Usage¶
arck [command] [flags] [source] [destination]
| Command | Description | Flags |
|---|---|---|
| make | Create an archive from given path | -v -V -f XX -p XX -i --verbose --debug --files XX --par XX --ignore-size |
| restore | Extracts archive to given destination | -v -V -i -s --ignore-size --skip |
| verify | Checks integrity of part files | -v -V --verbose --debug |
| version | Output current application version | none |
| about | Display application about message | none |
| help | Display application help | none |
| Flag Short | Flag Long | Description |
|---|---|---|
| -n | --name | Specify the name of the archive. If omitted name will be the same as the file or directory given |
| -f XX | --files XX | Specify total part files to create, default 5 |
| -p XX | --par XX | Specify parity files, default 2 |
| -V | --debug | Increase verbosity and give detailed info / error output |
| -s | --skip | Skip integrity check and just try to restore. Nb. Ensure all parts are not damaged or missing |
| -i | --ignore-size | Skip size check when creating or extracting archives. May take a long time for large directory trees |
Create archive¶
You can specify a directory (recommended) or file.
Note
You do not need to tar archive a directory yourself. Simply point arcK to your directory
arck make /path/to/source/ /path/to/outputdir/
You cannot create archive names with an equals (=) sign. If you want to use a space remember to enclose in perensese: -n "name of archive"
If you do not specify a project name, the name of the file or directory is used by default.
Nb: The output directory must have double the available space to match the source directory. After processing, the space requirement will the same as the source directory.
Warning
You must backup the .m file, as without this you cannot easily restore your files. If this is missing, please the metadata file technical manual or reach out for advice.
📖 How this works.
Verify archive¶
✅ A useful feature is to verify the integrity of the archive parts. Testing backups are an important aspect of data preservation. Verifying is a faster method to test parts integrity without restoring the archive.
arck verify -v /path/to/archive.m
You will need to specify the archive metadata file. As a reminder, you should keep this backed up and ideally keep multiple copies. More on the 📖 (metadata file)[metadata.md].
You will be given an output like:
project.0 PASS
project.1 PASS
project.2 PASS
project.3 PASS
project.4 PASS
If there are any failed parts, the output will read:
project.3 FAIL
In this case, consider restoring broken part from backup and re-testing. There are no methods to fix broken parts, but if there are enough "working" parts, you can restore. To restore, there needs to be 3 of the 5 parts undamaged.
Restore archive¶
Before you restore, ensure metadate file is located with parts. Example, metadata file named [archive_name].m
File structure:
archive.m
archive.0
archive.1
archive.2
archive.3
archive.4
You can still restore if parts are missing. Let the program handle this.
arck restore /path/to/metadata_file.m /path/to/outputdir/