Medusa
What it is
Medusa is an open-source command-line backup system for Apache Cassandra, designed for Linux and self-hosted deployment. It supports full and differential backups, single-node backup and restore, and cluster-wide restores either in place or to a remote location. Backup destinations include local storage, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, AWS S3, and S3-compatible services. It supports Cassandra clusters using single tokens or vnodes. Its verify command checks backup completion, manifest and file presence, and file hashes; MD5 calculations can also be enabled, while file size is checked by default. Configuration documentation covers client SSL settings and S3 server-side encryption using KMS or customer-provided keys. Retention settings can purge backups by age or count. Installation instructions cover pip and Debian packages, including offline installation, and describe installing Medusa on each Cassandra node. It requires Python 3.9 or newer and is licensed under Apache-2.0. The project does not support Cassandra deployments with multiple data folder directories.
For and against
For
- Supports full and differential backups.
- Offers in-place and remote cluster restores.
- Stores backups on cloud or local destinations.
- Verifies manifests, files, and hashes.
- Licensed under Apache-2.0.
Against
- Requires Python 3.9 or newer.
- Does not support multiple data folder directories.
- Must be installed on each Cassandra node.
The verdict
Medusa covers backup, restore, verification, and retention tasks across several Cassandra cluster configurations and storage targets. Check its Python requirement and data-directory limitation against the deployment before adopting it.
Who it suits
Medusa suits administrators responsible for backing up and restoring Apache Cassandra clusters in self-hosted Linux environments. It is not suitable for deployments with multiple Cassandra data folder directories.
Plans and prices
Medusa for Apache Cassandra
Apache-2.0 licensed · no price listed
Read 11 Oct 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Backup and restore
- It supports single-node backup and restore, cluster-wide in-place restore, and cluster-wide remote restore.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Backup integrity
- The verify command checks backup completion, manifest and file presence, and file hashes; MD5 checks can be enabled.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Backups and restores
- It supports single node backups and restores, cluster wide in place and remote restores, and full or differential backups.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Backup storage
- Supported storage includes local storage, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, AWS S3, and compatible S3 services.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Backup types
- It supports full and differential backups, and backup purging.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Cluster support
- It supports Cassandra clusters using single tokens or vnodes.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Cluster topology
- It supports Cassandra clusters using either single tokens or vnodes.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Container image
- The project links to a Cassandra Medusa Docker image published as k8ssandra/medusa.hub.docker.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Installation documentation describes installing Medusa on each Cassandra node with pip or Debian packages.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The project documents pip and Debian package installation, including offline installation steps.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Integrity checks
- Configuration can enable MD5 calculations during backups and verification; file size is used by default.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The GitHub repository identifies the project license as Apache-2.0.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Notable limit
- The project says deployments with multiple Cassandra data-folder directories are not supported.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Notable limitation
- The project says it does not support Cassandra deployments with multiple data folder directories.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Medusa is a command-line backup and restore system for Apache Cassandra.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Retention controls
- Configuration supports purging by backup age or backup count, with zero meaning no purge by that threshold.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- Medusa requires Python 3.9 or newer.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
- Security configuration
- Configuration options include client SSL certificate and key paths, storage connection SSL, and S3 server-side encryption settings.github.com · read 11 Oct 2026
