Export and import configuration

Use a configuration ZIP to back up your settings, return to an earlier configuration, or transfer settings to another KeepPeek recorder. KeepPeek calls the import operation Apply configuration. You download one ZIP, upload that same ZIP to the target recorder, and restart to activate it.

This is a configuration backup, not a backup of your recordings or database.

Before you start

• Connect to the source or target recorder as an Administrator. See Authentication and access control for access setup.
• Export the target recorder’s current configuration before importing a different one. This gives you a ZIP you can apply later if you want to return to those settings.
• Plan for a recorder restart when importing. Export does not require a restart or stop recording.
• If you use remote access, make sure you can authenticate with the imported access configuration after restart. Its access credentials and camera/integration secrets replace the target’s values.

What the ZIP contains

Every export contains exactly two files at the root of the archive:

The ZIP contains plaintext secrets and is not encrypted. Restrict access to it as you would to camera passwords or access keys. Do not attach it to a public issue or share it in logs, and delete copies you no longer need. Values supplied only through environment variables are not exported; configure those separately on the target recorder.

The ZIP excludes recordings.db, recording media, thumbnails, sessions, caches, and notification or MQTT runtime work. Import keeps the target’s recording, catalog, and thumbnail paths. It neither restores nor moves the source recorder’s database or media. Other storage settings, such as retention policy, are part of the imported configuration and should be reviewed afterward.

Keep the ZIP as exported. The current format stores its versioned manifest and checksums in the ZIP comment, so there is no third file. Do not edit the TOMLs inside it, remove the comment, or repack the archive before importing. Apply accepts current format-3 exports, not arbitrary two-file ZIPs or older backup formats.

Export in Settings

1. Open Settings, then Backup and restore on the source recorder.
2. Choose Export ZIP.
3. Keep the downloaded ZIP in a location with restricted access.

The download is the backup artifact. Export does not delete or replace either live TOML file, and KeepPeek does not retain a server-side copy or add it to a backup list.

Import in Settings

1. Open Settings, then Backup and restore on the target recorder.
2. Under Configuration ZIP, select the original exported ZIP. Do not extract it first.
3. Select Replace config.toml and secrets.toml on restart.
4. Choose Apply configuration and wait for the staged confirmation.
5. Choose Restart to apply when you are ready for the recorder to restart.

Apply validates the archive, both TOML documents, target permissions, and available space before staging. A successful upload leaves the running configuration and live TOML files unchanged. The replacement takes effect during startup, before the configuration and database owners open.

Only one apply can be pending. Finish its restart and health verification before uploading another configuration. To return to earlier settings, use the same import steps with the ZIP you exported before the change.

Verify after restart

1. Reconnect to the target recorder, using the imported access configuration if it changed.
2. Confirm the expected camera definitions, notification rules, integrations, and storage policy.
3. Check camera and stream health and confirm that the target’s existing recordings are available.
4. Check the logs if startup or an integration fails. Environment-only secrets and external services must still be available on the target.

KeepPeek uses before-images and a crash-recovery journal to restore the prior configuration pair if configuration loading or startup health fails. Do not manually modify its journal or staging files. See Backup and restore for recovery details.

Use the CLI

The CLI performs the same export and apply operations as Settings. These examples connect to a recorder on the local machine:

keeppeek config --server http://localhost:8081 export --output keeppeek-config.zip
keeppeek config --server http://localhost:8081 apply keeppeek-config.zip --confirm

Export requires an output path and creates a new, owner-only file; choose a different filename if it already exists. Apply requires --confirm. Commands write machine-readable JSON to standard output and diagnostics to standard error.

Keep --server explicit: a new recorder defaults to 8081, while this CLI subcommand currently defaults to http://localhost:3000 when the option is omitted. Use the recorder’s actual address. On Windows, export protects the new file for the current user, SYSTEM, and Administrators and verifies those permissions before writing any ZIP bytes. On Unix, it creates the file with mode 0600. A destination whose required protection cannot be verified is rejected; choose a private filesystem destination. Browser downloads and direct HTTP clients use their own destination permissions.

Check the command’s exit status and returned state. A successful apply reports RESTORE_STATE_AWAITING_RESTART; restart the service through your normal service manager, or use Restart to apply in Settings. The CLI does not restart the recorder automatically.

For a remote recorder, use HTTPS and provide its Administrator credential through KEEPPEEK_ACCESS_KEY using your normal secure environment setup. Do not put the key in a URL or CLI argument.

Use HTTP

For a local recorder, a POSIX shell example is:

umask 077
curl --fail http://localhost:8081/config/export --output keeppeek-config.zip
curl --fail -H 'Content-Type: application/zip' \
  --data-binary @keeppeek-config.zip http://localhost:8081/config/apply

Send the ZIP as the request body, not as a multipart form. Apply requires Content-Length; the curl command above supplies it for the file upload. Both endpoints require Administrator access and use Cache-Control: no-store.

HTTP 202 means staged, not active. Restart the service only after checking the successful apply response. There is no separate public dry-run, section selection, or path-mapping step, and the old /api/backups endpoints are not supported.

If an import fails

A rejected upload does not replace the live configuration. In Settings, the selected filename remains available after a validation error so you can correct the selection and retry. Do not restart in response to a failed upload as though it had been accepted.

If startup fails after a successful apply, preserve its logs and allow the documented automatic two-file recovery to run. If both activation and rollback fail, preserve the full configuration directory, including its journal and staged files, before manual recovery. Do not clear a pending apply by deleting the journal. See Safe activation.

For a recorder upgrade or disk failure, also use Upgrades and migrations and Recording archive recovery. Applying settings cannot restore missing recording bytes.