README: say which records quak could not decrypt lib.backup() reports

It reports each such album, and each such file in its scope that has no
copy that decrypted, not every record the library left out.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -127,19 +127,21 @@ matters.
 
 ### Exit codes
 
-| Code | Meaning                                                                                                                                                     |
+| Code | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                           |
-| ---- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| ---- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `0`  | The backup is complete: every original is at its save path, and no file failed.                                                                             |
+| `0`  | The backup is complete: every original is at its save path, and no file failed.                                                                                                   |
-| `1`  | The run finished with files in `failures.json`, or it stopped on another error, printed as one line `quak: <message>`. The next run tries again.            |
+| `1`  | The run finished with files in `failures.json` or an album it could not decrypt, or it stopped on another error, printed as one line `quak: <message>`. The next run tries again. |
-| `2`  | Another backup of the same directory is running. This run sent no request and changed nothing.                                                              |
+| `2`  | Another backup of the same directory is running. This run sent no request and changed nothing.                                                                                    |
-| `3`  | There is no usable session: none is saved, the saved one is corrupt, or the server no longer accepts it. Run `quak login` as the user the cron job runs as. |
+| `3`  | There is no usable session: none is saved, the saved one is corrupt, or the server no longer accepts it. Run `quak login` as the user the cron job runs as.                       |
 
 After a `1`, the next run fetches each missing original again, fetches the ML
-data that is not cached, and rebuilds the album links. An original that a
+data that is not cached, and rebuilds the album links. A file or album quak
-`--verify` run could not read, or put back with bytes that still do not match,
+could not decrypt keeps the exit code at `1` until the server sends a copy that
-stays at its save path. Only a later `--verify` run checks it again: a run
+decrypts, or deletes it (see "Backup layout"). An original that a `--verify` run
-without `--verify` leaves it as it is and takes the file out of `failures.json`,
+could not read, or put back with bytes that still do not match, stays at its
-so that run can exit 0.
+save path. Only a later `--verify` run checks it again: a run without `--verify`
+leaves it as it is and takes the file out of `failures.json`, so that run can
+exit 0.
 
 ## Examples
 
@@ -623,8 +625,10 @@ library. The read commands — `collections`, `files`, `get`, `get-thumb`,
 answer, so they report current account state rather than whatever the cache last
 held. If that round-trip fails, the command prints the error on one line and
 exits 1, or 3 when the server no longer accepts the saved session (see "Session
-handling"). `--cache-dir` overrides where the cache lives; without it each
+handling"). An album or file quak cannot decrypt does not fail it; the command
-account gets its own directory under the per-user cache path.
+answers without it (see "Default reads vs. fresh reads"). `--cache-dir`
+overrides where the cache lives; without it each account gets its own directory
+under the per-user cache path.
 
 An ID given to `files --collection`, `get`, `get-thumb` or
 `helper fix-missing-thumbnails --file` is written in decimal digits, no larger
@@ -741,6 +745,17 @@ succeeds, or once it is no longer in the library or in the backup's scope. The
 library's `lib.backup({ includeThumbnails: true })` also writes
 `thumbnails/<fileID>.jpg` beside `collections/`; `quak backup` does not.
 
+A file the library could not decrypt (see "Default reads vs. fresh reads") goes
+into `failures.json` with an empty title, since its title is encrypted too, and
+an error that starts `could not be decrypted:` and gives the reason. A file in
+two albums is backed up as usual if its copy in the other album decrypted. An
+album the library could not decrypt has no name quak can read and no files it
+can list. A run without `--json` prints one line for it,
+`FAILED album <id>: could not be decrypted: <reason>`, and `--json` and the
+`BackupResult` list its ID in `undecryptableAlbums`. Every other file is backed
+up. Either kind keeps the exit code at 1, run after run, until the server sends
+a copy that decrypts or deletes it; the next run then drops it.
+
 `backup.lock` keeps two backups of the same directory from running at once, such
 as a cron run that starts while the previous one is still going. A backup
 creates `<dir>` if it is missing and takes the lock before its refresh, and
@@ -914,6 +929,16 @@ rejects the caller (default reads stay silent and keep serving the last good
 copy). The CLI's read commands use fresh reads (issue
 https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/75).
 
+An album or file in the server's answer that quak cannot decrypt, or whose
+metadata is not JSON, does not fail the refresh. The refresh leaves it out, an
+album with all its files, and drops any older copy the cache held, so reads
+answer from what did decrypt. The library keeps a list of what it left out, with
+the reason, in `metadata.json`: the next refresh asks the server only for what
+changed, so it would not see the record again. A record stays on that list until
+a later refresh gets a copy that decrypts or learns that the server deleted it.
+`lib.backup()` reports each such album, and each such file in its scope that has
+no copy that decrypted (see "Backup layout").
+
 ### Read surface
 
 - `lib.albums.list()` → `Album[]`, newest-updated first.

TODO.md

@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ declares one.
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-13: An album or file quak cannot decrypt, or whose metadata is not
+  JSON, no longer fails the refresh, so one bad record no longer stops
+  `quak backup` from storing anything (issue 181). The refresh leaves it out, an
+  album with its files, and the library keeps it with the reason in
+  `metadata.json` until the server sends a copy that decrypts or deletes it. The
+  backup stores every other file, records each such file in `failures.json` with
+  an error starting `could not be decrypted:`, prints one line naming each such
+  album's ID, lists those IDs in `undecryptableAlbums`, and exits 1 while any
+  remain. A file whose copy in another album decrypts is backed up as usual. The
+  read commands answer from what decrypted.
+
 - 2026-10-14: `test/cli/backup-end-to-end.test.ts` runs `quak backup` as cron
   does (issue 186): `backupCommand` and `run`, the real `loadSession` reading a
   session saved after logging in, and every request answered by a fake of the

