Multiple restore questions: symlinks and -overwrite flag

Support
,
#1

I want to test my backups, so i create a new folder, and init it with an existing repository id.

F:\tbp-v>z init -e tbp-v "G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy"
Enter storage password for G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy:*********************
The storage 'G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy' has already been initialized
Compression level: 100
Average chunk size: 4194304
Maximum chunk size: 16777216
Minimum chunk size: 1048576
Chunk seed: 047e223d47da826b44a58bf72c9f701ded4e04e3afb10e39c3a5eb30c93b1e07
F:\tbp-v will be backed up to G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy with id tbp-v

Then i start the restore in a non-admin cmd:

F:\tbp-v>z restore -r 521 -stats -threads 20
Storage set to G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy
Restoring F:\tbp-v to revision 521
Can't create symlink C_Users_link/All Users: symlink C:\ProgramData F:\tbp-v/C_Users_link/All Users: A required privilege is not held by the client.
  • First q: why duplicacy wants to recreate the symlinks?
    I would expect that duplicacy restores my symlinks as normal folders under the current repository root.
    And that seems true as when i try the restore as an admin (admin cmd) (see below) it makes the symlinks as normal folders => therefore the restore should work as a normal user as well, right?

Well i start the restore again as admin:

PS F:\tbp-v> ./z restore -r 521 -stats -threads 20
Storage set to G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy
Restoring F:\tbp-v to revision 521
Downloaded chunk 2 size 4693193, 4.48MB/s 00:44:19 0.0%
Downloaded chunk 1 size 2680741, 7.03MB/s 00:28:12 0.0%
Downloaded chunk 3 size 16777216, 23.03MB/s 00:08:36 0.1%
Downloaded chunk 4 size 11230756, 33.74MB/s 00:05:52 0.2%
Downloaded chunk 5 size 9628547, 42.93MB/s 00:04:37 0.3%
Downloaded chunk 6 size 6281137, 48.92MB/s 00:04:03 0.4%

[...]
Downloaded chunk 41 size 2039761, 35.53MB/s 00:05:28 2.0%
Downloaded chunk 42 size 6433886, 36.41MB/s 00:05:20 2.1%
Downloaded chunk 39 size 7001841, 37.36MB/s 00:05:12 2.1%
Downloaded chunk 38 size 16183700, 39.56MB/s 00:04:54 2.3%
[...]
Downloaded chunk 223 size 16777216, 33.54MB/s 00:05:18 10.4%
Downloaded chunk 225 size 1187511, 33.57MB/s 00:05:18 10.4%
PS F:\tbp-v> ^C
PS F:\tbp-v> ^C
PS F:\tbp-v> ^C
PS F:\tbp-v> ^C
PS F:\tbp-v> ^C

And at some point i just stop the restore.

The problem comes when i start the restore again as it asks me to use the -overwrite flag:

PS F:\tbp-v> ./z restore -r 521 -stats -threads 40
Storage set to G:/My Drive/backups/duplicacy
Restoring F:\tbp-v to revision 521
File C_Users_link/crist/Desktop/aaaaaaDownloads/free code camp/2017_07_17 --  freeCodeCamp -- Concatenated Integers - The Daily Programmer #314.mp4 already exists.  Please specify the -overwrite option to continue
PS F:\tbp-v>
  • Second q: Why is duplicacy asking me to use that flag? Isn’t it supposed to know how to resume the restore?
    My understanding is that by using the -overwrite all existing files will be deleted and re-restored so that means that all my hundreads of GB in the backup will be downloaded again:
    -overwrite: overwrite existing files in the repository
#2

Only the first-level symlinks are restored as normal folders. Symlinks in a subdirectories are restored as symlinks.

Duplicacy doesn’t know if the existing file was a partially restored one, so it will ask you to confirm that it can be overwritten.

#3

And one needs to be admin to create the links. That makes sense, thanks!

What I understand from the wording of the feature: duplicacy wants to -overwrite all existing files in the repository.

For example in this particular case: How to restore just last modified files should i use the restore with -overwrite or without?

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