FAQ

Size and availability

What is the largest file I can store?

10,000 GiB (10 737 418 240 000 bytes). An upload is at most 10,000 parts of at most 1 GiB each. The administrator can set a lower limit with ARKVORY_MAX_OBJECT_BYTES. A larger declared size is refused with 400. In practice, the free disk space, the repository quota and the 1 GiB free-space reserve stop you first: they answer 507. See Concepts and Environment variables.

How much can one server hold?

Arkvory reserves up to 10 TiB of content by default (ARKVORY_CAPACITY_BYTES), counting published files, unfinished uploads and content that waits for cleanup. It is a counter, not a disk check. The disk and the reserve are the real limit. A repository can have a quota of its own. See Storage.

Is Arkvory highly available?

No. One installation is one server with one PostgreSQL database and a local content directory. If the server stops, clients wait and then resume their transfers; the services restart by themselves after a crash or a hang. For protection against the loss of the server, use backups. For reading from a second site, use mirrors; switching to a mirror is a manual step, and changes the mirror had not yet received are lost.

Does it work offline?

The server works without internet access. The Windows installer includes Node.js and PostgreSQL and installs offline. The Linux packages include Node.js, and the package manager installs PostgreSQL. The script installers and Docker download files. Updates can be installed from a local copy of a release. If the update hub cannot be reached, the update check fails and is shown in the console; nothing else is affected. See Choose an installation and Updates.

Storage and database

Which database does it use?

PostgreSQL, one database for each installation. The Windows installer includes PostgreSQL 18.4. The Linux packages use a dedicated cluster of a PostgreSQL 16 to 19 server from your distribution. The Docker Compose stack runs PostgreSQL 18.4 in a container. The script installers use your own server. Never connect two installations to one database. File content is not in the database: it is in the data directory.

Can I use S3 or another object store?

No. File content is stored in a local directory, which must be on a local file system that supports hard links, not on a network share. Arkvory does not store content in S3 and does not offer an S3 interface. The backup vault is a folder on another disk or on a mounted network share (on Windows, a local or iSCSI volume).

Can I use my company's single sign-on?

No. Accounts, groups and passwords belong to Arkvory. Automation signs in with service keys. See Authentication.

Running the server

How do I see which version is installed?

In the console, open Updates: Installed version shows it. On the server, run arkvory status --root <installation root> and read current; on Windows with the graphical installer, run & 'C:\Program Files\ProAnima\Arkvory\arkvory.ps1' status --root 'C:\ProgramData\ProAnima\Arkvory' in an elevated PowerShell. An administrator can also call GET /api/v1/system/updates, which returns currentVersion. The arkvoryctl --version command shows the version of the client, not of the server.

How do I turn on automatic updates?

In the console, open Updates, select Install compatible stable releases automatically, choose the Maintenance hour (UTC) and select Save settings. On the server, run arkvory configure --root <installation root> --enable-updates; --disable-updates turns them off. Installers leave them off unless you pass --automatic.

The server checks for a release every 6 hours even when automatic installation is off. With it on, a stable release installs once a day during the maintenance hour (03:00 UTC by default), unless the version is pinned. A release that changes the database schema installs only after the server has made and verified a fresh backup. See Updates.

What does Arkvory send to ProAnimaStudio?

Your files and data stay on your server. The server contacts the ProAnimaStudio hub (hub.proanima.net), and GitHub when the hub cannot be reached, for three things:

• Update checks. The request carries the project name, the operating system, the processor architecture, the installed version and the update channel. With statistics on, it also carries a random installation ID.
• Anonymous statistics. One event after each installed update, with the installation ID, the version, the system, the architecture and the channel. No names, addresses, content or IP addresses are stored. Statistics are on by default; turn them off with Send anonymous statistics to ProAnimaStudio in Updates or with arkvory configure --statistics off. Without statistics, a new version reaches you only when it is rolled out to everyone.
• Feedback. Only when a signed-in person sends it from Feedback. It contains the message, an optional email address, up to 6 screenshots and the console log. An administrator can add the server log and a summary of versions and states without secrets. Show what is attached shows exactly what will be sent.

arkvory configure --hub-off stops contacting the hub: releases then come from GitHub only, and feedback turns off after the services restart. An empty ARKVORY_HUB_URL turns off feedback alone. See License, section 7.

Do backups run by themselves?

Not until you set them up. Connect a vault with arkvory configure --backup-vault <folder> --vault-key-file <file>, then turn on the daily schedule in Schedule and retention in Backups. The plan starts at 02:00 UTC and keeps 7 daily, 4 weekly and 6 monthly restore points. Until the schedule is on, the console shows the warning that the daily schedule is off. See Backups.

