diff --git a/backup.sh b/backup.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..628b267
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# config
+instances_dir=$HOME/instances
+backups_dir=$HOME/backups
+tmpdir=/tmp/minecraft-backup
+backup_timestamp=`date +%Y-%m-%d_%H.%M.%S`
+
+echo "WARNING: This script is deprecated and will be reworked to support incremental backup soon."
+# desired features:
+#  - incremental backups
+#  - converter from old backups to incremental backups
+#  - override options for config instead of hardcoded values
+
+# make sure it is there
+mkdir -p -v "$tmpdir"
+# tar
+tar cvf "$tmpdir/$backup_timestamp.tar" "$instances_dir"
+# compress
+echo "Compressing backup..."
+xz -z --best -T0 "$tmpdir/$backup_timestamp.tar"
+# move to destination
+mv -v "$tmpdir/$backup_timestamp.tar.xz" "$backups_dir"
\ No newline at end of file