src/backup.ts

@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@
 // download, a failed symlink, or ML data missing because the ML data fetch
 // failed is caught, recorded in `failures.json` with a classification, a
 // running attempt count, and the last-tried time, and the run continues.
+// A file the library could not decrypt is recorded there too, unless a copy of
+// it in another album decrypted; an album it could not decrypt is logged by ID
+// and listed in `result.undecryptableAlbums`, as its name is not known.
 // `result.failed` — and thus the CLI's exit code — stays non-zero while any
 // failure remains unresolved and clears once every one succeeds. Each run
 // reconciles the ledger against the files it attempted, so an entry for a file
@@ -86,6 +89,7 @@ import {
     storedAtSavePath,
 } from "./library/content.js";
 import { representative } from "./library/records.js";
+import type { Undecryptable } from "./library/store.js";
 import { extractImageMetadata } from "./metadata-backup.js";
 import type { MLData } from "./mldata-fetch.js";
 import type { Collection, EnteFile, FileMetadata } from "./model/types.js";
@@ -141,6 +145,9 @@ export interface BackupResult {
     failed: number;
     // This run's per-file errors, in encounter order.
     errors: BackupError[];
+    // The IDs of the albums the library could not decrypt, whose files it
+    // could not list; the CLI exits non-zero while there are any.
+    undecryptableAlbums: number[];
 }
 
 // The slice of the library that backup drives. `Library` implements it; a test
@@ -151,6 +158,9 @@ export interface BackupLibrary {
     refresh(): Promise<void>;
     listCollections(): Collection[];
     listFiles(collectionID: number): EnteFile[];
+    // The albums, and files in albums, that the library could not decrypt,
+    // which `listCollections` and `listFiles` leave out.
+    undecryptable(): Undecryptable[];
     // Get an original's bytes onto disk through the content cache/pools,
     // returning where they landed: `destination` when they were fetched now,
     // otherwise wherever they already were (the cache, or the library's save
@@ -574,33 +584,56 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
     let unchecked = 0;
 
     const recordFailure = (
-        file: EnteFile,
+        fileID: number,
+        title: string,
         collection: string,
         err: unknown,
     ): void => {
         // Count at most one attempt per file per run: a file whose original
         // and thumbnail both fail this run must not double its attempt count
         // or appear twice in errors.
-        if (failedThisRun.has(file.id)) return;
+        if (failedThisRun.has(fileID)) return;
         const error = errorMessage(err);
-        errors.push({
+        errors.push({ fileID, title, collection, error });
-            fileID: file.id,
+        const prior = ledger.get(fileID);
-            title: file.metadata.title,
+        ledger.set(fileID, {
-            collection,
+            fileID,
-            error,
+            title,
-        });
-        const prior = ledger.get(file.id);
-        ledger.set(file.id, {
-            fileID: file.id,
-            title: file.metadata.title,
             classification: classify(err),
             attempts: (prior?.attempts ?? 0) + 1,
             lastTriedAt: now,
             error,
         });
-        failedThisRun.add(file.id);
+        failedThisRun.add(fileID);
     };
 
+    // What the library could not decrypt. An album is logged by its ID, as
+    // its name is not known, so a run limited to some albums logs it too. A
+    // file in an album in scope is backed up from a copy of it in another
+    // album that decrypted, even an album out of scope. With no such copy it
+    // is recorded as failed, with an empty title as its metadata is not known.
+    const scope = new Set(collections.map((c) => c.id));
+    const undecryptableAlbums: number[] = [];
+    for (const record of lib.undecryptable()) {
+        const error = `could not be decrypted: ${record.error}`;
+        if (record.fileID === undefined) {
+            log(`FAILED album ${record.collectionID}: ${error}`);
+            undecryptableAlbums.push(record.collectionID);
+        } else if (scope.has(record.collectionID)) {
+            const copies = memberships.get(record.fileID);
+            if (copies) {
+                distinct.set(record.fileID, representative(copies));
+            } else {
+                recordFailure(
+                    record.fileID,
+                    "",
+                    collectionName.get(record.collectionID) ?? "",
+                    new Error(error),
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     // Phase 1: get the bytes. Put each pending original at its save path
     // through the content cache/pools, as `Photo.download()` does, and fetch
     // the optional thumbnails; a present file is left as is. With `verify`, a
@@ -636,7 +669,8 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
                         `FAILED verifying original ${file.metadata.title}: ${errorMessage(err)}`,
                     );
                     recordFailure(
-                        file,
+                        file.id,
+                        file.metadata.title,
                         collectionName.get(file.collectionID) ?? "",
                         err,
                     );
@@ -676,7 +710,8 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
                     `FAILED original ${file.metadata.title}: ${errorMessage(err)}`,
                 );
                 recordFailure(
-                    file,
+                    file.id,
+                    file.metadata.title,
                     collectionName.get(file.collectionID) ?? "",
                     err,
                 );
@@ -693,7 +728,8 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
                 await copyAtomic(path, dest);
             } catch (err) {
                 recordFailure(
-                    file,
+                    file.id,
+                    file.metadata.title,
                     collectionName.get(file.collectionID) ?? "",
                     err,
                 );
@@ -733,7 +769,8 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
             if (mlData === undefined && mlDataError !== undefined) {
                 writeSidecar(path, file, { mlDataError }, image);
                 recordFailure(
-                    file,
+                    file.id,
+                    file.metadata.title,
                     collectionName.get(file.collectionID) ?? "",
                     new Error(`ML data: ${mlDataError}`),
                 );
@@ -806,7 +843,12 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
                 log(
                     `FAILED symlink ${c.name}/${linkName}: ${errorMessage(err)}`,
                 );
-                recordFailure(link.file, c.name, err);
+                recordFailure(
+                    link.file.id,
+                    link.file.metadata.title,
+                    c.name,
+                    err,
+                );
             }
         }
 
@@ -837,6 +879,7 @@ const runLockedBackup = async (
         unchecked,
         failed: ledger.size,
         errors,
+        undecryptableAlbums,
     };
 };
 

src/cli-commands.ts

@@ -467,7 +467,9 @@ export const backupCommand = async (
                 }
             }
 
