Getting Started

hetsnap connects to your Hetzner Cloud account via the official API and automates snapshot creation, retention, and monitoring. Setup takes about five minutes.

1. Create an account

Go to hetsnap.com/app/register and sign up with your email address. A 7-day free trial starts immediately — no credit card required.

2. Generate a Hetzner API token

hetsnap needs a read & write API token for each Hetzner Cloud project you want to manage. Here's how to create one:

1. Log in to the Hetzner Cloud Console.
2. Select the project you want to connect.
3. In the left sidebar, click Security → API Tokens.
4. Click Generate API Token.
5. Give it a descriptive name (e.g. hetsnap) and select Read & Write permissions.
6. Copy the token — you will only see it once.

Why read & write? hetsnap needs write access to create and delete snapshots on your behalf. It never modifies servers, firewalls, or any other resources.

3. Connect your Hetzner project

1. In the hetsnap dashboard, open Projects from the sidebar.
2. Click New Project.
3. Enter a name and paste your API token.
4. Click Create.

hetsnap will immediately validate the token and sync all servers from that Hetzner project. Servers appear automatically in the Servers section — you don't need to add them manually.

4. Create your first snapshot or schedule

From here you have two options:

• Manual snapshot — go to Snapshots → New Snapshot, select a server, add a description, and click Create. The snapshot appears in Hetzner within minutes.
• Automated schedule — go to Schedules → New Schedule, set a backup frequency and retention policy, and assign your servers. hetsnap handles everything from there.

Continue to Schedules to learn how automated backups work in detail.