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KopiaLens
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Repositories

Open the repository menu at the top left to switch repositories, add one, or manage them. Manage repositories… opens Settings → Repositories.

Adding a repository

Select Add repository…. It works the same way as first-time setup: pick connections found on this computer, connect to an existing repository, or create a new one.

A new repository is indexed at the next scheduled time, or when you select Index now.

Where the connection file goes

Connecting or creating a repository writes a small kopia connection file: where the repository is and how to reach it. More options → Connection file picks its place:

  • KopiaLens's folder (the default): used by this KopiaLens only. Removing the repository can remove it too.
  • kopia's folder, shared with KopiaUI: KopiaUI and the kopia command line see the connection too. KopiaUI then lists the repository and may run its own backups and maintenance on it. Not offered in Docker.
  • Another folder…: any folder you choose.

Connections found on this computer stay where they are.

Managing repositories

Each repository in Settings → Repositories shows where it's stored and when it was last indexed.

  • Order: the arrows set the order of the repository menu.
  • Check connection: asks kopia whether the repository can be reached. If kopia no longer remembers the repository password, enter it here.
  • Index now: updates the index for that repository.
  • Edit…: rename the repository or change its short name.
  • Counts as a backup: when on, the Excluded tab treats files in this repository as backed up. Turn it off for a test or scratch repository.
  • Read-only connection: see below.
  • Remove…: see below.

Read-only connections

A read-only connection is kopia's own lock: kopia refuses every change made through it. KopiaLens can still browse, search, index, mount and restore, but it can't back up, delete, pin or edit policies there, and those actions show as unavailable.

Turn it on when connecting (More options → Read-only connection), or later in Settings → Repositories. It suits a computer that should only look at a repository, for example a second KopiaLens on another machine.

The lock belongs to the connection file. If KopiaUI or BlinkDisk uses the same connection, KopiaLens asks first, because that app then can't back up to the repository either. Turning it on or off opens the repository, so its storage must be reachable.

Removing a repository

Removing a repository deletes what KopiaLens stores for it: its index and history. The kopia repository and your backups are not touched, and you can add the repository again later.

If KopiaLens created the connection file, you can delete it too. Keep it if KopiaUI or the kopia command line use that connection.

Browsing a snapshot

In the Snapshots tab, double-click a snapshot (or select Show in Tree from its menu) to look inside it. An indexed repository opens it in the Tree tab. A repository that isn't indexed yet, or one reached through a kopia server, opens a folder browser that reads one folder at a time from kopia. Select Restore… on any file or folder to restore it.

Repositories reached through a kopia server

A repository you connect to through a kopia server (KopiaUI or kopia server start on another computer) is browse-only:

  • Works: the snapshot list, browsing and restoring files, pins, comparing two snapshots, mounting a snapshot, and the policies your server account may change.
  • Not available: the index, and everything built on it (dashboard, space analysis, dedup, search, churn and cleanup). kopia doesn't allow those reads through a server.
  • You see the snapshots your server account may see. By default that's the snapshots made as that account (user@host). If yours aren't listed, open More options when connecting and enter the user name and host the snapshots were made with.

For full analysis, install KopiaLens on the computer that runs the kopia server, or connect to the storage directly.

The kopia program

The bottom of Settings → Repositories shows which kopia program KopiaLens uses and its version. Select Change… to point to a different kopia, or Find automatically to go back to the default.