-            return result.failed > 0 ? 1 : 0;
+            return result.failed > 0 || result.undecryptableAlbums.length > 0
+                ? 1
+                : 0;
         } finally {
             await lib.close();
         }

src/client.ts

@@ -44,20 +44,28 @@ export interface ClientSnapshot {
 
 // The result of a resumable enumeration. Live decrypted records and deleted
 // ids are kept apart on purpose: a tombstone carries no key or metadata to
-// decrypt, so it is a bare id rather than a hollowed-out record. `cursor` is
+// decrypt, so it is a bare id rather than a hollowed-out record. A live row
-// the max `updationTime` seen, to pass back into the next call.
+// that cannot be decrypted, or whose metadata cannot be parsed, is in
+// `undecryptable` with the reason instead, so one bad row does not fail the
+// call; absent means there was none. `cursor` is the max `updationTime` seen,
+// those rows included, to pass back into the next call.
 export interface CollectionsPage {
     collections: Collection[];
     deleted: number[];
+    undecryptable?: { id: number; error: string }[];
     cursor: number;
 }
 
 export interface FilesPage {
     files: EnteFile[];
     deleted: number[];
+    undecryptable?: { id: number; error: string }[];
     cursor: number;
 }
 
+const errorMessage = (err: unknown): string =>
+    err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+
 export class Client {
     private readonly api: ApiClient;
     private readonly email: string;
@@ -237,11 +245,12 @@ export class Client {
     }
 
     // Enumerate collections changed since `sinceTime`. Live collections are
-    // decrypted; tombstoned ones (isDeleted) are surfaced as bare ids. The
+    // decrypted; tombstoned ones (isDeleted) are surfaced as bare ids, and
-    // returned cursor is the max `updationTime` seen — including tombstones, so
+    // ones that do not decrypt as ids with the reason. The returned cursor is
-    // the next sync resumes past them — falling back to `sinceTime` when the
+    // the max `updationTime` seen — including tombstones, so the next sync
-    // response is empty. `/collections/v2` returns the whole changed set in one
+    // resumes past them — falling back to `sinceTime` when the response is
-    // response, so there is no pagination here.
+    // empty. `/collections/v2` returns the whole changed set in one response,
+    // so there is no pagination here.
     async collectionsSince(args: {
         sinceTime: number;
     }): Promise<CollectionsPage> {
@@ -254,31 +263,40 @@ export class Client {
 
         const collections: Collection[] = [];
         const deleted: number[] = [];
+        const undecryptable: { id: number; error: string }[] = [];
         let cursor = args.sinceTime;
         for (const raw of raws) {
             if (raw.isDeleted) {
                 deleted.push(raw.id);
             } else {
-                collections.push(
+                try {
-                    decryptCollection(
+                    collections.push(
-                        raw,
+                        decryptCollection(
-                        {
+                            raw,
-                            masterKey: this.masterKey,
+                            {
-                            publicKey: this.publicKey,
+                                masterKey: this.masterKey,
-                            secretKey: this.secretKey,
+                                publicKey: this.publicKey,
-                        },
+                                secretKey: this.secretKey,
-                        this.userID,
+                            },
-                    ),
+                            this.userID,
-                );
+                        ),
+                    );
+                } catch (err) {
+                    undecryptable.push({
+                        id: raw.id,
+                        error: errorMessage(err),
+                    });
+                }
             }
             if (raw.updationTime > cursor) cursor = raw.updationTime;
         }
-        return { collections, deleted, cursor };
+        return { collections, deleted, undecryptable, cursor };
     }
 
     // Enumerate a collection's files changed since `sinceTime`, paginating the
     // diff from that cursor. Live rows are decrypted; tombstoned ones are
-    // surfaced as bare ids. Returns the final cursor to resume from.
+    // surfaced as bare ids, and ones that do not decrypt or parse as ids with
+    // the reason. Returns the final cursor to resume from.
     async filesSince(args: {
         collectionID: number;
         collectionKey: Uint8Array;
@@ -288,6 +306,7 @@ export class Client {
         const { collectionID, collectionKey } = args;
         const files: EnteFile[] = [];
         const deleted: number[] = [];
+        const undecryptable: { id: number; error: string }[] = [];
         let cursor = args.sinceTime;
         for (;;) {
             const { diff, hasMore } = await this.api.getJSON<{
@@ -300,7 +319,14 @@ export class Client {
                 if (raw.isDeleted) {
                     deleted.push(raw.id);
                 } else {
-                    files.push(decryptFile(raw, collectionKey));
+                    try {
+                        files.push(decryptFile(raw, collectionKey));
+                    } catch (err) {
+                        undecryptable.push({
+                            id: raw.id,
+                            error: errorMessage(err),
+                        });
+                    }
                 }
                 if (raw.updationTime > pageMax) pageMax = raw.updationTime;
             }
@@ -321,18 +347,19 @@ export class Client {
             }
             cursor = pageMax;
         }
-        return { files, deleted, cursor };
+        return { files, deleted, undecryptable, cursor };
     }
 
-    // Whole-account listing: every live collection, deletions hidden. A thin
+    // Whole-account listing: every live collection that decrypts, deletions
-    // wrapper over `collectionsSince` from the beginning of time.
+    // hidden. A thin wrapper over `collectionsSince` from the beginning of
+    // time.
     async listCollections(): Promise<Collection[]> {
         const { collections } = await this.collectionsSince({ sinceTime: 0 });
         return collections;
     }
 
-    // Every live file in a collection, deletions hidden. A thin wrapper over
+    // Every live file in a collection that decrypts, deletions hidden. A thin
-    // `filesSince` from the beginning of time.
+    // wrapper over `filesSince` from the beginning of time.
     async listFiles(
         collectionID: number,
         collectionKey: Uint8Array,

src/library/index.ts

@@ -598,6 +598,7 @@ export class Library {
                 refresh: () => this.refreshNow(),
                 listCollections: () => this.store.listCollections(),
                 listFiles: (id) => this.store.listFiles(id),
+                undecryptable: () => this.store.listUndecryptable(),
                 original: (fileID, destination) =>
                     cache!.backupOriginal(fileID, destination),
                 thumbnail: (fileID) => cache!.thumbnail(fileID),
@@ -699,7 +700,10 @@ export class Library {
 
