diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/release-ci.yml
index 6f204533..5fb8b2a6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-ci.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ on:
     branches:
       - "release/**"
 
+env:
+  BRANCH_NAME: ${{ github.head_ref || github.ref_name }} 
+
 jobs:
   semver-check:
     name: Check SemVer
@@ -25,9 +28,16 @@ jobs:
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@23bce251a8cd2ffc3c1075eaa2367cf899916d84 # v2
 
       - name: Check semver
+        if: contains(env.BRANCH_NAME, 'rustic_core')
         uses: obi1kenobi/cargo-semver-checks-action@e275dda72e250d4df5b564e969e1348d67fefa52 # v2
         with:
           package: rustic_core
+          
+      - name: Check semver
+        if: contains(env.BRANCH_NAME, 'rustic_backend')
+        uses: obi1kenobi/cargo-semver-checks-action@e275dda72e250d4df5b564e969e1348d67fefa52 # v2
+        with:
+          package: rustic_backend
 
   public-api:
     name: Check for breaking Public API changes
@@ -57,7 +67,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           toolchain: stable
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@23bce251a8cd2ffc3c1075eaa2367cf899916d84 # v2
+      # FIXME: For now this is only for rustic core, we need to decide if we want to run this branched for each package
       - name: Run Cargo Test
+        if: contains(env.BRANCH_NAME, 'rustic_core')
         run: cargo test -r --test public_api -- --ignored
 
   result:
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8a227f05..6aaee099 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ resolver = "2"
 rust-version = "1.71.1"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
-rustic_backend = { path = "crates/backend" }
-rustic_core = { path = "crates/core" }
+rustic_backend = { git = "https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/" }
+rustic_core = { git = "https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/" }
 simplelog = "0.12.1"
 
 # see: https://nnethercote.github.io/perf-book/build-configuration.html
diff --git a/crates/backend/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/backend/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1286e2c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/backend/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Changelog
+
+All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
+
+## [rustic_backend-v0.1.1] - 2024-02-02
+
+### Documentation
+
+- Fix c&p for SftpBackend
+- Update examples and other minor things
+
+### Features
+
+- Add options rclone-command, use-password, rest-url to rclone backend
+  ([#139](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/issues/139))
+
+### Miscellaneous Tasks
+
+- Add rustic_backend to release-pr workflow
+
+### Backend
+
+- Add sftp backend ([#126](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/issues/126))
+
+## [rustic_backend-v0.1.0] - 2023-08-10
+
+- Reserving name on crates.io
+
+<!-- generated by git-cliff -->
diff --git a/crates/backend/Cargo.toml b/crates/backend/Cargo.toml
index 6b2684c2..e72763a4 100644
--- a/crates/backend/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/backend/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "rustic_backend"
-version = "0.1.0"
+version = "0.1.1"
 authors = ["the rustic-rs team"]
 categories = ["Algorithms", "Data structures", "Filesystem"]
 documentation = "https://docs.rs/rustic_backend"
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ sftp = ["opendal"]
 
 [dependencies]
 # core
-rustic_core = { path = "../core" }
+rustic_core = "0.2"
 
 # errors
 anyhow = "1.0.79"
@@ -58,13 +58,13 @@ log = "0.4.20"
 bytes = "1.5.0"
 derive_setters = "0.1.6"
 humantime = "2.1.0"
-itertools = "0.12.0"
-strum = "0.25"
-strum_macros = "0.25"
+itertools = "0.12.1"
+strum = "0.26"
+strum_macros = "0.26"
 
 # general / backend choosing
 hex = { version = "0.4.3", features = ["serde"] }
-serde = { version = "1.0.195" }
+serde = { version = "1.0.196" }
 url = "2.5.0"
 
 # cli support
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ walkdir = "2.4.0"
 
 # rest backend
 backoff = { version = "0.4.0", optional = true }
-reqwest = { version = "0.11.23", default-features = false, features = ["json", "rustls-tls-native-roots", "stream", "blocking"], optional = true }
+reqwest = { version = "0.11.24", default-features = false, features = ["json", "rustls-tls-native-roots", "stream", "blocking"], optional = true }
 
