[bercedev]

What and why

Closes #440

archive.default_folder() picked Documents/Sentient Backups for every data folder, so a test or demo SENTIENT_HOME defaulted to the owner's real backups. Now only the default data folder (~/.sentient, checked with the same secrets.is_default_home() that #303 uses for the keychain namespace) goes to Documents. Any other home defaults to its own <home>/backups. A folder picked in settings still wins, and the Documents-not-writable fallback for the default home is unchanged.

The module docstring and default_folder's docstring say so too, and there's changes/440.fixed.md.

How I tested it

In tests/test_backup.py:

• new test_another_data_folder_keeps_its_backups_inside_itself: with a writable Documents, a non-default home's default_folder(), a real backup_now() and the overview all point at <home>/backups, and nothing appears in Documents
• new test_only_the_default_data_folder_backs_up_to_documents: with Path.home() faked, SENTIENT_HOME=~/.sentient gives Documents/Sentient Backups and SENTIENT_HOME=~/demo gives ~/demo/backups, through the real is_default_home()
• the three tests that check the Documents behavior (test_backups_go_to_documents_by_default, test_a_documents_folder_that_cant_be_written_falls_back, test_the_overview_says_when_backups_sync_to_the_cloud) run in the per-test home, which isn't ~/.sentient, so they now use a small default_home fixture that treats it as the default one

Results (Python 3.12, Linux, no network, installed with .[dev,voice,node,whatsapp] like CI):

• pytest tests/test_backup.py tests/test_keychain_namespace.py: 37 passed, 1 skipped. The two new tests fail on main.
• full pytest -n 8: 2798 passed, 20 skipped, 1 failed: test_release_changelog.py::test_towncrier_renders_fragments_in_the_changelog_style, which dies on a subprocess error in my sandbox and doesn't touch backups.
• ruff check sentient tests packaging: clean.

Real test

• Setup: engine from this branch (python -m sentient serve --port 18765) in a throwaway Linux container with no network, a random SENTIENT_GATEWAY_TOKEN, an empty SENTIENT_HOME, and SENTIENT_DOCUMENTS_DIR pointing at a writable folder standing in for Documents.
• Model: no model involved.
• What I did: GET /api/backups, then POST /api/backups, once with a demo home and once with the default home:

== demo home (SENTIENT_HOME=/tmp/demo-home)
home= /tmp/demo-home | default_folder= /tmp/demo-home/backups | folder_in_home= True
backup written to /tmp/demo-home/backups
Documents/Sentient Backups exists: False
== default home (SENTIENT_HOME=~/.sentient, HOME=/tmp)
home= /tmp/.sentient | default_folder= /tmp/Documents/Sentient Backups | folder_in_home= False
backup written to /tmp/Documents/Sentient Backups
Documents/Sentient Backups exists: True

• Not tested: the Backups screen in the desktop app (no UI change, it shows what the overview returns), and Windows.

Checklist

• Tests added or updated, and pytest / npm run typecheck pass locally for what I touched
• ruff check sentient tests is clean
• docs/API.md updated if the desktop ↔ engine contract changed (no contract change)
• A changelog entry in changes/ (for example changes/123.fixed.md, see changes/README.md) if users will
  notice this change. Don't edit CHANGELOG.md.
• No keys, tokens or personal data in the code, tests or screenshots

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Backup Behavior
  • Backups for the default data folder are saved to Documents/Sentient Backups when available and writable, with a fallback to the folder’s backups directory.
  • Backups for other data folders are saved in their own backups directory, unless a different destination is selected. Existing backups in Documents remain available when you select that folder.
• Settings
  • Backup guidance now distinguishes between the default and custom data folders and recommends choosing a separate destination to keep backups if the data folder is lost.
• Documentation
  • Clarified the default backup destinations for the default and custom data folders.

[coderabbitai]

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 56adc25 and cb8e62b.

📒 Files selected for processing: 8

• changes/440.fixed.md
• desktop/src/features/settings/sections/Backups.tsx
• desktop/src/lib/types.ts
• docs/API.md
• sentient/backup/service.py
• sentient/cli.py
• sentient/config/schema.py
• tests/test_backup.py

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes: 1

• changes/440.fixed.md

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📝 Walkthrough

Backup destination selection now depends on the data home. The default ~/.sentient home uses Documents when available and writable. Other SENTIENT_HOME locations use a backups folder inside that home. The backup overview and desktop settings now report and describe whether the home is the default.