     // Fetch every change since the stored cursor, then commit. All network
     // reads happen before any store mutation, so a fetch that throws leaves the
-    // store untouched and the previous snapshot intact.
+    // store untouched and the previous snapshot intact. A collection or file
+    // that does not decrypt is left out instead, as if deleted, with the reason
+    // kept in the store: the cursor moves past it, so no later refresh sees it
+    // again until the server's copy changes.
     private async refreshOnce(): Promise<void> {
         const page = await this.client.collectionsSince({
             sinceTime: this.store.collectionsSinceTime,
@@ -736,9 +740,17 @@ export class Library {
                 this.store.deleteCollection(id);
                 changed = true;
             }
+            if (this.store.deleteUndecryptable(id)) changed = true;
+        }
+        // A collection left out takes its files with it.
+        for (const { id, error } of page.undecryptable ?? []) {
+            this.store.deleteCollection(id);
+            this.store.putUndecryptable({ collectionID: id, error });
+            changed = true;
         }
         for (const collection of page.collections) {
             this.store.putCollection(collection);
+            this.store.deleteUndecryptable(collection.id);
             changed = true;
         }
 
@@ -748,9 +760,22 @@ export class Library {
                     this.store.deleteFile(collectionID, id);
                     changed = true;
                 }
+                if (this.store.deleteUndecryptable(collectionID, id)) {
+                    changed = true;
+                }
+            }
+            for (const { id, error } of filePage.undecryptable ?? []) {
+                this.store.deleteFile(collectionID, id);
+                this.store.putUndecryptable({
+                    collectionID,
+                    fileID: id,
+                    error,
+                });
+                changed = true;
             }
             for (const f of filePage.files) {
                 this.store.putFile(f);
+                this.store.deleteUndecryptable(collectionID, f.id);
                 changed = true;
             }
         }

src/library/store.ts

@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@
 //
 // The store keeps one `metadata.json` file holding the account's server
 // state: the user id, a schema version, the cursor for the incremental
-// collections listing, and the decrypted collection and file records. The
+// collections listing, the decrypted collection and file records, and the
-// whole file is read into RAM on load and rewritten as a whole on save; there
+// collections and files the refresh could not decrypt. The whole file is read
-// is no partial update and no lock file. A separate refresh unit populates the
+// into RAM on load and rewritten as a whole on save; there is no partial
-// store from the server — this module only stores what it is given.
+// update and no lock file. A separate refresh unit populates the store from
+// the server — this module only stores what it is given.
 //
 // The file is a cache, so it is never trusted to exist or to be intact: a
 // missing or unreadable file loads as an empty store rather than an error, and
@@ -33,12 +34,22 @@ const FILE_MODE = 0o600;
 type StoredCollection = Omit<Collection, "key"> & { key: string };
 type StoredFile = Omit<EnteFile, "key"> & { key: string };
 
+// A collection, or with `fileID` a file in it, that the last refresh to fetch
+// it could not decrypt or parse, and why. It is kept until a later refresh
+// fetches it again, because a refresh fetches only what changed.
+export interface Undecryptable {
+    collectionID: number;
+    fileID?: number;
+    error: string;
+}
+
 interface StoredMetadata {
     schemaVersion: number;
     userID: number;
     collectionsSinceTime: Microseconds;
     collections: StoredCollection[];
     files: StoredFile[];
+    undecryptable: Undecryptable[];
 }
 
 const encodeKey = (key: Uint8Array): string =>
@@ -67,6 +78,7 @@ export class MetadataStore {
 
     private readonly collections = new Map<number, Collection>();
     private readonly files = new Map<string, EnteFile>();
+    private undecryptable: Undecryptable[] = [];
 
     private constructor(path: string) {
         this.path = path;
@@ -107,6 +119,7 @@ export class MetadataStore {
                 };
                 store.files.set(fileKey(file.collectionID, file.id), file);
             }
+            store.undecryptable = parsed.undecryptable ?? [];
         } catch {
             // Any corruption discards the partial result: a half-read cache is
             // worse than an empty one, since the refresh unit will rebuild it.
@@ -134,6 +147,7 @@ export class MetadataStore {
                 ...f,
                 key: encodeKey(f.key),
             })),
+            undecryptable: this.undecryptable,
         };
 
         const dir = dirname(this.path);
@@ -165,7 +179,8 @@ export class MetadataStore {
         this.collections.set(collection.id, collection);
     }
 
-    // Removing a collection also drops its file memberships: a file record is
+    // Removing a collection also drops its file memberships, and any record
+    // that it or one of its files could not be decrypted: a file record is
     // only meaningful as part of a collection the cache still knows about.
     deleteCollection(id: number): void {
         this.collections.delete(id);
@@ -174,6 +189,9 @@ export class MetadataStore {
                 this.files.delete(key);
             }
         }
+        this.undecryptable = this.undecryptable.filter(
+            (record) => record.collectionID !== id,
+        );
     }
 
     getFile(collectionID: number, fileID: number): EnteFile | undefined {
@@ -205,4 +223,26 @@ export class MetadataStore {
     deleteFile(collectionID: number, fileID: number): void {
         this.files.delete(fileKey(collectionID, fileID));
     }
+
+    listUndecryptable(): Undecryptable[] {
+        return [...this.undecryptable];
+    }
+
+    // Replaces any earlier record of the same collection or file.
+    putUndecryptable(record: Undecryptable): void {
+        this.deleteUndecryptable(record.collectionID, record.fileID);
+        this.undecryptable.push(record);
+    }
+
+    // Forgets the record of the collection, or with `fileID` of that file in
+    // it. Returns whether there was one.
+    deleteUndecryptable(collectionID: number, fileID?: number): boolean {
+        const before = this.undecryptable.length;
+        this.undecryptable = this.undecryptable.filter(
+            (record) =>
+                record.collectionID !== collectionID ||
+                record.fileID !== fileID,
+        );
+        return this.undecryptable.length < before;
+    }
 }

