backdown index

backdown index [OPTIONS] <PATHS>...

Arguments#

<PATHS>...

The drives or folders to index, each as its own root. Roots can't be nested: index each drive or top-level folder once.

Options#

--cross-filesystems

Also descend into other filesystems mounted below PATH.

--allow-empty

Record PATH even if it's now empty although it held files (normally refused: an empty mount point usually means the drive is unplugged).

--method <METHOD>

How to find what's there: auto (the drive's change log if it's intact, else NTFS's file table where the device can be read, else a walk; and a walk every so often), walk (every folder), journal or table (that way or fail, saying why). Default: auto. One of auto, walk, journal, table.

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

Good to know#

A drive that is suddenly empty although its last scan held files (usually an unplugged drive's leftover mount point) is refused and nothing is recorded; pass --allow-empty if it really was emptied. Symbolic links are not followed. When a daemon is running, the scan is handed to it and it hashes the new files next. With --method auto, a rescan reads the drive's change log where there is one (the USN journal of NTFS drives on Windows, the change history of APFS and HFS+ drives on macOS), or NTFS's file table (on Windows as administrator, on Linux for ntfs-3g mounts whose device your account can read), and walks every folder whenever either can't vouch for every file, and anyway every tenth scan or after 30 days (Settings > Scanning). Linux keeps no change log for drives. Each drive's line says how it was scanned and, for a walk, why. --method journal or table stops with the reason instead of walking.

Examples#

backdown index /media/old-drive /media/archive
# a NAS share with other file systems mounted inside it
backdown index /mnt/nas --cross-filesystems
# Windows
backdown index E:\ F:\Archive

See also#

• Getting started
• Scans and the time slider
• Fast rescans
• When a rescan walks