diff --git a/bin/backup-tor.sh b/bin/backup-tor.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af57ec2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/backup-tor.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# needs to run as root
+#
+# setup as cron job:
+#
+# sudo crontab -e
+# 0 2 * * * /bin/backup-tor.sh
+
+# Create a time-stamped .tar file in the current directory.
+# The .tar file will be readable only to root.
+cd /home/root/backups/ || exit
+sh -c 'umask 0077; tar -cf $(date "+%s-%F-var-lib-tor.tar") -C / var/lib/tor'
\ No newline at end of file