diff --git a/machine-export.sh b/machine-export.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..73f5d8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/machine-export.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# export machine as tar.gz
+
+_container="minimal"
+
+machinectl stop $_container
+
+machinectl export-tar $_container $_container.tar.gz
+
+echo "done"