Snapshot? Backup?

[CarlitoGil]

Something that confused me as a new user was the term "snapshot".

It's used in the View Details output, and in Settings > CW Tracker.
But it's more prominent on the top menu, and as I understand, it's a totally separate concept.
Is that correct?

I think it's worth considering before v1.0.0 to rename that top menu section, perhaps to "Backups".
It would align with Trakt's and SIMKL's, and other services concept of "backup".
Specially with the #89 FR, which is a premium feature on those services.

I would also include config.json with regular backups.

I suggest adding configuration to put them on another Docker volume.
I'd be easier for those that might want that volume on their backup solution, like synced to a cloud.

[cenodude]

Basically, I’d almost never call anything a backup in this project.

CW operates at API level. What it creates is a point-in-time copy shaped by the rules the user (and I) configured, and constrained by whatever those APIs can and can’t do. That’s a core principle for me. When i say its a backup, users may expect that the goal is to recovery their environment exactly how it was. And thats just not the case.

Example: SIMKL’s own backup/export is far better for restoring your SIMKL environment.

CW has two different “snapshot” concepts

1. Provider snapshot (point-in-time)
This is the snapshot feature you already know: capture the current state of your providers at a specific moment.
The main reason I implemented it was for myself (testing, etc.). But I also noticed users were running the most exotic configurations with zero protection. This is basically a last-resort safety net, better than having nothing. So it was never planned to have it in CW.

2. CW Tracker snapshots (datasets you can shape and reuse)
This is a totally different goal. With the CW tracker, you push data into it, then edit/curate it into the shape you want. After that, you can push that curated data back out to a provider.
In this sense, “snapshots” are multiple datasets you can maintain for different purposes. You can switch them via Settings - CW Tracker, or from the CW Latest insight view where you can swap snapshots directly.
In short, this is mainly intended for power users.

I would also include config.json with regular backups.
Yeah, I’ll probably do something with it, just not sure what yet. You’d want to back up state and cache too (pairs, etc.), so we’re talking about a lot of files. And with self-hosted setups lke CW. I can reasonably expect users to handle some of this themselves: some back up the entire container, others just the volumes, and so on.

But you’re right. I should tighten up the definitions I’m using so the concepts are easier for users to understand.

[CarlitoGil]

I get that.
Doesn't have to be called "Backups", although it might be the simplest for newcomers.
Maybe "Captures", so it has its own term.
I think the term "Snapshot", as used on the "Main" and "Settings" tabs, relates much more to the "Editor" tab.
Having a "Snapshots" tab was counterintuitive for me.

users may expect that the goal is to recovery their environment exactly how it was

It's called "Snapshots" now and I still expected/hoped for that, to be honest.
Meaning I thought it might be where I could restore whatever CW was able to change with other functions... nothing more; not that it would backup my settings on the service itself, or recommendations, etc.

Perhaps append "Beware: not a full backup" to the description "Capture and restore provider state." with a big old red link to the docs.

SIMKL’s own backup/export is far better for restoring your SIMKL environment.

Interesting. I think they have a beta API v2. Maybe it'll help.

So it was never planned to have it in CW

It may be a bigger selling point than you might think.
I could also undo things not done by CW much easier than using those services' own backup/restores features.

[cenodude]

Captures is a great word for this... thanks... going to use that in the next release.