Accept a remote key for restore and verify, and document it (closes #124)

A host restoring after the original is gone has no local index and cannot
know a snapshot's human ID; `snapshot list` shows such snapshots only by
their remote key. Restore and verify now resolve an identifier to that
remote key: a human ID is hashed as before, and a remote key (or an
unambiguous leading part of it, as the table prints) is used directly,
resolved against the store's metadata listing. Deep verify reads the one
snapshot in the exported database rather than filtering by the human ID.

Adds an integration test that backs up with one index and hostname, then
lists, restores, and deep-verifies from the store with a fresh empty
index, a different hostname, and no age_recipients — comparing restored
bytes to the source. The empty index is what makes it fail if restore
ever needed the original one.

Adds a "Restoring on another machine" README section walking the flow end
to end, and drops the now-done roadmap item.

Model: claude-opus-4-8

README.md

@@ -84,6 +84,57 @@ VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY='AGE-SECRET-KEY-...' vaultik snapshot restore <snapshot-i
 # 0 3 * * * vaultik snapshot create --cron --prune --keep-newer-than 4w
 ```
 
+## restoring on another machine
+
+Restoring on a host that never ran the backup — a replacement machine
+after the original is gone — is the case vaultik is built for. That host
+needs only three things: the `vaultik` binary, the age **private** key,
+and the storage credentials for the destination. It does **not** need the
+local index, the original config file, or the original hostname.
+
+```sh
+# install
+go install sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/cmd/vaultik@latest
+
+# create a config and point it at the ORIGINAL backup destination
+vaultik config init
+vaultik config set storage_url "s3://bucket/prefix?endpoint=https://s3.example.com"
+vaultik config set s3.access_key_id "..."
+vaultik config set s3.secret_access_key "..."
+
+# see what is on the destination store
+vaultik snapshot list
+```
+
+`snapshot list` reads the destination store without the private key. A
+snapshot that is not in this host's (empty) local index is shown as
+remote-only: its row is identified by `<remote only:...>` rather than by
+a `hostname_name_timestamp` name, because the name lives only in the
+local index and the encrypted database and cannot be recovered from the
+store. Its timestamp and compressed size are real. (See the `snapshot
+list` description under [command details](#command-details) for the full
+explanation.)
+
+Use that remote key — the hex printed inside `<remote only:...>`, or the
+full `remote_key` from `snapshot list --json` — to restore and verify:
+
+```sh
+# restore everything to /tmp/restored, then check every restored file's
+# chunk hashes
+VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY='AGE-SECRET-KEY-...' \
+  vaultik snapshot restore --verify <remote-key> /tmp/restored
+
+# optionally, deep-verify the snapshot against the store (downloads and
+# cryptographically checks every blob)
+VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY='AGE-SECRET-KEY-...' \
+  vaultik snapshot verify --deep <remote-key>
+```
+
+`age_recipients` (the public key) is not needed to restore — only the
+private key in `VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY`. Both the abbreviated key printed
+in the table and the full 64-character key from `--json` are accepted; a
+leading part of the key is enough as long as it is unambiguous.
+
 ---
 
 ## cli
@@ -245,6 +296,8 @@ local index alone, and still exits zero.
 * Default (shallow): checks that all blobs referenced in the manifest exist in storage
 * `--deep`: Downloads and decrypts each blob, verifies chunk hashes against the
   encrypted metadata database
+* Accepts the same identifiers as `snapshot restore`: a snapshot ID, or a
+  remote-only snapshot's remote key (or an unambiguous leading part of it)
 * `--json`: Output results as JSON
 
 **`snapshot purge`**: Remove old snapshots based on criteria. Retention is
@@ -275,6 +328,10 @@ on the destination in one go, use `vaultik remote nuke --force`.
 
 **`snapshot restore`**: Restore files from a backup snapshot.
 * Requires `VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY` environment variable
+* Accepts a snapshot ID, or — for a snapshot only on the destination
+  store — its remote key (or an unambiguous leading part of it) as shown
+  by `snapshot list`. See
+  [restoring on another machine](#restoring-on-another-machine).
