# KopiaLens

> A backup app you can see inside, powered by Kopia. KopiaLens runs scheduled, encrypted, deduplicated Kopia backups to any drive, NAS or cloud storage, shows what is inside them, and removes junk from inside existing snapshots.

KopiaLens is a complete backup app built on Kopia, the open-source backup engine: it runs each folder's backups on its policy's schedule with retries, restores files (including ones deleted from disk), verifies backups, runs maintenance, and sends alerts (in the app, the tray, ntfy or a webhook). It can replace KopiaUI (it covers what KopiaUI does), run alongside KopiaUI on the same repository, or be someone's first Kopia app. On top, it indexes the repository on your own machine and shows what KopiaUI and the kopia command line don't: the physical (deduplicated) size of every folder and file across all snapshots, how much space each removal would free, which folders change every night (churn), instant search across every snapshot and repository, retention simulation, what on disk isn't backed up, and policy inheritance with exclusion editing. Indexing only reads the repository. AI agents can use it through the klens command line with per-agent tokens and approval before anything is removed. On Windows it also shows what Backblaze Personal Backup keeps, read-only.

Free: the whole backup app (scheduled backups, restore, verify, maintenance, alerts), all analysis, search, previews, deleting snapshots you pick, Docker and Home Assistant, AI agents, the Backblaze view. Pro: removing files from inside existing snapshots, deleting every snapshot that holds a file, pruning old versions, smart exclude rules, and exclude-and-delete. Pricing: $20 per year or $50 lifetime at launch (regular $30 and $80); Business $99 per year at launch (regular $150). Yearly licences bought at the launch price renew at that price. Every paid Patreon tier includes Pro.

Platforms: desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux; Docker for home servers and NAS; Home Assistant add-on; used from any browser. Downloads: https://kopialens.com/download. KopiaLens is an independent app, not made by the Kopia project.

