Btrfs Snapshot Integration in KDE

KDE has recently integrated Btrfs snapshot support into its software, launching KIO Snapshot. This feature enables file browsers like Dolphin to display and manage snapshots of files and subvolumes. KIO Snapshot leverages libbtrfsutil from btrfs-progs and KDE Frameworks’ Solid to interact with the filesystem. It allows users to access past versions of files, compare them, and perform various actions without the need for separate tools.

Unlike other snapshot tools, KIO Snapshot does not create snapshots but only provides access to them. To use KIO Snapshot, users must manually take snapshots or use an orchestrator like Snapper. Snapper needs to be configured with rootless access enabled for KIO Snapshot to work correctly. KDE Linux will soon ship KIO Snapshot and Snapper by default, improving the overall backup and restore systems within KDE.