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Files on your computer

What Deucalion creates on your computer (not on the backup drive).

Your settings: ~/.config/deucalion/

File What it is
config.json Your configuration: backup drives, exclusions, extra folders, profiles, options.

Kept by ./install.sh --uninstall. (Moved by XDG_CONFIG_HOME or DEUCALION_CONFIG_DIR.)

Working files: ~/.local/state/deucalion/

File or folder What it is
system/ The system recipe, generated before each full backup, then backed up to the drive's system/.
logs/ A copy of every backup, restore and rebuild log (<date>_<time>-backup.log…).
rebuild.json Which rebuild steps are done, for which backup drive.
open-drives.json VeraCrypt drives Deucalion unlocked, so it can lock them again.
tmp/ The backup plan while a backup runs (deleted afterwards).

This folder is never backed up. (Moved by XDG_STATE_HOME or DEUCALION_STATE_DIR.)

The undo folder: ~/Deucalion-before-restore/

Everything a restore or a rebuild replaced in your home folder, in one dated folder per run (see Undo a restore):

Folder Made by
<date>_<time>/home/<you>/… A restore (also the rebuild's home step).
<date>_<time>-paths/… The rebuild's paths step.
<date>_<time>-desktop/dconf-before.ini The rebuild's desktop step (your desktop settings before).
<date>_<time>-crontab/crontab-before.txt The rebuild's services step (your crontab before).

Deucalion never deletes it, and never backs it up. Delete old folders yourself when you no longer need them.

System files replaced by a rebuild: /var/backups/deucalion/

/etc files and the administrator's crontab that a rebuild replaced, in one dated folder per run, with their full path (for example /var/backups/deucalion/<date>_<time>/etc/hosts). Owned by root; read them with sudo.

Added by a rebuild

  • Software sources: new files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ (named as on the old computer), and their keys in /etc/apt/keyrings/ or /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/. Existing files are never replaced.
  • Network connections: in /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/ or /etc/netplan/90-NM-….yaml.

The program (when installed with ./install.sh)

Where What
~/.local/share/deucalion/ The program.
~/.local/bin/deucalion The deucalion command (a link to the program).
~/.local/share/applications/io.github.DimitriosKafetzis.Deucalion.desktop The app menu entry.
~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/…/io.github.DimitriosKafetzis.Deucalion*.svg The app's icons.
/usr/local/libexec/deucalion/helper.py The administrator helper (with --system-helper), owned by root.
/usr/share/polkit-1/actions/io.github.DimitriosKafetzis.Deucalion.policy Its password prompt (with --system-helper).

./install.sh --uninstall removes all of these, and keeps your settings and backups.

Temporary

During a full backup with protected settings, the administrator helper collects them in a new folder /tmp/deucalion-admin-… that only it can reach, hands it over, and Deucalion deletes it right away. VeraCrypt installs download into /tmp/deucalion-veracrypt-…, deleted afterwards.