 * Optional path arguments to restore specific files/directories (default: all)
 * Preserves file permissions, timestamps, ownership (ownership requires root),
   symlinks, and empty directories
@@ -529,10 +586,6 @@ priority.
 
 ### infrastructure
 
-* **Cross-machine restore documentation.** The "restore from
-  another host" workflow works but isn't documented as a
-  first-class operation in this README. Worth a dedicated section
-  once it's settled.
 * **Cross-version schema upgrades.** There is no upgrade path between
   released versions — pre-1.0 schema changes are handled by `vaultik
   database delete` plus a full re-scan (see

internal/cli/snapshot.go

@@ -221,8 +221,11 @@ func newSnapshotVerifyCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "verify <snapshot-id>",
 		Short: "Verify snapshot integrity",
-		Long:  "Verifies that all blobs referenced in a snapshot exist",
+		Long: "Verifies that all blobs referenced in a snapshot exist.\n\n" +
-		Args:  requireSnapshotIDArg,
+			"The snapshot may be named by its ID or, on a host with no local\n" +
+			"index, by the remote key that 'snapshot list' prints for a\n" +
+			"remote-only snapshot (an unambiguous leading part is enough).",
+		Args: requireSnapshotIDArg,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			snapshotID := args[0]
 

internal/cli/snapshot_restore.go

@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ target directory.
 If no paths are specified, all files are restored.
 If paths are specified, only matching files/directories are restored.
 
+The snapshot may be named by its ID or, when restoring on a host with no
+local index, by the remote key that 'snapshot list' prints for a
+remote-only snapshot (an unambiguous leading part is enough).
+
 Requires the VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY environment variable to be set with
 the age private key.
 

internal/vaultik/restore.go

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/blobgen"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/database"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
-	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/snapshot"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/types"
 )
 
@@ -577,14 +576,20 @@ func (v *Vaultik) handleRestoreVerification(
 }
 
 // downloadSnapshotDB downloads and decrypts the snapshot metadata
-// database. The snapshotID is the human ID; we hash it to the remote
+// database. The identifier is resolved to the snapshot's remote key: a
-// key for the storage path.
+// human ID is hashed, and a remote key (or its abbreviation, as printed
+// for a remote-only snapshot) is used as-is, so a host with no local
+// index can restore the snapshots it can only see on the store.
 func (v *Vaultik) downloadSnapshotDB(
 	snapshotID string, identity age.Identity,
 ) (*database.DB, error) {
+	remoteKey, err := v.resolveSnapshotRemoteKey(snapshotID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	// Download encrypted database from storage
-	dbKey := fmt.Sprintf("metadata/%s/db.zst.age",
+	dbKey := fmt.Sprintf("metadata/%s/db.zst.age", remoteKey)
-		snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
 
 	reader, err := v.Storage.Get(v.ctx, dbKey)
 	if err != nil {

internal/vaultik/restore_another_machine_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+package vaultik_test
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/afero"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/config"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/snapshot"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/storage"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/ui"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/vaultik"
+)
+
+// TestRestoreOnAnotherMachine proves the disaster-recovery path: a host
+// that has only the vaultik binary, the age secret key, and the storage
+// credentials — no local index, a different hostname, and no
+// age_recipients configured — can list, restore, and verify a snapshot
+// straight from the destination store.
+//
+// The backup half writes a snapshot with one index and hostname. The
+// restore half throws that index away entirely: a fresh, empty index and
+// a config that shares nothing with the original but the storage location
+// and the secret key. If restore or verify needed the original local
+// index — or the human snapshot ID that only that index holds — this test
+// could not run, because the recovery host can know neither.
+func TestRestoreOnAnotherMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	fs := afero.NewOsFs()
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+
+	dataDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, "source")
+	storeDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, "remote")
+	restoreDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, "restored")
+	dbPath := filepath.Join(tempDir, "index.sqlite")
+
+	chunkSize := int64(64 * 1024)
+	maxBlobSize := int64(512 * 1024)
+
+	sourceFiles := writeRecoverySourceTree(t, fs, dataDir, chunkSize)
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Backup host: one index, hostname test-host, age_recipients set.
+	// runFileStorageBackup closes the index before returning, so nothing
+	// below can lean on it.
+	_, storer, originalID := runFileStorageBackup(
+		ctx, t, fs, dataDir, storeDir, dbPath, chunkSize, maxBlobSize)
+
+	// Recovery host: a fresh empty index, a different hostname, and no
+	// age_recipients — only the secret key and the same storage location.
+	recovery, stdout := newRecoveryHost(ctx, t, fs, storer)
+
+	// The recovery index really is empty. This is the assertion that makes
+	// the test a guard against restore quietly depending on the original
+	// index: if it did, an empty index would make restore fail.
+	localSnaps, err := recovery.Repositories.Snapshots.ListRecent(ctx, 100)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Empty(t, localSnaps, "recovery host must start with no local index")
+
+	// List: the snapshot shows up as remote-only, identified by its remote
+	// key, with no recoverable human ID.
+	require.NoError(t, recovery.ListSnapshots(true))
+
+	rows := decodeListJSON(t, stdout.String())
+	require.Len(t, rows, 1)
+
+	remote := rows[0]
+	assert.False(t, remote.LocallyTracked, "snapshot must be remote-only here")
+	assert.Empty(t, remote.ID, "the human ID is unknown to the recovery host")
+	require.Len(t, remote.RemoteKey, 64)
+	assert.Equal(t, snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(originalID), remote.RemoteKey,
+		"the listed key is the hashed snapshot ID")
+
+	// Restore driven by the abbreviated identifier the table prints (the
+	// first 12 hex of the remote key), then deep-verify from the store
+	// keyed by the full remote key. Both are what a recovery host can know.
+	require.NoError(t, recovery.Restore(&vaultik.RestoreOptions{
+		SnapshotID: remote.RemoteKey[:12],
+		TargetDir:  restoreDir,
+		Verify:     true,
+	}))
+	require.NoError(t, recovery.RunDeepVerify(
+		remote.RemoteKey, &vaultik.VerifyOptions{Deep: true}))
+
+	assertRestoredTreeMatches(t, fs, restoreDir, sourceFiles)
+}
+
+// writeRecoverySourceTree writes a small source tree spanning several
+// chunks (so restore reassembles real multi-chunk files) and returns the
+// content keyed by absolute path.
+func writeRecoverySourceTree(
+	t *testing.T, fs afero.Fs, dataDir string, chunkSize int64,
+) map[string][]byte {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	sourceFiles := map[string][]byte{
+		filepath.Join(dataDir, "notes.txt"):        []byte("recover me"),
+		filepath.Join(dataDir, "sub", "big.bin"):   bytesPattern("big-", int(chunkSize*3)),
+		filepath.Join(dataDir, "sub", "small.bin"): bytesPattern("small-", 128),
+	}
+
+	for path, content := range sourceFiles {
+		require.NoError(t, fs.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(path), 0o755))
+		require.NoError(t, afero.WriteFile(fs, path, content, 0o644))
+	}
+
+	return sourceFiles
+}
+
+// newRecoveryHost builds the Vaultik a replacement machine would run: an
+// empty in-memory index, a hostname different from the backup host, no
+// age_recipients, and only the secret key plus the shared storer. It
+// returns the instance and the buffer its stdout is wired to.