test/cli/backup-undecryptable.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,462 @@
+/**
+ * `quak backup` over an account holding an album or a file quak cannot decrypt
+ * (issue 181).
+ *
+ * The server sends every album and file encrypted, and a refresh decrypts each
+ * one it fetches. A record whose key no key of the account opens, or whose
+ * metadata is not JSON, must not fail the refresh: a refresh that fails commits
+ * nothing, so `quak backup` would store nothing, on every run, until the
+ * server's copy changed. Instead the refresh leaves that record out, and the
+ * library keeps a list of what it left out in its cache. It has to: the next
+ * refresh asks the server only for what changed since the last one, so it will
+ * not see the record again.
+ *
+ * The backup stores every other file. It records each file it could not
+ * decrypt in `failures.json`, prints one line for each album it could not
+ * decrypt, and exits 1 while any remain. Once the server sends a copy that
+ * decrypts, or deletes the record, the next run drops it and can exit 0. The
+ * read commands answer from what did decrypt.
+ *
+ * These tests run the commands with a real saved session over a stand-in Ente
+ * server, which serves albums, files and originals encrypted with libsodium as
+ * the real server does. A record is broken the way a corrupt one arrives: its
+ * key replaced by bytes no key opens, or its metadata text that is not JSON.
+ */
+
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import sodium from "libsodium-wrappers-sumo";
+import { afterEach, beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+    backupCommand,
+    collectionsCommand,
+    filesCommand,
+    saveSession,
+    type CliContext,
+} from "../../src/cli-commands.js";
+import { loadSession } from "../../src/cli-session.js";
+import { Client, type ClientSnapshot } from "../../src/client.js";
+import { encryptBlob, init, toBase64 } from "../../src/crypto/index.js";
+import { Library } from "../../src/library/index.js";
+
+const USER_ID = 42;
+
+// Every file is taken at noon local time on 2026-03-01, in microseconds as Ente
+// stores times, so its original is saved in the folder `DAY` whatever the time
+// zone of the machine running the tests.
+const TAKEN = new Date(2026, 2, 1, 12).getTime() * 1000;
+const DAY = join("2026", "2026-03", "2026-03-01");
+
+type Row = { id: number; updationTime: number } & Record<string, unknown>;
+
+// `plaintext` sealed under `key` with a fresh nonce, both base64, as Ente
+// sends a key or an album name.
+const secretbox = (
+    plaintext: Uint8Array,
+    key: Uint8Array,
+): { ciphertext: string; nonce: string } => {
+    const nonce = sodium.randombytes_buf(sodium.crypto_secretbox_NONCEBYTES);
+    return {
+        ciphertext: toBase64(
+            sodium.crypto_secretbox_easy(plaintext, nonce, key),
+        ),
+        nonce: toBase64(nonce),
+    };
+};
+
+// What a corrupt row carries in place of its sealed key: random bytes of the
+// same length, which no key opens.
+const corruptKey = (): string =>
+    toBase64(
+        sodium.randombytes_buf(
+            sodium.crypto_secretbox_KEYBYTES + sodium.crypto_secretbox_MACBYTES,
+        ),
+    );
+
+const json = (body: unknown): Response =>
+    new Response(JSON.stringify(body), {
+        status: 200,
+        headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+    });
+
+// A stand-in Ente server for one account. It holds each album, and each file in
+// an album, as the row `/collections/v2` and `/collections/v2/diff` serve, and
+// answers a request with the rows whose `updationTime` is past the request's
+// `sinceTime`, as the real server does. A change to a file also moves its
+// album's `updationTime`, which is what tells a client to list the album's
+// files again. Originals are served by file ID, as the files CDN serves them.
+class FakeEnte {
+    private readonly masterKey = sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
+    private readonly keyPair = sodium.crypto_box_keypair();
+    private readonly albums = new Map<number, Row>();
+    private readonly albumKeys = new Map<number, Uint8Array>();
+    // Each album's file rows, by album ID and then file ID.
+    private readonly files = new Map<number, Map<number, Row>>();
+    // Each file's key and its original as served, by file ID. A file in two
+    // albums is one original under one key, sealed under each album's key.
+    private readonly originals = new Map<
+        number,
+        { key: Uint8Array; header: string; body: Uint8Array }
+    >();
+
+    // The session `quak login` would have saved for the account.
+    snapshot(): ClientSnapshot {
+        return {
+            email: "user@example.com",
+            userID: USER_ID,
+            token: "token",
+            masterKey: toBase64(this.masterKey),
+            secretKey: toBase64(this.keyPair.privateKey),
+            publicKey: toBase64(this.keyPair.publicKey),
+        };
+    }
+
+    // Album `id`, named `name`, as of time `t`. With `corrupt`, its key cannot
+    // be decrypted. An album keeps its key from one call to the next, so its
+    // files' rows still decrypt once it is put back without `corrupt`.
+    putAlbum(id: number, name: string, t: number, corrupt = false): void {
+        const key = this.albumKeys.get(id) ?? sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
+        this.albumKeys.set(id, key);
+        const sealedKey = secretbox(key, this.masterKey);
+        const sealedName = secretbox(new TextEncoder().encode(name), key);
+        this.albums.set(id, {
+            id,
+            owner: { id: USER_ID },
+            encryptedKey: corrupt ? corruptKey() : sealedKey.ciphertext,
+            keyDecryptionNonce: sealedKey.nonce,
+            encryptedName: sealedName.ciphertext,
+            nameDecryptionNonce: sealedName.nonce,
+            type: "album",
+            updationTime: t,
+        });
+        if (!this.files.has(id)) this.files.set(id, new Map());
+    }
+
+    // File `id`, titled `photo-<id>.jpg`, in album `albumID` as of time `t`.