 # rclone backend
 rand = { version = "0.8.5", optional = true }
diff --git a/crates/backend/LICENSE-APACHE b/crates/backend/LICENSE-APACHE
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d6456956
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/backend/LICENSE-APACHE
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+
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diff --git a/crates/backend/LICENSE-MIT b/crates/backend/LICENSE-MIT
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..593aed5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/backend/LICENSE-MIT
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2022 Alexander Weiss
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+THE SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/crates/backend/README.md b/crates/backend/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ed421026
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/backend/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+<p align="center">
+<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rustic-rs/assets/main/logos/readme_header_backend.png" height="400" />
+</p>
+<p align="center"><b>Library for supporting various backends in rustic</b></p>
+<p align="center">
+<a href="https://crates.io/crates/rustic_backend"><img src="https://img.shields.io/crates/v/rustic_backend.svg" /></a>
+<a href="https://docs.rs/rustic_backend/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/docsrs/rustic_backend?style=flat&amp;labelColor=1c1d42&amp;color=4f396a&amp;logo=Rust&amp;logoColor=white" /></a>
+<a href="https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/blob/main/crates/backend/LICENSE-APACHE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-Apache2.0/MIT-blue.svg" /></a>
+<a href="https://crates.io/crates/rustic_backend"><img src="https://img.shields.io/crates/d/rustic_backend.svg" /></a>
+<p>
+
+## About
+
+This library is a part of the [rustic](https://rustic.cli.rs) project and
+provides a set of backends for the
+[`rustic_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rustic_core) library. It is used to
+interact with various storage backends, such as `s3`, `rclone`, `rest`, `sftp`,
+and in general `opendal`.
+
+The goal of this library is to provide a unified interface for interacting with
+various backends, so that the
+[`rustic_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rustic_core) library can be used to
+interact with them in a consistent way.
+
+**Note**: `rustic_backend` is in an early development stage and its API is
+subject to change in the next releases. If you want to give feedback on that,
+please open an [issue](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/issues).
+
+## Contact
+
+You can ask questions in the
+[Discussions](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic/discussions) or have a look at
+the [FAQ](https://rustic.cli.rs/docs/FAQ.html).
+
+| Contact       | Where?                                                                                                          |
+| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| Issue Tracker | [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/issues/choose)                                         |
+| Discord       | [![Discord](https://dcbadge.vercel.app/api/server/WRUWENZnzQ?style=flat-square)](https://discord.gg/WRUWENZnzQ) |
+| Discussions   | [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic/discussions)                                           |
+
+## Usage
+
+Add this to your `Cargo.toml`:
+
+```toml
+[dependencies]
+rustic_backend = "0.1"
+```
+
+## Crate features
+
+This crate exposes a few features for controlling dependency usage:
+
+- **cli** - Enables support for CLI features by enabling `merge` and `clap`
+  features. *This feature is disabled by default*.
+
+- **clap** - Enables a dependency on the `clap` crate and enables parsing from
+  the commandline. *This feature is disabled by default*.
+
+- **merge** - Enables support for merging multiple values into one, which
+  enables the `merge` dependency. This is needed for parsing commandline
+  arguments and merging them into one (e.g. `config`). *This feature is disabled
+  by default*.
+
+### Backend-related features
+
+- **opendal** - Enables support for the `opendal` backend. *This feature is
+  enabled by default*.
+- **rclone** - Enables support for the `rclone` backend. *This feature is
+  enabled by default*.
+
+- **rest** - Enables support for the `rest` backend. *This feature is enabled by
+  default*.
+
+- **sftp** - Enables support for the `sftp` backend. Windows is not yet
+  supported. *This feature is enabled by default*.
+
+- **s3** - Enables support for the `s3` backend. *This feature is enabled by
+  default*.
+
+## Usage & Examples
+
+Due to being a support crate for
+[`rustic_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rustic_core), there are no examples
+here. Please check the examples in the
+[`rustic_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rustic_core) crate.
+
+## Contributing
+
+Found a bug?
+[Open an issue!](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/issues/choose)
+
+Got an idea for an improvement? Don't keep it to yourself!
+
+- [Contribute fixes](https://github.com/rustic-rs/rustic_core/contribute) or new
+  features via a pull requests!
+
+Please make sure, that you read the
+[contribution guide](https://rustic.cli.rs/docs/contributing-to-rustic.html).
+
+## Minimum Rust version policy
+
+This crate's minimum supported `rustc` version is `1.71.1`.
+
+The current policy is that the minimum Rust version required to use this crate
+can be increased in minor version updates. For example, if `crate 1.0` requires
+Rust 1.20.0, then `crate 1.0.z` for all values of `z` will also require Rust
+1.20.0 or newer. However, `crate 1.y` for `y > 0` may require a newer minimum
+version of Rust.
+
+In general, this crate will be conservative with respect to the minimum
+supported version of Rust.
+
+## License
+
+Licensed under either of:
+
+- [Apache License, Version 2.0](./LICENSE-APACHE)
+- [MIT license](./LICENSE-MIT)
diff --git a/crates/backend/src/choose.rs b/crates/backend/src/choose.rs
index 505918d7..6e4b1f1c 100644
--- a/crates/backend/src/choose.rs
+++ b/crates/backend/src/choose.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-//! This module contains the trait [`BackendChoice`] and the function [`get_backend`] to choose a backend from a given url.
+//! This module contains [`BackendOptions`] and helpers to choose a backend from a given url.
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
 use derive_setters::Setters;
 use std::{collections::HashMap, sync::Arc};
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ pub struct BackendOptions {
 
