Creating a PowerShell Backup Script for VPS Syncthing Folders

I'm using Robocopy to sync folders with logic to skip unchanged files.

# Define source and destination paths
$source1 = "C:\Users\aonat\BookStack-VPS-Backups"
$source2 = "C:\Users\aonat\Default Folder"
$destination = "E:\VPS-Backups"

# Ensure destination exists
if (!(Test-Path -Path $destination)) {
    New-Item -Path $destination -ItemType Directory
}

# Mirror BookStack-VPS-Backups
Robocopy $source1 "$destination\BookStack-VPS-Backups" /MIR /Z /FFT /XA:H /W:5 /R:3 /XO

# Mirror Default Folder
Robocopy $source2 "$destination\Default Folder" /MIR /Z /FFT /XA:H /W:5 /R:3 /XO

The only thing that is confusing in the script is all the logic trailing the Robocopy commands. Here is the breakdown of that:

• /MIR – Mirrors folder (adds new, removes deleted files)

• /XO – Excludes older files (does not overwrite newer destination files)

• /Z – Enables restartable mode (safe for external drives)

• /FFT – Treats file times as FAT-style (2-second tolerance; good for cross-OS syncing)

• /XA:H – Skips hidden files

• /W:5 / /R:3 – Waits 5 seconds and retries 3 times on errors

I tested and made sure the script worked as intended:

It indeed copied the folders and files I needed:

I then created a task in the Task Scheduler by doing Win + R and entering taskschd.msc

Create New Task:

Under General Tab create a Name and check the 2 boxes below:

Under the Triggers tab click New, Begin Task at Logon, and for Any User:

Under the Actions Tab, Click New > Start a Program > powershell.exe

Add this argument script in the Add arguments section replacing the path to the script:

-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Path\To\backup-vps-folders.ps1"

Under Settings do the following:

Click OK and then it will prompt you for your logon password:

Once you enter that correctly this will run on logon and make sure you have another offsite backup out of Syncthing.