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### What this means for the post
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- Agent environments are not just config files — they're full Linux systems with packages, services, and state scattered everywhere
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- "Backup your home directory" is dangerously incomplete advice for AI agents
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- Derez.ai's full-disk snapshot approach is the right solution
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- The sprawl gets **worse** over time: after one week, 55% outside /root; after 3 speed-runs, 69% outside /root
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- Each new skill, plugin, model download, or cron job adds state in a different directory
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- Derez.ai's full-disk snapshot approach is the right solution — it captures everything, not just /root
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- This is a strong selling point: the agent works after restore, not just the config
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### Next data points
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Oliver will do two more memory analysis snapshots after running the speed-run setups (Odoo + Cold Email). Those will show how much additional state those integrations add.
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### Outline
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1. The sprawl problem — why agents are harder to back up than a standard server
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*Include the filesystem analysis table*
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2. What a real agent backup needs to capture
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3. How Borg/deduplicated snapshots solve it
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4. How Derez.ai does it automatically (one-click restore)
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5. Best practices for users
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6. Better save than sorry — the selling point
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1. **The sprawl problem** — why agents are harder to back up than a standard server
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*Include the dual snapshot comparison table (Week 1 vs After Speed-Runs)*
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2. **Real data from a real agent** — walk through the 6.8G of state and where it lives
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3. **The 69% problem** — what you lose with a home-dir-only backup
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4. **How Borg/deduplicated snapshots solve it**
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5. **How Derez.ai does it automatically** (one-click restore, full-disk snapshots)
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6. **Better save than sorry** — the selling point with real numbers
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### References
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- Borg backup docs
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- Hermes Agent directory structure (~/.hermes/)
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- Filesystem analysis: `du -sch /usr /var /root /etc` after one week
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- Speed Run: Competitor Profiling (derez.ai/blog/posts/speed-run-competitor-profiling.html) — the speed-run that pushed the system past 1G
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- Full filesystem analysis: `du -sch /usr /var /root /etc` before and after speed-runs
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