## Docs

- [KopiaLens documentation](https://kopialens.com/docs.md): KopiaLens is an app for exploring, analysing and managing Kopia backup repositories. It runs in its own window or in your browser. It can run your backups the way KopiaUI does, or work alongside KopiaUI and the kopia command line. It never changes how kopia stores your data.
- [Installing KopiaLens](https://kopialens.com/docs/install.md): Windows installer or portable, the macOS app, Linux AppImage, deb and rpm
- [First-time setup](https://kopialens.com/docs/getting-started.md): connecting your repositories, protecting KopiaLens, and building the first index
- [Repositories](https://kopialens.com/docs/repositories.md): adding, renaming, reordering, checking and removing repositories
- [Running KopiaLens in Docker](https://kopialens.com/docs/docker.md): the container, its folders, running as your own user, and mounting snapshots
- [Home Assistant](https://kopialens.com/docs/home-assistant.md): the add-on, opening it from the sidebar or its own port, and its folders
- [Backups](https://kopialens.com/docs/backups.md): who runs a repository's backups, snapshots by hand, pausing, Tasks, snapshot scripts and checking backups
- [Notifications](https://kopialens.com/docs/notifications.md): alerts in the app and tray, KopiaLens's webhook (works with ntfy), and kopia's email, Pushover and webhook profiles
- [Start backing up from scratch](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-start-from-scratch.md): new to kopia? Create a repository, set a schedule and back up your first folder
- [Find what's using the most space](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-find-space.md): from the whole repository down to single files
- [Free up space safely](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-free-space.md): from the safest steps to the strongest
- [Exclude a folder and remove it from old snapshots](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-exclude-and-delete.md): stop backing it up and take it out of the past
- [Restore files](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-restore-files.md): find a file in your backups and get it back
- [Check your backups](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-check-backups.md): are they running, complete and readable?
- [Move backups from KopiaUI to KopiaLens](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-move-from-kopiaui.md): hand over schedules and maintenance without losing history
- [Clean up after a huge accidental backup](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-accidental-backup.md): remove something big from every snapshot
- [Find files that change every day](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-find-churn.md): the files that cost far more than their size
- [Test a retention policy before using it](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-test-retention.md): see what it keeps and frees first
- [Use KopiaLens with an AI agent](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-ai-agent.md): safe access for agents, with your approval for deletes
- [Run KopiaLens behind a reverse proxy](https://kopialens.com/docs/guide-reverse-proxy.md): your own address, with HTTPS from the proxy
- [How KopiaLens counts space](https://kopialens.com/docs/space.md): logical, physical and reclaimable sizes, deduplication, and why deleting doesn't always free space
- [Why deleting frees space only after maintenance](https://kopialens.com/docs/deleting-and-space.md): what kopia does with deleted data, and when the space comes back
- [How indexing works](https://kopialens.com/docs/how-indexing-works.md): what the index holds, how it's built, and what it costs your computer
- [KopiaLens alongside KopiaUI](https://kopialens.com/docs/kopiaui.md): sharing repositories with KopiaUI safely
- [Using KopiaLens with BlinkDisk](https://kopialens.com/docs/blinkdisk.md): connecting a vault, who runs backups and maintenance, the computer name, and merging split histories
- [Hardware and memory](https://kopialens.com/docs/hardware.md): memory, disk space and the setups KopiaLens is measured on
- [Glossary](https://kopialens.com/docs/glossary.md): every term KopiaLens uses, in one place
- [Sign-in and your account](https://kopialens.com/docs/sign-in.md): the KopiaLens password, staying signed in, signing out other devices, and resetting a forgotten password
- [Encryption](https://kopialens.com/docs/encryption.md): encrypting what KopiaLens stores on disk, the recovery key, and unlocking after a restart
- [Remote access and HTTPS](https://kopialens.com/docs/remote-access.md): who can open KopiaLens, HTTPS certificates, and running it behind a reverse proxy
- [API tokens](https://kopialens.com/docs/api-tokens.md): access for scripts, the command line and AI agents, what a token can and can't do, and revoking one
- [Command line](https://kopialens.com/docs/cli.md): klens for scripts and AI agents, signing in once, removing files safely, and approvals
- [API](https://kopialens.com/docs/api.md): calling KopiaLens over HTTP, the stable routes, refusals, and approvals
- [FAQ and troubleshooting](https://kopialens.com/docs/faq.md): common questions, and what to do when something doesn't work
- [Getting help](https://kopialens.com/docs/getting-help.md): reporting a problem, the diagnostics bundle, checking for updates, and the desktop app's zoom
- [Update checks and usage stats](https://kopialens.com/docs/usage-stats.md): what the daily check sends, what's never sent, and how to turn it off
- [Free and Pro](https://kopialens.com/docs/licensing.md): what Pro adds, adding your licence, renewals, and licences in Docker
- [Dashboard](https://kopialens.com/docs/dashboard.md): every source, what it holds and what it costs
- [Snapshots](https://kopialens.com/docs/snapshots.md): pin, compare, restore and delete snapshots
- [Simulate](https://kopialens.com/docs/simulate.md): what a retention policy would keep and free
- [Tree](https://kopialens.com/docs/tree.md): folders and files by size, in any snapshot
- [Search](https://kopialens.com/docs/search.md): find files across every snapshot
- [Churn](https://kopialens.com/docs/churn.md): what keeps adding new data
- [Repository](https://kopialens.com/docs/repository.md): health, storage, maintenance and settings
- [Excluded](https://kopialens.com/docs/excluded.md): what on your disks no backup covers
- [Policies](https://kopialens.com/docs/policies.md): every policy, and how they apply
- [Tasks](https://kopialens.com/docs/tasks.md): backups, maintenance and jobs, running and finished
- [Logs](https://kopialens.com/docs/logs.md): what KopiaLens did, and its own log
- [Backblaze](https://kopialens.com/docs/backblaze.md): what Backblaze Personal Backup backs up
- [Indexing](https://kopialens.com/docs/indexing.md): when the index updates, the indexing panel, and index backups
- [Disk scanning](https://kopialens.com/docs/disk-scanning.md): how KopiaLens reads your disks, and checking network shares and other computers
- [Settings](https://kopialens.com/docs/settings.md): every section and its defaults
- [Tables](https://kopialens.com/docs/tables.md): columns, alignment, widths, times and rows per page in any table
- [File panel](https://kopialens.com/docs/file-panel.md): one file's versions, space and copies
- [Folder panel](https://kopialens.com/docs/folder-panel.md): one folder's contents, space and sources
- [Delete from backups](https://kopialens.com/docs/delete-files.md): remove files and folders from your snapshots
- [Deleting snapshots and sources](https://kopialens.com/docs/delete-snapshots.md): delete whole snapshots or every snapshot of a folder
- [Prune versions](https://kopialens.com/docs/prune.md): keep the versions you want and remove the rest
- [Exclude](https://kopialens.com/docs/exclude.md): keep a file or folder out of future snapshots
- [Restore, download and mount](https://kopialens.com/docs/restore.md): get files back from a snapshot
- [Policy editor](https://kopialens.com/docs/policy-editor.md): every policy setting
- [Maintenance](https://kopialens.com/docs/maintenance.md): run kopia's maintenance by hand
- [New snapshot](https://kopialens.com/docs/new-snapshot.md): back up any folder now
- [Job panel](https://kopialens.com/docs/job-panel.md): a running action's progress and result

