#KopiaLens vs the kopia command line

The kopia command line is the engine. It can create and connect repositories, take snapshots, restore, verify, change policies, run maintenance, and repair or remove files from old snapshots. KopiaLens uses the same engine and the same repositories, and puts a visual, safer workflow around the operations people do most.

	KopiaLens	kopia command line
What it is	A backup app with a GUI, a browser UI and an API	The Kopia engine and its full command set
Works with	Kopia repositories, including BlinkDisk vaults	Kopia repositories
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker and NAS, Home Assistant, browser	Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD experimental
Scheduled backups	Built in, per policy	OS task scheduler or a kopia server
Per-folder size after dedup	Yes, in the Dashboard and Tree	Raw numbers from content stats and blob stats
Search across every snapshot	Yes	Script it with snapshot list and ls
Reclaimable space before an action	Yes	Compose it from blob stats and content stats
Remove files from old snapshots	Pro, with previews	snapshot fix remove-files
Price (November 2026)	Free; Pro $20/year or $50 lifetime at launch pricing	Free

#What KopiaLens adds

• Answers, not JSON. Per-folder physical size, what a deletion frees, what changed, what is not backed up, and which snapshots hold a file, all in one view.
• Previews before destructive work. See what a removal or a retention change would do before it happens. The CLI has dry runs; KopiaLens shows the same preview in the app, then executes with the same engine underneath.
• Search across every snapshot. Type a file name and see every version, without writing a loop.
• Churn and retention simulation. Compare what grows every night, and test a retention policy before applying it.
• A safe path for people who do not live in a terminal. The same operations, with the dangerous parts visible.

#What the command line does well

• Scripts and automation. The CLI can produce raw data as JSON, and it can be wired into cron, Task Scheduler, a CI job or a monitoring system.
• Headless servers. No GUI, no desktop session, no browser.
• Low-level work. Every repository command, including low-level repair commands that a GUI does not surface.
• Many machines. Kopia's server mode is built for it.
• Nothing extra to install. Every Kopia user already has it.

For a server or a scripted backup, the CLI is the right tool.

#Who should pick which

Pick the command line for scripts, headless servers, low-level repository work, or Kopia's server mode. KopiaLens is not a replacement for that.

Pick KopiaLens when you want the same numbers as answers instead of JSON, a preview before destructive work, or a way to search and clean up without composing commands.

#Use both

They share the same repository and the same engine. A common pattern is KopiaLens for seeing and cleaning up, and the CLI for scheduled scripts, servers and automation. Nothing is locked to either one.

If you already script Kopia, keep doing it. Open the same repository in KopiaLens when you want to know why it is growing, which folder is responsible, or what a cleanup would free. The numbers come from the same place.

The backup app is free. Pro, for cleanup, costs $20 a year or $50 lifetime at launch pricing. Download KopiaLens or see the plans.

Prices and product facts checked November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email support@kopialens.com and we'll fix it.