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when I reinstall I prefer to have a new system; however there are some configuration files in ~/ might like to keep. Can I back up a single file with deja dup? (note these files may need to stay in ~/ to work)

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You could (perhaps, let me know if it works) create a new directory called ~/.files-to-be-backed-up/ and then symlink your individual files into that directory:

mkdir ~/.files-to-be-backed-up/
ln -s ~/Desktop/file ~/.files-to-be-backed-up/file

And then just set Deja-Dup to backup anything in that hidden directory.

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That won't work, as Deja Dup will back up the symlinks themselves. You'd need to use hardlinks (i.e. use the same commands you gave, but without the -s). – Michael Terry Oct 16 '11 at 6:36
cool, it seems to have worked; thanks :) – 1872321 Oct 16 '11 at 20:01
@MichaelTerry Are you sure symlinks don't work? I would swear I've had them working in the past. – Oli♦ Oct 16 '11 at 20:04
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If you specify a symlink as an explicit folder to back up or ignore, they will be followed and it will work as you expect. But if there are symlinks somewhere inside folders you mention, they will not be followed. – Michael Terry Oct 17 '11 at 14:52

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