+func newRecoveryHost(
+	ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, fs afero.Fs, storer storage.Storer,
+) (*vaultik.Vaultik, *bytes.Buffer) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	recoveryDB, err := database.New(ctx, ":memory:")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = recoveryDB.Close() })
+
+	stdout := &bytes.Buffer{}
+
+	recovery := &vaultik.Vaultik{
+		Config: &config.Config{
+			AgeSecretKey: testAgeSecretKey,
+			Hostname:     "recovery-host",
+		},
+		Storage:      storer,
+		Fs:           fs,
+		Repositories: database.NewRepositories(recoveryDB),
+		DB:           recoveryDB,
+		Stdout:       stdout,
+		Stderr:       io.Discard,
+		UI:           ui.NewWithColor(io.Discard, false),
+	}
+	recovery.SetContext(ctx)
+
+	return recovery, stdout
+}
+
+// assertRestoredTreeMatches byte-compares every restored file against its
+// source content.
+func assertRestoredTreeMatches(
+	t *testing.T, fs afero.Fs, restoreDir string, sourceFiles map[string][]byte,
+) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	for origPath, expected := range sourceFiles {
+		restored := filepath.Join(restoreDir, origPath)
+		got, err := afero.ReadFile(fs, restored)
+		require.NoErrorf(t, err, "restored file missing: %s", restored)
+		require.Truef(t, bytes.Equal(got, expected),
+			"byte mismatch for %s", origPath)
+	}
+}

internal/vaultik/snapshot.go

@@ -670,9 +670,11 @@ func (v *Vaultik) VerifySnapshotWithOptions(
 
 	v.printVerifyHeader(snapshotID, opts)
 
-	// Download and parse manifest. The caller supplies a human
+	// Resolve the identifier to the snapshot's remote key and download the
-	// snapshot ID; we hash it to address remote storage.
+	// manifest. A human ID is hashed; a remote key (or its abbreviation,
-	manifest, err := v.downloadManifestByKey(snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
+	// as printed for a remote-only snapshot) is used as-is, so a host with
+	// no local index can verify a snapshot it can only see on the store.
+	manifest, err := v.resolveAndDownloadManifest(snapshotID)
 	if err != nil {
 		if opts.JSON {
 			result.Status = verifyStatusFailed

internal/vaultik/snapshot_identifier.go

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+package vaultik
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/snapshot"
+)
+
+// remoteKeyHexLen is the length of a full remote snapshot key: a SHA256
+// digest rendered as lowercase hex.
+const remoteKeyHexLen = 64
+
+// Sentinel errors for resolving a snapshot identifier against the store.
+var (
+	errSnapshotKeyNotFound = errors.New(
+		"no snapshot on the destination store matches this identifier")
+	errSnapshotKeyAmbiguous = errors.New(
+		"identifier matches more than one snapshot on the destination store")
+)
+
+// resolveSnapshotRemoteKey turns a snapshot identifier supplied on the
+// command line into the remote key that names the snapshot's metadata
+// directory on the destination store. Every remote path a restore or
+// verify reads is built from that key.
+//
+// Two forms are accepted, matching the two things a host can know:
+//
+//   - A human snapshot ID (hostname_name_timestamp), which a host holding
+//     the local index has. It is hashed to its remote key; the store is
+//     not consulted.
+//   - A remote key, or the leading part of one, which is all a host with
+//     no local index can know — it is exactly what `snapshot list` prints
+//     for a remote-only snapshot (see formatRemoteOnlyID). It is resolved
+//     against the destination store's metadata listing; an identifier that
+//     matches no snapshot, or more than one, is an error.
+//
+// The two are told apart by shape: a remote key is lowercase hex, and a
+// human snapshot ID never is (it carries a hostname, underscores, and an
+// RFC3339 timestamp).
+func (v *Vaultik) resolveSnapshotRemoteKey(identifier string) (string, error) {
+	if !isRemoteKeyOrPrefix(identifier) {
+		return snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(identifier), nil
+	}
+
+	keys, err := v.listAllRemoteSnapshotKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf(
+			"listing destination store to resolve %q: %w", identifier, err)
+	}
+
+	var matches []string
+
+	for _, key := range keys {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(key, identifier) {
+			matches = append(matches, key)
+		}
+	}
+
+	switch len(matches) {
+	case 1:
+		return matches[0], nil
+	case 0:
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", errSnapshotKeyNotFound, identifier)
+	default:
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: %s (%d matches)",
+			errSnapshotKeyAmbiguous, identifier, len(matches))
+	}
+}
+
+// resolveAndDownloadManifest resolves a snapshot identifier to its remote
+// key (see resolveSnapshotRemoteKey) and downloads that snapshot's
+// manifest.
