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Scout makes backups. Run one on every machine whose files you want to protect. Each Scout works on its own and only needs to reach Station to upload and restore.

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What Scout does

  • Finds backup jobs by scanning for folders that contain a .upload_dir marker.
  • Detects changes with a path-and-size fingerprint, so unchanged folders aren’t uploaded again.
  • Builds and encrypts archives as tar.zst files. The key stays on Scout unless you copy it for safekeeping or browser downloads. It is never sent to Station’s server.
  • Uploads to Station in chunks, resuming and retrying when the connection drops.
  • Runs on a schedule you set with a cron expression, weekly by default.
  • Restores snapshots from Station back into the original folder.
  • Sends notifications to ntfy and runs your own scripts around each job.

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Folders it uses

Back up Scout’s config folder, especially encryption.key. Without that key, this Scout’s snapshots cannot be decrypted. See Encryption key.

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The Scout UI

Open http://<scout-host>:6556/. The main page shows:
  • Selected Jobs: each backup job, its last state, the size of its last backup, and buttons to browse files, force an upload, restore, or edit it.
  • Directories Under Scan Root: a folder browser for choosing what to back up. Turn on Show hidden to see hidden folders.
A successful documents backup job with Files and exclusions, Force Upload, Restore, and Edit buttons

A selected job after a successful backup.

Install Scout

Backup jobs