File protection on Windows and Linux

File Protection protects a file or folder on a Windows or Linux computer and keeps verified recovery copies in your installation’s protection storage. The source file can be any completed export or archive. Moltaro does not create an application export or restore data into the application that produced it.

Prepare protection storage

An administrator enables File Protection in Administration → Modules → File Protection. In a Moltaro Managed App, protection storage is prepared automatically and connects when the module is enabled. Wait for Repository ready before adding files. If an existing installation has no connection, choose Check repository in the protection storage section; use Continue if setup was interrupted. Repeated checks or enabling the module again keep the same storage and retained copies.

For a self-managed installation, the administrator configures a dedicated supported storage location through the setup wizard. Enabling the module again preserves that configuration.

Connect the computer

Open File Protection → Connect computer, choose Windows or Linux, and download the Agent and agent.json. Extract the entire ZIP or TAR.GZ and keep its files together. The package includes its runtime and Kopia.

On Windows, open an administrator PowerShell terminal in the extracted directory:

.\moltaro-file-protection-agent.exe enroll --config .\agent.json --code <enrollment-code>
.\moltaro-file-protection-agent.exe install --config .\agent.json

On Linux with systemd, run:

sudo install -d -m 0750 /etc/moltaro/file-protection
sudo install -m 0640 ./agent.json /etc/moltaro/file-protection/agent.json
sudo ./moltaro-file-protection-agent enroll --code <enrollment-code>
sudo ./moltaro-file-protection-agent install

Choose Check connection in the wizard. Continue when that computer is online. An enrollment code expires after 30 minutes. Enrollment connects the computer; it does not start a backup.

Add a source

Create a Source in Moltaro and assign the connected computer. Open Configure source, choose File or Folder, and enter its absolute local path. A Folder includes subfolders and empty directories. Follow the generated instructions to download the mapping and apply it to the installed Agent. The command preserves other Sources and settings. Physical paths stay on the computer and are not sent to Moltaro.

The Source type becomes fixed after it is used. A Source whose type is still unknown needs an explicit choice before preparing its mapping. Use another Source when you need a different type after it has been fixed.

Files and retained versions in one Source share matching storage blocks. Different Sources remain separate. Savings depend on the actual content; a compressed or encrypted archive may share few blocks with its previous version. Existing single-file recovery points remain readable without repacking.

The installed configuration is %ProgramData%\Moltaro\FileProtection\agent.json on Windows and /etc/moltaro/file-protection/agent.json on Linux. The Windows service runs as LocalSystem; Linux uses moltaro-file-protection. Give that account access to read the files and traverse their directories. Reserve enough local staging space for the files protected at the same time.

Restart MoltaroFileProtectionAgent on Windows or moltaro-file-protection-agent.service on Linux after editing configuration. When the Source is ready, open its More actions menu and use Create backup for the first copy. After the first successful backup, the action is named Check changes.

Set a schedule

Open the Source’s Schedule action. Choose a five-field CRON expression and time zone, enable the schedule, and save. For example, 0 * * * * runs on the hour and 0 2 * * * runs daily at 02:00 in the selected time zone. Automatic starts must be at least 60 minutes apart. The schedule belongs to the Source.

Only one operation can be active for a Source. A scheduled start is skipped while that Source is busy. Different Sources can run together on one Agent: the default is two. A local administrator can set MaximumConcurrentOperations at the top level of agent.json to an integer from 1 through 8, then restart the service. Higher concurrency needs more staging space and bandwidth.

The Agent compares file contents. Unchanged content produces No changes without another upload; Moltaro confirms and extends protection of the existing copy. Changed content produces another recovery point. Upload completion is followed by verification before a recovery point becomes ready.

The Source shows operation status, progress, retry time and result. Temporary file or connection problems are retried automatically within a bounded period. Use the operation’s cancellation action to stop it; disabling a schedule affects future starts. Configured signal policies report problems in Work Inbox.

Monitor backup freshness and computer availability

Backup creation and monitoring are configured separately. In the Source drawer or details page, open Signal policies to enable the conditions that matter for this Source. For example, File not updated can warn after one counted day and report an error after one counted week. This checks whether the local file was updated; it does not inspect the contents of a database or prove that the application creating the file is healthy.

Configure Agent unavailable on the computer’s own drawer or details page. Each policy has its own included days and time windows. Time outside those windows does not count toward the threshold. Calculations use the workspace’s time zone, so a computer that is normally off during a weekend need not raise an availability signal for that excluded time.

