diff --git a/debian/api-test-server.bash-completion b/debian/api-test-server.bash-completion
index f84ffd49..666f1c0c 100644
--- a/debian/api-test-server.bash-completion
+++ b/debian/api-test-server.bash-completion
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 debian/pbs.bash-completion pbs
+debian/backup-client.bash-completion backup-client
diff --git a/debian/backup-client.bash-completion b/debian/backup-client.bash-completion
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9917e964
--- /dev/null
+++ b/debian/backup-client.bash-completion
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# backup-client bash completion
+
+# see http://tiswww.case.edu/php/chet/bash/FAQ
+# and __ltrim_colon_completions() in /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion
+# this modifies global var, but I found no better way
+COMP_WORDBREAKS=${COMP_WORDBREAKS//:}
+
+complete -C 'backup-client bashcomplete' backup-client