Refuse a backup destination an unplugged volume left empty (closes #239)
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Every backup now writes vaultik-destination.txt at the root of the
backup destination store. While the local index holds snapshots, a
destination without it is not present: snapshot create refuses before
writing, prune and snapshot purge fail, and snapshot list and snapshot
remove warn, as for a destination that cannot be listed. remote nuke
deletes the marker last. The file:// backend no longer creates its
destination directory and checks for it on every write.

Tests that backed up into a directory they never created now use an
existing one; fixtures standing for a written destination carry the
marker.

Judgement call: the marker is rewritten on every backup.
Deviation: snapshot name selection moved out of CreateSnapshot unchanged, for the complexity limit.

Model: opus-5-5
This commit is contained in:
2026-10-13 02:17:47 +00:00
parent 07c957f84b
commit d35eec435b
35 changed files with 543 additions and 98 deletions
+41 -12
View File
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ grep 'public key' vaultik_backup_private_key.txt
vaultik config set age_recipients.0 age1YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY_HERE
vaultik config set storage_url "file:///Volumes/usbstick/mybackup"
# create the destination directory; vaultik never creates it, so a backup
# to a volume that is not plugged in fails instead of filling the disk
mkdir /Volumes/usbstick/mybackup
# macOS only: grant your terminal app Full Disk Access first
# (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access), otherwise
# the backup will abort with a permission error on protected directories
@@ -287,6 +291,10 @@ needed.
snapshot per name; use `--keep-newer-than` for a rolling window.
* `--keep-newer-than <duration>`: With `--prune`, keep snapshots newer than
this duration instead of only the latest (e.g. `4w`, `30d`, `6mo`, `1y`)
* Fails before it writes anything when a `file://` destination directory
does not exist, or when the local index holds snapshots and the
destination has no `vaultik-destination.txt` (see
[remote storage layout](#remote-storage-layout))
**`snapshot list`**: Show every snapshot known to this host — the union
of the local index and the backup destination store — with timestamps
@@ -315,7 +323,10 @@ invocation that reconciles them.
If the destination store cannot be listed (unmounted volume,
permission denied, network down), the command warns, falls back to the
local index alone, and still exits zero.
local index alone, and still exits zero. It does the same when the
local index holds snapshots and the destination has no
`vaultik-destination.txt`, as when a volume mounted at the destination
is unplugged and leaves its empty mount point behind.
* `--json`: Output in JSON format. Each entry carries `locally_tracked`
(whether the snapshot is in the local index), `remote_key` (the full
64-character storage key), and `remote_present` (whether it was seen
@@ -351,11 +362,13 @@ may hold snapshots this host doesn't know about), which is what
`vaultik prune` does. On success the command prints the exact `vaultik
prune` invocation to run as a follow-up. Local row cleanup (files,
chunks, blobs the snapshot was the last referrer for) runs
automatically. If the destination store is unreachable, the local-DB
removal still completes and a warning is emitted; run `vaultik snapshot
remove <snapshot-id>` again once the store is reachable to remove the
snapshot's metadata from it (`vaultik prune` does not). To wipe everything
on the destination in one go, use `vaultik remote nuke --force`.
automatically. If the destination store is unreachable, or the local
index holds snapshots and the destination has no
`vaultik-destination.txt`, the local-DB removal still completes and a
warning is emitted; run `vaultik snapshot remove <snapshot-id>` again
once the store is reachable to remove the snapshot's metadata from it
(`vaultik prune` does not). To wipe everything on the destination in one
go, use `vaultik remote nuke --force`.
* `--local-only`: Skip remote cleanup; only touch the local index
* `--dry-run`: Show what would be deleted without deleting
* `--force`: Skip confirmation prompt
@@ -382,7 +395,10 @@ manifest on the destination store to compute the still-referenced blob
set and delete any blob not in that set. Step (3) reads all remote
manifests — network cost scales with the number of snapshots. `snapshot
create --prune` runs the same cleanup automatically; this is the
manual entry point for the same work.
manual entry point for the same work. If the destination store cannot
be listed, or the local index holds snapshots and the destination has
no `vaultik-destination.txt` (an unplugged volume's empty mount point),
prune fails and deletes nothing. `snapshot purge` does the same.
* `--force`: Skip confirmation prompt
* `--json`: Output stats as JSON. Also skips the confirmation prompt, as
`--force` does.
@@ -402,10 +418,10 @@ orphaned blob figures are reported as unknown; `--json` gives them as
snapshot's blob count and blob size unknown, `null` in `--json`.
* `--json`: Output as JSON
**`remote nuke`**: Delete every snapshot's metadata and every blob from the
backup destination store, leaving the bucket prefix empty. Destructive and
irreversible. This is the single supported way to wipe the entire
destination store.
**`remote nuke`**: Delete every snapshot's metadata, every blob and
`vaultik-destination.txt` from the backup destination store, leaving the
bucket prefix empty. Destructive and irreversible. This is the single
supported way to wipe the entire destination store.
* `--force`: Required to confirm destruction.
**`database delete`**: Delete the local SQLite state database file
@@ -427,7 +443,10 @@ object store. Credentials are read from `s3.access_key_id` and
`s3.secret_access_key` in the config file.
**Local filesystem** (`file:///path/to/backup`): Stores blobs and metadata on
a local or mounted filesystem. Useful for testing or backing up to a NAS.
a local or mounted filesystem. Useful for testing or backing up to a NAS. The
directory must exist before the first backup: vaultik never creates it, so a
backup to a volume that is not mounted fails instead of writing to the disk
under its mount point.
**Rclone** (`rclone://remote/path`): Uses rclone's 70+ supported cloud
providers. Requires rclone to be configured separately (`rclone config`).
@@ -458,6 +477,7 @@ For an implementation-level view of the internals — the data model, the
```
<bucket>/<prefix>/
├── vaultik-destination.txt # Marker written by every backup
├── blobs/
│ └── <aa>/<bb>/<full_blob_hash>
└── metadata/
@@ -466,6 +486,15 @@ For an implementation-level view of the internals — the data model, the
└── manifest.json.zst # Unencrypted blob list (for pruning)
```
* `vaultik-destination.txt` holds one fixed line of text, with no host
name, path or time. While the local index holds snapshots, a
destination without it is treated as not present: `snapshot create`
refuses to write to it, `prune` and `snapshot purge` fail, and
`snapshot list` and `snapshot remove` warn, as for a destination that
cannot be listed. This keeps an unplugged volume's empty mount point
from being taken for a destination whose snapshots are all gone. Mount
the volume if it is removable; if the destination was emptied on
purpose, run `vaultik database delete` and back up again.
* Blobs are two-level directory sharded using the first 4 hex chars of the blob hash
* `db.zst.age` is a binary SQLite database (zstd compressed, age encrypted)
containing all file metadata, chunk mappings, and relationships for the snapshot