| name | backup-now |
| description | Run a vault backup right now and report the verified result. Use when the user says 'back up now', 'take a backup before I do this', or is about to make a big change. Not for scheduling or changing where backups go (`backup-setup`); not for getting files back (`backup-restore`). |
Backup Now
Take an immediate backup of the vault, on top of whatever the schedule is doing. Worth suggesting before anything sweeping: a bulk edit, a big reorganisation, a system update, or a migration.
Run it
python3 core/backup/backup_vault.py
It takes well under a minute for a typical vault. The command handles archiving, verifying, storing, and pruning old copies in one pass.
If backups have never been configured, the run will fail with a clear message; offer /backup-setup rather than improvising a destination.
Report honestly
Read System/.dex/backup-last-run.json and report what actually happened, not what was attempted:
- On success: the set name, total size, where it went, and how many older sets were pruned. Say plainly that the version history in the set was verified as complete.
- On failure: the recorded error, verbatim. Do not soften it and do not claim a backup exists. Common causes worth naming: the destination folder is missing or not mounted, a cloud remote is not reachable, or the disk is full.
Never infer success from the command finishing. The run record is the evidence.
If it has not run in a while
If the previous successful run was more than two days before this one, mention it once, quietly and without alarm, and offer /backup-setup to check the schedule. A silent scheduling failure is the most common way backups die.