+    // With `corruptKey`, its key cannot be decrypted. With `metadata`, its
+    // metadata decrypts to that text instead of the JSON a client uploads.
+    putFile(
+        albumID: number,
+        id: number,
+        t: number,
+        opts: { corruptKey?: boolean; metadata?: string } = {},
+    ): void {
+        const original = this.originalOf(id);
+        const sealedKey = secretbox(original.key, this.albumKeys.get(albumID)!);
+        const metadata =
+            opts.metadata ??
+            JSON.stringify({
+                title: `photo-${id}.jpg`,
+                fileType: 0,
+                creationTime: TAKEN,
+                modificationTime: TAKEN,
+            });
+        const sealedMetadata = encryptBlob(
+            new TextEncoder().encode(metadata),
+            original.key,
+        );
+        this.files.get(albumID)!.set(id, {
+            id,
+            collectionID: albumID,
+            ownerID: USER_ID,
+            encryptedKey: opts.corruptKey ? corruptKey() : sealedKey.ciphertext,
+            keyDecryptionNonce: sealedKey.nonce,
+            metadata: {
+                encryptedData: toBase64(sealedMetadata.ciphertext),
+                decryptionHeader: toBase64(sealedMetadata.header),
+            },
+            file: { decryptionHeader: original.header },
+            thumbnail: { decryptionHeader: original.header },
+            updationTime: t,
+        });
+        this.moveAlbum(albumID, t);
+    }
+
+    // A deleted record stays on the server as a tombstone holding only its
+    // ID, its time and `isDeleted`.
+    deleteFile(albumID: number, id: number, t: number): void {
+        this.files
+            .get(albumID)!
+            .set(id, { id, updationTime: t, isDeleted: true });
+        this.moveAlbum(albumID, t);
+    }
+
+    deleteAlbum(id: number, t: number): void {
+        this.albums.set(id, { id, updationTime: t, isDeleted: true });
+    }
+
+    // The `fetch` the saved session's client is given.
+    readonly fetch = (async (input: string | URL | Request) => {
+        const url = new URL(input instanceof Request ? input.url : input);
+        const since = Number(url.searchParams.get("sinceTime"));
+        const changed = (rows: Iterable<Row>): Row[] =>
+            [...rows].filter((row) => row.updationTime > since);
+        switch (url.pathname) {
+            case "/collections/v2":
+                return json({ collections: changed(this.albums.values()) });
+            case "/collections/v2/diff": {
+                const albumID = Number(url.searchParams.get("collectionID"));
+                const rows = this.files.get(albumID)?.values() ?? [];
+                return json({ diff: changed(rows), hasMore: false });
+            }
+            case "/files/data/fetch":
+                // No file has ML data.
+                return json({ data: [] });
+            default: {
+                const fileID = Number(url.searchParams.get("fileID"));
+                const original = this.originals.get(fileID);
+                return original
+                    ? new Response(original.body)
+                    : new Response("not found", { status: 404 });
+            }
+        }
+    }) as typeof globalThis.fetch;
+
+    private originalOf(id: number): {
+        key: Uint8Array;
+        header: string;
+        body: Uint8Array;
+    } {
+        const known = this.originals.get(id);
+        if (known) return known;
+        const key = sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
+        const { header, ciphertext } = encryptBlob(
+            new TextEncoder().encode(`original of ${id}`),
+            key,
+        );
+        const original = { key, header: toBase64(header), body: ciphertext };
+        this.originals.set(id, original);
+        return original;
+    }
+
+    private moveAlbum(albumID: number, t: number): void {
+        this.albums.set(albumID, {
+            ...this.albums.get(albumID)!,
+            updationTime: t,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+// Album 1, "Trip", holds file 10, which decrypts, file 11, whose key does not,
+// and file 12, whose metadata is not JSON. Album 2, "Family", holds file 20,
+// but the album's own key does not decrypt. All of it as of time 1.
+const brokenAccount = (): FakeEnte => {
+    const ente = new FakeEnte();
+    ente.putAlbum(1, "Trip", 1);
+    ente.putFile(1, 10, 1);
+    ente.putFile(1, 11, 1, { corruptKey: true });
+    ente.putFile(1, 12, 1, { metadata: "not json" });
+    ente.putAlbum(2, "Family", 1, true);
+    ente.putFile(2, 20, 1);
+    return ente;
+};
+
+// Collects everything written to it.
+class Output {
+    text = "";
+    write(text: string): void {
+        this.text += text;
+    }
+}
+
+let root: string;
+let stdout: Output;
+let stderr: Output;
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+    await init();
+    await sodium.ready;
+});
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+    root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "quak-undecryptable-"));
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+// A context for one command, with fresh output, whose saved session talks to
+// `ente`. Every run shares one cache directory, as runs of `quak` do.
+const context = (ente: FakeEnte): CliContext => {
+    stdout = new Output();
+    stderr = new Output();
+    saveSession(join(root, "session"), ente.snapshot());
+    return {
+        stdout,
+        stderr,
+        sessionDir: join(root, "session"),
+        cacheDir: join(root, "cache"),
+        loadSession: (path) =>
+            loadSession(path, { fetch: ente.fetch, retry: { attempts: 1 } }),
+        login: async () => {
+            throw new Error("login not expected");
+        },
+        prompt: async () => {
+            throw new Error("prompt not expected");
+        },
+        promptSecret: async () => {
+            throw new Error("prompt not expected");
+        },
+    };
+};
+
+const backupDir = (): string => join(root, "backup");
+
+// Runs `quak backup` into the backup directory and returns its exit code.
+const backup = (ente: FakeEnte, opts: { json?: boolean } = {}) =>
