Backup jobs - 3to1go

A job is a folder Scout backs up. Create and change jobs in Scout’s Job Editor. Behind the scenes, the editor stores each job’s settings in a file named .upload_dir in the folder, which you can also write or edit yourself.

Create a job from the UI

Find the folder

In Directories Under Scan Root, browse to the folder you want.

Open the Job Editor

Click Edit on the folder’s row to open the Job Editor. Browse files on the row lets you look inside first.

Set options and save

Fill in the fields below and click Save Job. Scout writes the folder’s .upload_dir for you.

Field	Default	Description
Job Name	Folder name	Name used on Station. Letters, digits, `.`, `_`, and `-` only.
Exclude Patterns	none	One pattern per line. See Exclusions.
Include hidden files	on	Back up files and folders whose names start with `.`.
Follow symlinks	off	Back up the targets of symbolic links instead of skipping them.

Stop Backing Up removes the marker. Existing snapshots on Station are kept.

Scout Job Editor with directory, job name, exclusion patterns, hidden files, and symlink settings — The Job Editor writes the folder's .upload_dir settings.

Edit the .upload_dir file

Saving in the Job Editor writes the folder’s .upload_dir. Writing that file yourself does the same thing as using the editor. Use it for scripts, configuration management, or folders you set up before Scout runs. To create a job, create .upload_dir in the folder. An empty file uses the folder name as the job name:

touch /home/alice/photos/.upload_dir

To set or change options, add or edit YAML in the file. These are the same fields as the Job Editor:

.upload_dir

job_name: photos
include_hidden: true
follow_symlinks: false
exclude:
  - "*.tmp"
  - cache/
  - /exports/old/

Edits go both ways. Changes you make in the file show in the Job Editor, and saving in the editor rewrites the file. Deleting the file stops backing up the folder, like Stop Backing Up. If the YAML is invalid or job_name has disallowed characters, Scout skips the job and shows the error on it. Scout looks for new .upload_dir files every 30 seconds, so one you create by hand can take that long to appear under Selected Jobs. Edits to an existing file, deleted files, and jobs saved or removed in the Job Editor show up right away.

Job names must be unique across the whole Scout. Two folders both named photos need different job_name values, such as main-photos and projects-photos.

Once Scout finds a marker, it doesn’t look for more inside that folder. Nested folders are covered by the parent job. 📌 = folder with a .upload_dir marker. Archives contain regular files. Empty directories and special files are not archived, and the job root’s .upload_dir is excluded. A job with no included files is skipped. With Follow symlinks enabled, Scout stores the target’s files rather than preserving the links themselves.

Exclusions

Patterns are matched against paths relative to the job folder, using / as the separator.

Pattern	Excludes
`*.tmp`	Any file or folder whose name matches, at any depth
`cache/`	Every folder named `cache`, at any depth, and everything inside it
`logs/*.log`	Paths matching the glob from the job root, such as `logs/app.log`
`/exports/old/`	Exactly `exports/old` under the job folder, and everything inside it
`/photos/image[1].jpg`	Exactly that file. Patterns starting with `/` are literal, so `[1]` is not treated as a glob.

Exclude from the file browser

On a job, click Files & exclusions to browse its files with their sizes.

Exclude on a file, or Exclude folder on a folder, adds a literal /… pattern to the job’s .upload_dir immediately.
Calculate folder size totals a folder on demand. Totals are source sizes before compression, include excluded files, and skip symlinks and Scout’s own runtime data.
To include something again, remove its pattern in the Job Editor.

Exclusions apply to the next archive. If the job already has a staged archive, click Clear staged backup so it’s rebuilt with the new exclusions.

Job actions

Button	What it does
Files & exclusions	Browse the job’s files and manage exclusions.
Force Upload	Upload this job even if its fingerprint is unchanged. Reuses a staged archive if one exists, so clear it first to build a fresh backup. Station may report an identical encrypted archive as a duplicate.
Restore	Restore a snapshot from Station into this folder. See Restore.
Edit	Open the Job Editor.
Clear staged backup	Shown when an archive is waiting to upload. Deletes it and resets retry state. Your files, backup history, and Station snapshots are kept.

Cancel operation at the top of the page stops the backup cycle or forced upload in progress, including compression and upload retries. Incomplete archives are discarded, and a fully built archive stays staged for retry. Cancel before clearing a staged backup.

When a job is backed up

On each scheduled cycle, Scout compares the job’s file paths and sizes with its last backup. It only builds and uploads a new snapshot when they differ. If a failed upload has a staged archive ready for retry, Scout retries that archive first. New edits and exclusions are picked up when a fresh archive is built. To run a cycle for all jobs without waiting for the schedule, click Run Backup Cycle Now. It follows the same rule, so unchanged jobs are skipped.

An edit that keeps a file’s size the same isn’t detected automatically. Use Force Upload to capture it. See Design decisions.

​Create a job from the UI

​Edit the .upload_dir file

​Exclusions

​Exclude from the file browser

​Job actions

​When a job is backed up

Create a job from the UI

Edit the .upload_dir file

Exclusions

Exclude from the file browser

Job actions

When a job is backed up