How do I move to another server?

1. Install Arkvory of the same or a newer version on the new server.
2. Restore the newest restore point from the vault into an empty database and an empty storage directory with the arkvory-backup restore command. It checks every file by SHA-256. See Backups.
3. Point ARKVORY_DATABASE_URL and ARKVORY_DATA_DIR in config/runtime.json at the restored database and directory, restart the services, and check the console, a download and an upload.
4. Move the address (DNS or the CI settings) to the new server.

The users, groups and passwords come back. Sessions are not carried over, personal tokens and service keys are revoked, so sign in again and issue new keys. Retention and cleanup policies come back switched off; turn them on on purpose. Uploads that were not finished are cancelled. For a repository that you want to move while the old server keeps running, you can also let the new server follow it as a mirror and detach it when you switch; a mirror carries the files, packages and images, but not accounts, keys, attachments or policies.

What happens to a transfer when the server restarts?

The client continues. An upload session lives for 7 days and keeps the parts that arrived; the command-line client and the SDK ask the server what it has and send the rest. A download continues with a Range request. A single PUT request, such as a raw file or a Docker layer, starts again from the first byte. See Resume interrupted transfers.

Where do I look when something fails?

Every error has a request ID, in the requestId field and the X-Request-Id header. Find it in the server's access log. The services write their logs to the logs folder on Windows and to the journal (journalctl -u arkvory-api) on Linux. Send a report with Feedback to include the logs. See Troubleshooting and Monitoring.

Access

How do I reset the owner's password?

Another administrator can use Reset password in Users and access. If nobody can sign in, use the recovery key from config/bootstrap-token.txt: find the account's ID with GET /api/v1/users and send PATCH /api/v1/users/<id> with {"password": "…"}. The new password has 12 to 128 characters. The reset ends all sessions and personal tokens of the account. See Authentication.

What is the recovery key, and what if I lose it?

It is a secret in config/bootstrap-token.txt in the installation root, readable only by the system administrator. It creates the first owner and administers service accounts. The installation tools read the file, so do not delete it. If the file is lost but you still have an administrator account, you can keep working with the account; to make a new recovery key, follow Configuration. See Concepts.

Which key should my CI use?

A service key of a service account whose policy has only the actions the job needs, for example upload.create, upload.write, upload.complete, upload.read and job.read to publish. The console presets Read preset and Publish preset fill typical sets. Do not use the recovery key or a person's token in CI. Keys last 90 days by default and are limited to 365, so plan a rotation. See Authentication.

Why can't an administrator delete an artifact or change a storage policy?

The actions artifact.delete, storage.read, storage.manage and diagnostics.read exist only for service keys. A group grant, a personal token, a session and the recovery key never carry them. Create a service account that has these actions on the repository, issue a key, and use that key for the call (the API, arkvoryctl, or Connect with a service or automation key in the console). The error is 403 with the reason permission_missing. See Authentication.

Do Docker, Git LFS and Unity work with it?

Yes. Arkvory serves a container registry at /v2/, a Git LFS server at /lfs/<repository> and an npm registry at /npm/<repository>/ that the Unity Package Manager can use. They accept the Arkvory key as the password. See Clients and protocols.

License

Is Arkvory open source?

No. Arkvory is free of charge, and its source code is open for reading, but it is not open source. It is under the ProAnima Arkvory License 1.0 of Ian Panaev, which does not allow forks or copies to be distributed. Please do not call it "open source". The full text is in LICENSE.md; the Russian text prevails if the two differ.

What may I do with it?

You may install and use any number of copies for any purpose, including in a company; read and study the source; change it; and use your changed version inside your organization. You may store and deliver your own artifacts through it, also to your own customers.

What is not allowed?

You may not distribute the software or changed versions to anyone outside your organization, publish forks, builds, container images or patches that contain its code, sell, rent or lend it or access to it, charge for it, or offer it to third parties as a hosted or managed service. You may not remove the copyright notices, the license or the names ProAnima Arkvory and ProAnimaStudio, or present a changed version as the original. When you describe a system built on Arkvory in public, name the source: "ProAnima Arkvory by ProAnimaStudio (Ian Panaev), https://github.com/ProAnima/Arkvory". Get copies only from the official sources. For other permissions, write to info@proanima.net.

Where do I report a problem or a vulnerability?

For a problem with your installation, use Feedback in the console. For a security problem, follow SECURITY.md in the repository and do not post it publicly.