Scout configuration

Most Scout settings are changed in Edit Scout Settings and saved in Scout’s local database. Many can also be set as environment variables in .env.

A supported environment variable overrides the UI value when Scout starts and whenever settings are saved. To change that value through the UI, remove the override from .env and recreate the container with docker compose up -d.

Connection and identity

UI setting	Environment variable	Default	Description
Scout ID	`SCOUT_ID`	`scout-01`	Name used to group installations in Station. A unique name per machine is easiest to recognize. Instance IDs keep installations separate either way.
Station URL	`STATION_URL`	`http://127.0.0.1:6555`	Where to upload. Must be reachable from inside the container.
Advertised Scout URL	none	empty	Optional URL for this Scout’s UI that Scout reports to Station. Station can include it in notifications.
Scout Credential	none	empty	Credential minted by Station. See Scout credentials.

Schedule and scanning

UI setting	Environment variable	Default	Description
Cron Schedule	none	`0 2 * * 0`	When backup cycles run, as a 5-field cron expression. The default is Sundays at 02:00.
Max Depth	`MAX_DEPTH`	`10`	How many folder levels below the scan root Scout searches for `.upload_dir` markers. Also how deep Directories Under Scan Root lets you browse.
Unusual backups	`ANOMALY_MODE`	`hold`	Hold, alert on, or ignore backups that look very different from a job’s history: `hold`, `alert`, or `off`. See Unusual backups.
Pause uploads (skip backup cycles)	none	off	Skip scheduled cycles and Run Backup Cycle Now. Individual Force Upload actions still run.
Keep failed-upload archives for retry	`KEEP_LOCAL_PENDING`	on	Keep an archive that failed to upload so the next cycle retries it instead of rebuilding.
none	`SCAN_ROOT`	`/scan`	Folder Scout scans. Leave at `/scan` in Docker.

The schedule can’t run more often than every 5 minutes. Scheduled cycles also wait at least five minutes after startup and after the previous cycle finishes. Run Backup Cycle Now bypasses these waits. It queues a cycle and never starts a second one while a cycle is running.

The scheduler uses the server’s local time zone. The supplied Docker image runs in UTC by default, so 0 2 * * 0 means 02:00 UTC on Sundays in that deployment.

A few schedules:

Cron	Runs
`0 2 * * 0`	Weekly, Sunday 02:00
`0 3 * * *`	Daily, 03:00
`0 /6 * *`	Every 6 hours

Uploads

These rarely need changing. They control how Scout talks to Station over slow or unreliable links.

UI setting	Environment variable	Default
Upload Chunk Size MB	`UPLOAD_CHUNK_SIZE_MB`	`8`
Min Upload Chunk MB	`MIN_UPLOAD_CHUNK_SIZE_MB`	`1`
Max Upload Chunk MB	`MAX_UPLOAD_CHUNK_SIZE_MB`	`16`
Upload Retry Attempts	`UPLOAD_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS`	`5`
Retry Base Delay Seconds	`UPLOAD_RETRY_BASE_DELAY_SECONDS`	`5`
Retry Max Delay Seconds	`UPLOAD_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_SECONDS`	`300`
Connect Timeout Seconds	`UPLOAD_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`	`10`
Read Timeout Padding Seconds	`UPLOAD_READ_TIMEOUT_PADDING_SECONDS`	`30`
Min Throughput Bytes/Second	`UPLOAD_MIN_THROUGHPUT_BYTES_PER_SECOND`	`262144` (256 KiB/s)
Circuit Breaker Failure Threshold	`CIRCUIT_BREAKER_FAILURE_THRESHOLD`	`5`
Circuit Breaker Cooldown Seconds	`CIRCUIT_BREAKER_COOLDOWN_SECONDS`	`300`

After the circuit breaker’s failure threshold is reached, Scout stops trying Station for the cooldown period instead of retrying endlessly.

Other

UI setting	Environment variable	Default	Description
Dark Mode	none	on	UI theme.
Log Level	`LOG_LEVEL`	`INFO`	Container log verbosity.
State Directory	`STATE_DIR`	`/data/state`	Per-job state.
Spool Directory	`SPOOL_DIR`	`/data/spool`	Archives waiting to upload.
none	`HTTP_HOST`	`0.0.0.0` in Docker	Address the UI listens on.
none	`HTTP_PORT`	`6556`	UI port. If you change it, update the Compose `ports` mapping too.
none	`INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD`	`admin`	First admin’s password, used only when no user accounts exist. A password change is required on first sign-in, even with a custom value. See Sign-in.
none	`SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE`	off	Set to `true` when serving Scout over HTTPS.

Trusted Certificates are also managed in this dialog. See Trusted certificates.

​Connection and identity

​Schedule and scanning

​Uploads

​Other

Connection and identity

Schedule and scanning

Uploads

Other