An administrator selects recipient roles or responsibility groups for each condition and severity under Administration → Modules → File Protection. Policies start disabled and recipients must be selected explicitly. Subscribing does not grant access to a Source: recipients also need its normal viewing permissions. The settings show when a rule has no eligible recipients.

The Source and Agent tables show active signal counts and severity. Open a signal to see the affected Source or computer, the reason, the relevant times and the next step. The Signals section on details pages filters current and previous episodes. Work Inbox shows the same current signals with a link to the affected record; File Protection does not send a separate notification.

For File not updated, an authorized operator may accept the current unchanged file and dismiss that episode. This acceptance lasts until the file updates again; it does not disable the policy or clear other problems. Automatic resolution and manual dismissal remain recorded in the module history and global audit, even after the signal leaves the current Work Inbox list.

Find a signal that has already closed

Open Work Inbox → Signals, change State from Active to Completed, and select Apply. Choose All to see current signals and completed occurrences together. The channel badge counts active signals only.

For example, after a weekend, select Completed and set the date range to the weekend to find signals that closed during that time. This date filter uses the completion date; Active uses the first appearance date. All uses each row’s corresponding date.

Use the preview icon on the left of a row to inspect that particular occurrence. The read-only drawer shows its recorded appearance, completion and diagnostic facts, including the reason and operator comment where available. Its Source link opens the affected record. A new occurrence does not replace an earlier one, and no action is needed before a signal closes to retain its history. Historical entries still require your current access to the affected record; being a recipient does not grant additional viewing permissions.

Restore files or a folder

Open the Source’s history and choose Download backup. Select a retained version. For versions created with shared Source storage, choose one file, selected files, a folder and its contents, or the entire Source. The entire Source option also supports an empty folder. Older per-file versions keep their original single-file download flow.

The dialog provides the portable Restore utility, a .moltaro-restore access file and launch instructions. Use the matching utility from your installation. Temporary access to a version in shared Source storage covers the whole Source. Selecting fewer files does not restrict the recipient’s access to the other content in that Source. Give the access file only to someone authorized to read the whole Source, and keep it private. Existing legacy per-file access retains its original file boundary.

For a single-file selection, the command can name a new destination file:

.\moltaro-file-protection-restore.exe restore --descriptor C:\Downloads\file.moltaro-restore --output D:\Recovered\archive.bin

./moltaro-file-protection-restore restore --descriptor ./file.moltaro-restore --output /srv/recovered/archive.bin

Use a new destination with enough free space: a new file for single-file recovery or a new directory for the other modes. Folder recovery preserves source-relative paths and empty directories. Restore checks each file’s size and SHA-256 before publishing the complete result. It does not overwrite an unrelated existing destination.

To resume after interruption, keep the private local recovery state and use the same access file, selection and destination. Temporary access lasts up to 24 hours and may expire earlier when the retained copy expires. It requires the installation’s Gateway and the issuing user’s current permissions. Open More actions → Download access on the Source to revoke access. Revocation blocks new requests; links already issued to storage may work for up to five minutes, and downloaded bytes cannot be recalled.

The result is saved on the computer running Restore. Recovery does not replace a live database or import records into the application that created the files.

Permanent recovery without Moltaro

An active Owner can configure separate S3 credentials in Recovery and export a permanent recovery kit after the required checks pass. Save the kit and compatible Restore utility in a private offline backup. Keep the extracted kit files together, launch Restore without arguments and select the configuration, version, content and new destination.

Permanent recovery reads retained data directly from S3. It does not require Moltaro API, Gateway, the previous server or an online license check. Anyone with the kit and working S3 access can read its retained backups. Do not give the permanent kit to a temporary recipient. Its credentials must remain valid; the kit cannot recover versions that storage no longer retains. After replacing S3 credentials, save a new kit before revoking the previous credentials.

Update or retire an Agent

Download the replacement package from your installation. Stop interactive Agent processes, uninstall the old service, and install the replacement distribution. Uninstall preserves enrollment and configuration. Do not copy device state to another computer. When retiring a computer, revoke its Agent in Moltaro; retained recovery copies remain governed by their retention deadlines.

File-update monitoring requires the Agent package supplied with this server version (Agent protocol 4.0). Update the test or customer computer as part of the coordinated server upgrade. An older Agent receives an update-required response. Metadata observation runs separately from backup transfers and does not read entire files just to check their modification information.

Storage maintenance runs automatically in the Moltaro Worker. It needs neither an open browser nor an online Agent and has no routine user maintenance action.