## Comparisons

- [KopiaLens vs KopiaUI: same backups, more control](https://kopialens.com/compare/kopiaui): KopiaUI alternative compared: KopiaLens opens the same Kopia repository, runs the same backups, and adds the views inside them. Replace it, run both, or start fresh.
- [KopiaLens vs the kopia command line](https://kopialens.com/compare/kopia-cli): kopia CLI and GUI compared: when the kopia command line is the better tool, what KopiaLens adds on the same repository, and how to use both without parsing JSON for every answer.
- [KopiaLens vs BlinkDisk: see inside the same vault](https://kopialens.com/compare/blinkdisk): BlinkDisk alternative compared: BlinkDisk makes Kopia simple, and KopiaLens opens the same vault and shows what is inside it. An upgrade path, not a migration.
- [KopiaLens vs Replicaro](https://kopialens.com/compare/replicaro): Replicaro alternative compared: Replicaro is a free, open-source backup app on the restic and Kopia engines. KopiaLens runs on Kopia too, and adds per-folder analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Duplicati](https://kopialens.com/compare/duplicati): Duplicati alternative compared: Duplicati is a free, open-core backup app with dozens of backends, imaging and a huge user base. KopiaLens is a Kopia-based app that shows what is inside your backups and cleans up old snapshots.
- [KopiaLens vs UrBackup](https://kopialens.com/compare/urbackup): UrBackup alternative compared: UrBackup is a free client/server backup system with file and image backups. KopiaLens is a Kopia-based backup app with per-folder analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Duplicacy](https://kopialens.com/compare/duplicacy): Duplicacy alternative compared: Duplicacy's lock-free deduplication and concurrent backups, against KopiaLens's free backup app and views inside old snapshots.
- [KopiaLens vs restic](https://kopialens.com/compare/restic): restic alternative compared: restic is a mature, open-source backup CLI. KopiaLens is a Kopia-based backup app that adds a visual view inside backups, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Plakar](https://kopialens.com/compare/plakar): Plakar alternative compared: Plakar is a young, CLI-first open-source backup platform with its own store format. KopiaLens is a backup app on Kopia with per-folder analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Backrest](https://kopialens.com/compare/backrest): Backrest alternative compared: Backrest is a free web UI and scheduler for restic. KopiaLens is a desktop backup app on Kopia with per-folder analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Borg](https://kopialens.com/compare/borg): Borg alternative compared: Borg is a mature deduplicating archiver with Vorta, Pika and Borg UI. KopiaLens is a Windows-friendly backup app on Kopia with analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Arq](https://kopialens.com/compare/arq): Arq alternative compared: Arq is a mature Mac and Windows backup app with its own format and optional storage. KopiaLens is a Kopia-based app with per-folder analysis, search and guided cleanup.
- [KopiaLens vs Synology Hyper Backup](https://kopialens.com/compare/synology-hyper-backup): Synology Hyper Backup alternative compared: Hyper Backup is the built-in multi-version backup app of Synology DSM. KopiaLens runs on the same NAS in Docker and adds analysis, search and cleanup inside the backups.

## Who it's for

- [For Kopia users](https://kopialens.com/for/kopia-users): Replace KopiaUI, run both on one repository, or start fresh; nothing to migrate.
- [Switching backup apps](https://kopialens.com/for/switching): Moving to Kopia from Duplicati, restic, Borg, Arq and others, and how moving works.
- [New to backups](https://kopialens.com/for/new-to-backups): A first backup app; what a good backup looks like and how to start.

## Optional

- [Features](https://kopialens.com/features): Every KopiaLens view in detail.
- [Pricing](https://kopialens.com/pricing): Free and Pro, plans and prices, and what junk costs on paid cloud storage.
- [Compare](https://kopialens.com/compare): KopiaLens side by side with KopiaUI, the kopia command line and other backup apps.
- [Glossary](https://kopialens.com/docs/glossary): Every Kopia and KopiaLens term, explained.
- [Download](https://kopialens.com/download): Windows, macOS, Linux and Docker, with install steps.
- [Why Windows warns you](https://kopialens.com/download/windows-warning): The Windows notice on first run and how to check a download.
- [Changelog](https://kopialens.com/changelog): Release notes.
- [About](https://kopialens.com/about): Why KopiaLens exists and who makes it.
- [Contact](https://kopialens.com/contact): Support, licences, refunds and business questions.
- [Privacy](https://kopialens.com/privacy): Privacy policy for the app, Pro licences and this website.
- [Terms of use](https://kopialens.com/terms): Terms for the app and this website.
- [Pro licence terms](https://kopialens.com/pro-terms): Buying and using a Pro licence; Polar is the merchant of record.
- [Refund policy](https://kopialens.com/refunds): How refunds for Pro work.