 /// Overwrite the left value with the right value
 ///
-/// This is used for merging [`RepositoryOptions`] and [`ConfigOptions`]
+/// This is used for merging config values, e.g. [`BackendOptions`].
 ///
 /// # Arguments
 ///
diff --git a/crates/backend/src/lib.rs b/crates/backend/src/lib.rs
index 653d5fcc..72863ed5 100644
--- a/crates/backend/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/backend/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,64 @@
+/*!
+A library for supporting various backends in rustic.
+
+# Overview
+
+This section gives a brief overview of the primary types in this crate:
+
+`rustic_backend` is a support crate for `rustic_core` which provides a way to access a
+repository using different backends.
+
+The primary types in this crate are:
+
+- `BackendOptions` - A struct for configuring options for a used backend.
+- `SupportedBackend` - An enum for the supported backends.
+
+The following backends are currently supported and can be enabled with features:
+
+- `LocalBackend` - Backend for accessing a local filesystem.
+- `OpenDALBackend` - Backend for accessing a OpenDAL filesystem.
+- `RcloneBackend` - Backend for accessing a Rclone filesystem.
+- `RestBackend` - Backend for accessing a REST API.
+- `SftpBackend` - Backend for accessing a SFTP filesystem.
+- `S3Backend` - Backend for accessing a S3 filesystem.
+
+## Usage & Examples
+
+Due to being a support crate for `rustic_core`, there are no examples here.
+Please check the examples in the [`rustic_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rustic_core) crate.
+
+## Crate features
+
+This crate exposes a few features for controlling dependency usage:
+
+- **cli** - Enables support for CLI features by enabling `merge` and `clap`
+  features. *This feature is disabled by default*.
+
+- **clap** - Enables a dependency on the `clap` crate and enables parsing from
+  the commandline. *This feature is disabled by default*.
+
+- **merge** - Enables support for merging multiple values into one, which
+  enables the `merge` dependency. This is needed for parsing commandline
+  arguments and merging them into one (e.g. `config`). *This feature is disabled
+  by default*.
+
+### Backend-related features
+
+- **opendal** - Enables support for the `opendal` backend. *This feature is
+  enabled by default*.
+- **rclone** - Enables support for the `rclone` backend. *This feature is
+  enabled by default*.
+
+- **rest** - Enables support for the `rest` backend. *This feature is enabled by
+  default*.
+
+- **sftp** - Enables support for the `sftp` backend. Windows is not yet
+  supported. *This feature is enabled by default*.
+
+- **s3** - Enables support for the `s3` backend. *This feature is enabled by
+  default*.
+*/
+
 pub mod choose;
 pub mod error;
 pub mod local;