diff --git a/clanModules/borgbackup.nix b/clanModules/borgbackup.nix
index 8350b3cc..feba43c4 100644
--- a/clanModules/borgbackup.nix
+++ b/clanModules/borgbackup.nix
@@ -67,11 +67,11 @@ in
 
     clanCore.backups.providers.borgbackup = {
       list = ''
-        ssh ${config.clan.networking.deploymentAddress} -- '
+        ssh ${config.clan.networking.deploymentAddress} <<EOF
           ${lib.concatMapStringsSep "\n" (dest: ''
-            borg-job-${dest.name} list --json
+            borg-job-${dest.name} list --json | jq -r '. + {"job-name": "${dest.name}"}'
           '') (lib.attrValues cfg.destinations)}
-        '
+        EOF
       '';
       start = ''
         ssh ${config.clan.networking.deploymentAddress} -- '
@@ -82,6 +82,11 @@ in
       '';
 
       restore = ''
+        ssh ${config.clan.networking.deploymentAddress} -- LOCATION="$LOCATION" ARCHIVE="$ARCHIVE_ID" JOB="$JOB" '
+          set -efux
+          cd /
+          borg-job-"$JOB" extract --list --dry-run "$LOCATION"::"$ARCHIVE"
+        '
       '';
     };
   };
diff --git a/nixosModules/clanCore/backups.nix b/nixosModules/clanCore/backups.nix
index 31de036c..2b84bd22 100644
--- a/nixosModules/clanCore/backups.nix
+++ b/nixosModules/clanCore/backups.nix
@@ -11,13 +11,19 @@
               Folder where state resides in
             '';
           };
-          restoreScript = lib.mkOption {
+          preRestoreScript = lib.mkOption {
+            type = lib.types.str;
+            default = ":";
+            description = ''
+              script to run before restoring the state dir from a backup
+            '';
+          };
+          postRestoreScript = lib.mkOption {
             type = lib.types.str;
             default = ":";
             description = ''
               script to restore the service after the state dir was restored from a backup
             '';
-
           };
         };
       }));
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/list.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/list.py
index e3eacb43..0c424d96 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/list.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/list.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def list_backups(machine: Machine, provider: str | None = None) -> list[dict[str
 def list_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     machine = Machine(name=args.machine, flake_dir=args.flake)
     backups_data = list_backups(machine=machine, provider=args.provider)
-    print(list(backups_data))
+    print(json.dumps(list(backups_data)))
 
 
 def register_list_parser(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/restore.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/restore.py
index 6769a01f..f50827ab 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/restore.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/backups/restore.py
@@ -1,32 +1,67 @@
 import argparse
-from pathlib import Path
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+from typing import Any
 
 from ..errors import ClanError
+from ..machines.machines import Machine
+from .list import list_backups
 
 
 def restore_backup(
-    flake_dir: Path,
-    machine: str,
+    backup_data: list[dict[str, Any]],
+    machine: Machine,
     provider: str,
-    backup_id: str,
+    archive_id: str,
     service: str | None = None,
 ) -> None:
+    backup_scripts = json.loads(
+        machine.eval_nix(f"nixosConfigurations.{machine.name}.config.clanCore.backups")
+    )
+    backup_folders = json.loads(
+        machine.eval_nix(f"nixosConfigurations.{machine.name}.config.clanCore.state")
+    )
     if service is None:
-        print("would restore backup", machine, provider, backup_id)
+        for backup in backup_data:
+            for archive in backup["archives"]:
+                if archive["archive"] == archive_id:
+                    env = os.environ.copy()
+                    env["ARCHIVE_ID"] = archive_id
+                    env["LOCATION"] = backup["repository"]["location"]
+                    env["JOB"] = backup["job-name"]
+                    proc = subprocess.run(
+                        [
+                            "bash",
+                            "-c",
+                            backup_scripts["providers"][provider]["restore"],
+                        ],
+                        stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                        env=env,
+                    )
+                    if proc.returncode != 0:
+                        # TODO this should be a warning, only raise exception if no providers succeed
+                        raise ClanError("failed to restore backup")
     else:
         print(
-            "would restore backup", machine, provider, backup_id, "of service:", service
+            "would restore backup",
+            machine,
+            provider,
+            archive_id,
+            "of service:",
+            service,
         )
+        print(backup_folders)
 
 
 def restore_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
-    if args.flake is None:
-        raise ClanError("Could not find clan flake toplevel directory")
+    machine = Machine(name=args.machine, flake_dir=args.flake)
+    backup_data = list_backups(machine=machine, provider=args.provider)
     restore_backup(
-        Path(args.flake),
-        machine=args.machine,
+        backup_data=backup_data,
+        machine=machine,
         provider=args.provider,
-        backup_id=args.backup_id,
+        archive_id=args.archive_id,
         service=args.service,
     )
 
@@ -36,6 +71,6 @@ def register_restore_parser(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
         "machine", type=str, help="machine in the flake to create backups of"
     )
     parser.add_argument("provider", type=str, help="backup provider to use")
-    parser.add_argument("backup_id", type=str, help="id of the backup to restore")
+    parser.add_argument("archive_id", type=str, help="id of the backup to restore")
     parser.add_argument("--service", type=str, help="name of the service to restore")
     parser.set_defaults(func=restore_command)