2 Capacity, Backup and Deletion Recovery

Storage is not "plug a disk and forget". This chapter covers reading free space, what order to clean in, how backups should work, and what remains possible after an accidental deletion.

Reading Free Space

Run lynxdrive-ctl status to confirm whether internal storage or the external disk is active, then check the free capacity there. Exhausted space rarely "errors out" — it shows up as mysteriously failed uploads and sluggish operations, so a periodic glance beats troubleshooting after the fact.

Cleaning Order

Clean in the order "rebuildable → re-obtainable → sole copy": temp files, export intermediates and expired installers first; re-downloadable materials next; sole copies last. Before deleting, move the target directory into a "to-clean" folder and watch it for a week — claiming nothing means delete. This habit blocks most accidental deletions.

Backup: An External Disk Is Not a Backup

Data on the device, and on the attached external disk, exists exactly once. External disks solve capacity, not safety. Keep a second copy of important materials per your unit's policy (another device or offline media) and rehearse restores periodically — "backed up" and "restorable" are different things.

After an Accidental Deletion

There is no recycle bin — deletion removes items from the list at once. Two things remain: stop writing immediately to reduce overwriting, and restore from backups or other copies. This is also why important directories should be read-only and why delete permission deserves separate granting.

Long-Term Retention and Archiving

When a project ends, consolidate its output into an archive directory labeled with date and project name, tightened to read-only. Long-lived materials should leave the daily workspace into a dedicated archive zone covered by backups — fewer deletion risks and a cleaner working space.