backdown daemon

backdown daemon [OPTIONS]

Options#

--port <PORT>

Port for the web UI (0: any free one). Default: 8787. Also read from $BACKDOWN_PORT.

--host <HOST>

Also listen on this address (e.g. this computer's Tailscale IP) so other devices can look; from there BackDown only shows, and changes need this computer. 127.0.0.1 always listens. Default: 127.0.0.1.

--rescan-every <RESCAN_EVERY>

Rescan each drive this often (e.g. 12h, 1d; never to scan only on request or when a drive comes back). Default: as set in Settings (24h unless changed there).

--system

Machine-wide service: index in /var/lib/backdown, socket in /run/backdown, shared with the backdown group (set by the system unit).

Also takes the global options --db and --local.

Good to know#

One job at a time (scan, hash, recognise, copy, mirror, wipe, tidy, mail merge), so the index has a single writer and each drive a single reader; rescues and syncs with other machines run beside them, and drive health is read every six hours. Every scan is followed by hashing, and recognition when something changed. Without --rescan-every, the interval is the one in Settings. --host works as for serve: the browser stays on 127.0.0.1 too, and from other devices it only shows and queues rescans (the link is http://ADDRESS:PORT/?t=TOKEN, with the token from ui.json in the data folder). On Linux and macOS the CLI talks to it through a socket in your runtime folder; on Windows, commands use the index directly.

Examples#

# usually started by `backdown service install`; by hand:
backdown daemon
backdown daemon --rescan-every 12h
# scan only when asked, or when a drive comes back
backdown daemon --rescan-every never

See also#

• The background service
• Look from your other devices