NO COMPUTER
No computer in the middle
The iPhone talks to the server directly over Wi-Fi. No Mac or PC left on, no cloud, no telemetry — nothing leaves your network.
Self-hosted iPhone backup server
Your iPhone backs up
straight to your server
AirVault turns your NAS into a backup server for every iPhone in the house — full backups over Wi-Fi, kept as restore points you can look inside or put back on any paired phone.
- Open source
- Wi-Fi backups
- Incremental & deduplicated
- Encrypted backups
- Runs on any amd64 Docker host
// features
Everything Finder does,
minus the Mac
FULL BACKUP
A full backup, not a file sync
The same backup Finder makes: settings, messages, app data and photos. Restore it to a phone or download it for a Mac.
INCREMENTAL
Only changes transfer
After the first backup, runs are quick enough to schedule daily — and each one is kept as its own restore point.
ENCRYPTED
Encryption included
With iOS backup encryption on, passwords, Health data and call history are in the backup — unreadable without your password.
INTEGRITY
Checked before every restore
Every file is checksummed as it's stored and checked again before it goes back onto a phone — or whenever you run Verify.
PHOTOS
Photos right off the phone
Browse the camera roll of a connected iPhone — thumbnails, previews and downloads in original quality, no backup needed.
APPS
Apps and their files
See every installed app, browse its documents and pull files out. Install an .ipa or remove an app from the dashboard.
HARDWARE
Hardware at a glance
Storage, battery health and cycle count, temperature, serial numbers — for every paired iPhone, without digging through Settings.
// inside a backup
Look inside
any backup
Find a photo, a chat or a phone number in any restore point — without putting it back on a phone.
Open any restore point and pick what to look at. An encrypted one asks for its password first.
// how it works
Pair once, restore anytime
- 01
Pair
Plug the iPhone into the server once and tap Trust. The server remembers the phone from then on.
- 02
Back up
Back up over Wi-Fi from the dashboard or on a schedule. Each run becomes a restore point.
- 03
Restore
Put any restore point back on the same iPhone or its replacement — or look inside it to pull out a single photo or chat.
// install
Up and running
in minutes
One container on any amd64 Docker host, with ready-made setups for Synology, TrueNAS and Unraid below.
Save the file as
docker-compose.ymland rundocker compose up -d.Plug the iPhone into the host once — USB is only needed to pair.
Open
http://<host>:8080, paste the token from the log and pair the phone.
requirements
amd64 Docker host · USB for the one-time pairing
services:
airvault:
image: ghcr.io/wizier/airvault:latest
container_name: airvault
restart: unless-stopped
# Host networking is required: Wi-Fi discovery is link-local mDNS multicast
network_mode: host
environment:
- AIRVAULT_PORT=${AIRVAULT_PORT:-8080}
- AIRVAULT_AUTH_TOKEN=${AIRVAULT_AUTH_TOKEN:-}
- AIRVAULT_LOG_LEVEL=${AIRVAULT_LOG_LEVEL:-info}
- AIRVAULT_MUX_LOG_LEVEL=${AIRVAULT_MUX_LOG_LEVEL:-warn}
- TZ=${TZ:-Etc/UTC}
# Advanced (optional): AIRVAULT_LISTEN_ADDR, AIRVAULT_DATABASE_URL,
# PUID/PGID/UMASK
# USB pairing: bind the bus
device_cgroup_rules:
- "c 189:* rmw"
volumes:
# /config: settings, database, pairing records. /backups: the backups.
- ./config:/config
- ./backups:/backups
- /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb
- /run/udev:/run/udev:ro// faq
Common questions
What does the backup include?
Everything a Finder backup includes: settings, messages, app data and photos. With encryption on, it also carries what iOS otherwise holds back: saved passwords, Health data and call history. Apps themselves re-download from the App Store on restore.
Can I see what's inside a backup without restoring it?
Yes. Any restore point opens from the dashboard: photos, Messages and WhatsApp chats, notes, contacts and calls, with files saved in original quality.
Do I need a computer or a cloud account?
No. The iPhone backs up to the server directly over Wi-Fi, and you manage everything from a browser.
Which iPhones are supported?
AirVault uses the same backup protocol Finder and iTunes use, so any iPhone that can back up to a computer can back up here. Wireless backups use the Wi-Fi sync you enable once during pairing.
How much storage do backups use?
The first backup is roughly the used space on the phone. Restore points share unchanged files, so the history grows only by what changed.
How long does the first backup take?
It copies the whole used space of the phone, so give it time. Backups run over USB too — you can do the first one with the cable still in from pairing. Later runs are quick.
Can backups run on a schedule?
Yes — daily, every three days or weekly, optionally only within set hours. iOS asks for the passcode before every backup, so a due backup starts when you unlock the iPhone at home, and you confirm it with the passcode.
Are encrypted backups supported?
Yes — standard iOS backup encryption, managed from the dashboard. Nobody can read an encrypted backup without its password, AirVault included: it asks for the password whenever you open one.
Can I restore to a new iPhone?
Yes. Any restore point can be put back on any paired iPhone, including a factory-new phone during its setup. It also downloads as a regular Finder backup, so a Mac can restore it too.
How many iPhones can back up to one server?
As many as you like — each one keeps its own restore points.