+func (v *Vaultik) resolveAndDownloadManifest(
+	identifier string,
+) (*snapshot.Manifest, error) {
+	remoteKey, err := v.resolveSnapshotRemoteKey(identifier)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return v.downloadManifestByKey(remoteKey)
+}
+
+// isRemoteKeyOrPrefix reports whether s is a full remote key or the
+// leading part of one: 1 to 64 lowercase hex characters. A human snapshot
+// ID is never all hex, so this shape test is enough to tell the two apart.
+func isRemoteKeyOrPrefix(s string) bool {
+	if s == "" || len(s) > remoteKeyHexLen {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	for _, r := range s {
+		if (r < '0' || r > '9') && (r < 'a' || r > 'f') {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	return true
+}

internal/vaultik/verify.go

@@ -138,8 +138,15 @@ func (v *Vaultik) RunDeepVerify(snapshotID string, opts *VerifyOptions) error {
 func (v *Vaultik) loadVerificationData(
 	snapshotID string, opts *VerifyOptions, result *VerifyResult,
 ) (*snapshot.Manifest, *tempDB, []snapshot.BlobInfo, error) {
-	// All remote paths use the hashed key derived from the human ID.
+	// Resolve the identifier to the snapshot's remote key. A human ID is
-	remoteKey := snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID)
+	// hashed; a remote key (or its abbreviation, as printed for a
+	// remote-only snapshot) is used as-is, so a host with no local index
+	// can verify a snapshot it can only see on the store.
+	remoteKey, err := v.resolveSnapshotRemoteKey(snapshotID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, nil, v.deepVerifyFailure(result, opts,
+			fmt.Sprintf("resolving snapshot identifier: %v", err), err)
+	}
 
 	// Download manifest. downloadManifestByKey is the single reader for
 	// remote manifests; see its doc comment.
@@ -186,7 +193,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) loadVerificationData(
 			fmt.Errorf("failed to decrypt database: %w", err))
 	}
 
-	dbBlobs, err := v.getBlobsFromDatabase(snapshotID, tdb.DB)
+	dbBlobs, err := v.getBlobsFromDatabase(tdb.DB)
 	if err != nil {
 		_ = tdb.Close()
 
@@ -501,19 +508,21 @@ func (v *Vaultik) verifyBlobFinalIntegrity(
 	return nil
 }
 
-// getBlobsFromDatabase gets all blobs for the snapshot from the database
+// getBlobsFromDatabase gets all blobs for the snapshot from the database.
-func (v *Vaultik) getBlobsFromDatabase(
+//
-	snapshotID string, db *sql.DB,
+// The exported per-snapshot database holds exactly one snapshot's data
-) ([]snapshot.BlobInfo, error) {
+// (see cleanSnapshotDB), so every row in snapshot_blobs belongs to it.
+// We select them directly rather than filtering by the human snapshot ID,
+// which a host restoring from the store alone does not have.
+func (v *Vaultik) getBlobsFromDatabase(db *sql.DB) ([]snapshot.BlobInfo, error) {
 	query := `
 		SELECT b.blob_hash, b.compressed_size
 		FROM snapshot_blobs sb
 		JOIN blobs b ON sb.blob_hash = b.blob_hash
-		WHERE sb.snapshot_id = ?
 		ORDER BY b.blob_hash
 	`
 
-	rows, err := db.QueryContext(v.ctx, query, snapshotID)
+	rows, err := db.QueryContext(v.ctx, query)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to query snapshot blobs: %w", err)
 	}