+    backupCommand(context(ente), backupDir(), opts);
+
+// The backup's `failures.json` entries by file ID, or {} when it has none.
+const failures = (): Record<string, { error: string; attempts: number }> => {
+    const path = join(backupDir(), "failures.json");
+    return existsSync(path)
+        ? JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, "utf-8")).files
+        : {};
+};
+
+// Whether file `id`'s original is at its save path in the backup.
+const stored = (id: number): boolean =>
+    existsSync(join(backupDir(), DAY, `2026-03-01.${id}.jpg`));
+
+describe("quak backup with records it cannot decrypt", () => {
+    it("backs up every other file, records each file it cannot decrypt in failures.json, names each such album, and exits 1", async () => {
+        expect(await backup(brokenAccount())).toBe(1);
+
+        expect(stored(10)).toBe(true);
+        // Without its album's key, file 20 cannot even be listed.
+        expect(stored(20)).toBe(false);
+        expect(failures()).toEqual({
+            "11": expect.objectContaining({
+                fileID: 11,
+                error: expect.stringMatching(
+                    /^could not be decrypted: .*wrong secret key/,
+                ),
+            }),
+            "12": expect.objectContaining({
+                fileID: 12,
+                error: expect.stringMatching(/^could not be decrypted: .*JSON/),
+            }),
+        });
+        expect(stderr.text).toMatch(
+            /^FAILED album 2: could not be decrypted: .*wrong secret key/m,
+        );
+        expect(stderr.text).toContain("  Failed:      2\n");
+    });
+
+    it("names each album it cannot decrypt in the --json result", async () => {
+        expect(await backup(brokenAccount(), { json: true })).toBe(1);
+
+        expect(JSON.parse(stdout.text)).toMatchObject({
+            downloaded: 1,
+            failed: 2,
+            undecryptableAlbums: [2],
+        });
+    });
+
+    it("still reports them on the next run, though the server does not send them again", async () => {
+        const ente = brokenAccount();
+        await backup(ente);
+
+        // Nothing changed on the server, so this run's refresh gets no rows at
+        // all. What it reports, it remembered from the first run.
+        expect(await backup(ente)).toBe(1);
+
+        expect(Object.keys(failures())).toEqual(["11", "12"]);
+        expect(failures()["11"]!.attempts).toBe(2);
+        expect(stderr.text).toMatch(/^FAILED album 2: could not be decrypted/m);
+    });
+
+    it("drops each once the server sends a copy that decrypts, and then exits 0", async () => {
+        const ente = brokenAccount();
+        await backup(ente);
+
+        // At time 2 files 11 and 12 and album 2 change on the server, and now
+        // each decrypts. Album 2 brings file 20 with it.
+        ente.putFile(1, 11, 2);
+        ente.putFile(1, 12, 2);
+        ente.putAlbum(2, "Family", 2);
+        expect(await backup(ente)).toBe(0);
+
+        expect([11, 12, 20].map(stored)).toEqual([true, true, true]);
+        expect(existsSync(join(backupDir(), "failures.json"))).toBe(false);
+        expect(stderr.text).not.toContain("FAILED");
+    });
+
+    it("drops each once the server deletes it, and then exits 0", async () => {
+        const ente = brokenAccount();
+        await backup(ente);
+
+        ente.deleteFile(1, 11, 2);
+        ente.deleteFile(1, 12, 2);
+        ente.deleteAlbum(2, 2);
+        expect(await backup(ente)).toBe(0);
+
+        expect(existsSync(join(backupDir(), "failures.json"))).toBe(false);
+        expect(stderr.text).not.toContain("FAILED");
+    });
+
+    it("backs up a file that does not decrypt in one album but does in another, and does not report it", async () => {
+        // File 30 is in albums 1 and 3, each holding its key sealed under the
+        // album's own key. In album 1 that is corrupt; in album 3 it is not,
+        // and one copy that decrypts is all the backup needs.
+        const ente = new FakeEnte();
+        ente.putAlbum(1, "Trip", 1);
+        ente.putFile(1, 30, 1, { corruptKey: true });
+        ente.putAlbum(3, "Favorites", 1);
+        ente.putFile(3, 30, 1);
+
+        expect(await backup(ente)).toBe(0);
+
+        expect(stored(30)).toBe(true);
+        expect(failures()).toEqual({});
+    });
+
+    it("backs up that file in a run limited to the album where it does not decrypt", async () => {
+        // The same account, backed up by `lib.backup()` limited to album 1,
+        // "Trip", as `quak backup` cannot be. File 30 is in Trip, so the run
+        // must store it, from its copy in album 3 that the run otherwise
+        // skips.
+        const ente = new FakeEnte();
+        ente.putAlbum(1, "Trip", 1);
+        ente.putFile(1, 30, 1, { corruptKey: true });
+        ente.putAlbum(3, "Favorites", 1);
+        ente.putFile(3, 30, 1);
+        const lib = await Library.open({
+            client: Client.fromJSON(ente.snapshot(), {
+                fetch: ente.fetch,
+                retry: { attempts: 1 },
+            }),
+            downloadDirectory: backupDir(),
+            cacheDirectory: join(root, "cache"),
+            precacheThumbnails: false,
+            precacheOriginals: false,
+        });
+        try {
+            const result = await lib.backup({
+                downloadDirectory: backupDir(),
+                onlyAlbumNames: ["Trip"],
+            });
+            expect(result).toMatchObject({ downloaded: 1, failed: 0 });
+        } finally {
+            await lib.close();
+        }
+
+        expect(stored(30)).toBe(true);
+        expect(failures()).toEqual({});
+    });
+});
+
+describe("the read commands with records quak cannot decrypt", () => {
+    it("quak collections and quak files answer from what decrypts", async () => {
+        const ente = brokenAccount();
+
+        expect(await collectionsCommand(context(ente), {})).toBe(0);
+        expect(stdout.text).toBe("1\talbum\tTrip\n");
+
+        expect(await filesCommand(context(ente), { collection: "1" })).toBe(0);
+        expect(stdout.text).toBe("10\timage\tphoto-10.jpg\n");
+    });
+});

test/cli/backup.test.ts

@@ -1482,6 +1482,7 @@ describe("backup album folders", () => {
         listCollections: () => albums.map((a) => a.collection),
         listFiles: (id) =>
             albums.find((a) => a.collection.id === id)?.files ?? [],
+        undecryptable: () => [],
         original: async (fileID) => {
             const path = join(root, `source-${fileID}`);
             writeFileSync(path, `original ${fileID}`);

test/client/enumeration.test.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@
  * The return shape keeps live records and tombstones apart — `collections` /
  * `files` are decrypted live records, `deleted` is a plain list of the ids the
  * server tombstoned. A tombstone carries no decryptable key or metadata, so it
- * is a bare id rather than a hollowed-out `Collection` / `EnteFile`.
+ * is a bare id rather than a hollowed-out `Collection` / `EnteFile`. A live row
+ * that does not decrypt, or whose metadata is not JSON, is listed under
+ * `undecryptable` with the reason, so one bad row does not fail the call.
  *
  * All tests inject a fake `fetch` and drive a real `Client` (built with
  * `Client.fromJSON`) so the decryption path runs for real. Live rows are built
@@ -91,27 +93,38 @@ const ownedCollectionRow = (
     };
 };
 
-/** A live file row inside a collection, keyed under that collection's key. */
+/**
+ * A live file row inside a collection, keyed under that collection's key. Its
+ * metadata decrypts to `metadata` when given, otherwise to the JSON a client
+ * uploads for `title`.
+ */
 const fileRow = (
     collectionKey: Uint8Array,
-    opts: { id: number; title: string; updationTime: number },
+    opts: {
+        id: number;
+        title: string;
+        updationTime: number;
+        metadata?: string;
+    },
 ): Record<string, unknown> => {
     const fileKey = sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
     const { ciphertext: encFileKey, nonce: fileKeyNonce } = secretboxEncrypt(
         fileKey,
         collectionKey,
     );
-    const metadata = {
+    const metadata =
-        title: opts.title,
+        opts.metadata ??
-        fileType: 0,
+        JSON.stringify({
-        creationTime: opts.updationTime,
+            title: opts.title,
-        modificationTime: opts.updationTime,
+            fileType: 0,
-    };
+            creationTime: opts.updationTime,
+            modificationTime: opts.updationTime,
+        });
     const push =
         sodium.crypto_secretstream_xchacha20poly1305_init_push(fileKey);
     const encMeta = sodium.crypto_secretstream_xchacha20poly1305_push(
         push.state,
-        new TextEncoder().encode(JSON.stringify(metadata)),
+        new TextEncoder().encode(metadata),
         null,
         sodium.crypto_secretstream_xchacha20poly1305_TAG_FINAL,
     );
@@ -131,6 +144,21 @@ const fileRow = (
     };
 };
 
+/**
+ * `row` with its sealed key replaced by random bytes of the same length, as a
+ * corrupt row arrives: no key opens it, so the row cannot be decrypted.
+ */
+const withCorruptKey = (
+    row: Record<string, unknown>,
+): Record<string, unknown> => ({
+    ...row,
+    encryptedKey: toBase64(
+        sodium.randombytes_buf(
+            sodium.crypto_secretbox_KEYBYTES + sodium.crypto_secretbox_MACBYTES,
+        ),
+    ),
+});
+
 /** A tombstone row. Never decrypted, so only these fields are ever read. */
 const tombstoneRow = (
     id: number,
@@ -278,6 +306,58 @@ describe("Client.filesSince", () => {
         // It gave up after the first page rather than looping.
         expect(sinceTimes).toEqual(["50"]);
     });
+
+    it("leaves out each file it cannot decrypt or parse, with the reason, and decrypts the rest", async () => {
+        const keys = buildKeys();
+        const collectionKey = sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
+
+        // File 1002's key is sealed under no key quak holds, and file 1003's
+        // metadata decrypts to text that is not JSON. Neither may cost the
+        // caller file 1001: each is left out of `files` and reported under
+        // `undecryptable` with the reason instead of failing the call.
+        const { fetch } = recordingFetch(
+            jsonResponse({
+                diff: [
+                    fileRow(collectionKey, {
+                        id: 1001,
+                        title: "fine.jpg",
+                        updationTime: 100,
+                    }),
+                    withCorruptKey(
+                        fileRow(collectionKey, {
+                            id: 1002,
+                            title: "bad-key.jpg",
+                            updationTime: 200,
+                        }),
+                    ),
+                    fileRow(collectionKey, {
+                        id: 1003,
+                        title: "bad-metadata.jpg",
+                        updationTime: 300,
+                        metadata: "not json",
+                    }),
+                ],
+                hasMore: false,
+            }),
+        );
+        const client = Client.fromJSON(snapshotFor(keys), { fetch });
+
+        const { files, undecryptable, cursor } = await client.filesSince({
+            collectionID: 1,
+            collectionKey,
+            sinceTime: 0,
+        });
+
+        expect(files.map((f) => f.id)).toEqual([1001]);
+        expect(undecryptable).toEqual([
+            { id: 1002, error: expect.stringContaining("wrong secret key") },
+            { id: 1003, error: expect.stringContaining("JSON") },
+        ]);
+        // The cursor moves past the two left out, as past any other row, so
+        // the server does not send them again until its copy changes. The
+        // caller has to keep what it was told here.
+        expect(cursor).toBe(300);
+    });
 });
 
 describe("Client.collectionsSince", () => {
@@ -331,6 +411,42 @@ describe("Client.collectionsSince", () => {
         expect(result.cursor).toBe(150);
         expect(sinceTimes).toEqual(["150"]);
     });
+
+    it("leaves out an album it cannot decrypt, with the reason, and decrypts the rest", async () => {
+        const keys = buildKeys();
+
+        // Album 2's key is sealed under no key quak holds. Without its key
+        // neither its name nor its files can be read, so it is left out and
+        // reported under `undecryptable`; album 1 is unaffected.
+        const { fetch } = recordingFetch(
+            jsonResponse({
+                collections: [
+                    ownedCollectionRow(keys.masterKey, {
+                        id: 1,
+                        name: "Vacation",
+                        updationTime: 100,
+                    }),
+                    withCorruptKey(
+                        ownedCollectionRow(keys.masterKey, {
+                            id: 2,
+                            name: "Broken",
+                            updationTime: 200,
+                        }),
+                    ),
+                ],
+            }),
+        );
+        const client = Client.fromJSON(snapshotFor(keys), { fetch });
+
+        const { collections, undecryptable, cursor } =
+            await client.collectionsSince({ sinceTime: 0 });
+
+        expect(collections.map((c) => c.name)).toEqual(["Vacation"]);
+        expect(undecryptable).toEqual([
+            { id: 2, error: expect.stringContaining("wrong secret key") },
+        ]);
+        expect(cursor).toBe(200);
+    });
 });
 
 describe("Client list wrappers still hide deletions", () => {