Changes: Backup destination routing

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Default backup destination routing sentient/backup/archive.py, tests/test_backup.py, sentient/cli.py, sentient/config/schema.py, docs/API.md, changes/440.fixed.md	default_folder uses the home’s backups folder for non-default homes. The default home retains the Documents destination and falls back to its backups folder when Documents is unavailable or unwritable. Tests cover these destination rules and explicit home paths. The CLI help, configuration description, API documentation, and change note describe the rules.
Home status in backup overview sentient/backup/service.py, desktop/src/lib/types.ts, desktop/src/features/settings/sections/Backups.tsx, docs/API.md	BackupService.overview() returns home_is_default. The desktop type includes the field, and the settings description distinguishes default and non-default data-folder locations.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to cb8e6

The backup destination change matches the stated behavior and is ready to merge.

Security architecture risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 56adc

Non-default profiles stop sharing the default Documents backup location unless a destination is explicitly selected. The inspected change preserves backup publication, retention, and restore safeguards. Existing backups are not moved, so users may need to select their previous folder to find older backups.

Retained concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

• inferred — The changed behavior affects computed-default backup writes and listings for non-default data homes. It reduces accidental mixing with the default profile's Documents backups, but backups stored inside a profile share that profile directory's loss or deletion failure domain.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

• observed — The default route derives its home from SENTIENT_HOME or the user's default data directory and compares normalized paths. This is destination isolation, not a new filesystem authorization boundary: explicit backup destinations continue to override it.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

• observed — Archive traversal excludes the per-home backups root, preventing recovery artifacts from being recursively archived. Backup, snapshot, restore, and cancellation operations use a service-local lock. That lock does not establish cross-process coordination or cancellation-safe completion of worker threads; those are pre-existing limitations, not guarantees added by this PR.

Pre-merge checks: 4 · 1

Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 35.71% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 14 functions across 7 files. (2 skipped: …	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

Passed checks: 4 passed

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check		Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check		The title "fix(backup): keep a non-default data folder's backups inside it" matches the main change. The raw summary shows that non-default data folders now default to their own /backups folder …
Linked Issues check		Issue #440 requires two default destinations. The default ~/.sentient home uses Documents/Sentient Backups. A non-default SENTIENT_HOME uses <home>/backups. sentient/backup/archive.py applie…
Out of Scope Changes check		The changed files support issue #440. The implementation changes destination selection. The tests verify the required destinations and preserve default-home fallback behavior. The API and desktop chan…

Full details: Title check

Explanation

The title "fix(backup): keep a non-default data folder's backups inside it" matches the main change. The raw summary shows that non-default data folders now default to their own <home>/backups folder instead of Documents/Sentient Backups, and that the default ~/.sentient home still uses Documents. The title names the fix and the affected scope, and it does not use vague wording. It uses a conventional commit prefix and is 63 characters long. It does not cover the default-home fallback or the UI and docs changes, but the author does not need to list every detail.

Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

Issue #440 requires two default destinations. The default ~/.sentient home uses Documents/Sentient Backups. A non-default SENTIENT_HOME uses <home>/backups. sentient/backup/archive.py applies secrets.is_default_home(), and tests/test_backup.py covers both destinations, backup creation, and overview behavior. The API, desktop guidance, CLI help, schema text, and changelog document the same behavior.

Full details: Out of Scope Changes check

Explanation

The changed files support issue #440. The implementation changes destination selection. The tests verify the required destinations and preserve default-home fallback behavior. The API and desktop changes expose or explain the changed behavior. The CLI, schema, and changelog updates document the same user-visible rule. No unrelated change is shown.

Full details: Docstring Coverage

Explanation

Docstring coverage is 35.71% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 14 functions across 7 files. (2 skipped: 2 unsupported.)

Resolution

Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

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_{A rabbit checks the backup trail,
The default home keeps Documents near.
Other homes tuck backups inside,
The settings show which path is used.
Safe little folders, snug and clear!}

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Actionable comments posted: 1

---

• 🪄 Fix comments: Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @sentient/backup/archive.py:
- Around line 96-100: Update the schema and CLI descriptions for an empty backup
destination to state that non-default homes use <home>/backups even when
Documents is writable, while the default home follows the existing Documents and
fallback behavior. Leave default_folder routing unchanged.

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[itsskofficial]

Thanks @bercedev, this works on a real engine: a fresh test home's Backups page and API show <home>\backups, a backup lands there, and the default home still goes to Documents.

Two follow-ups:

1. The reason shown. The page now says the folder is inside the data folder "because your Documents folder can't be used" (desktop/src/features/settings/sections/Backups.tsx ~191-193), which isn't the reason here. Could the backups overview tell the page why (e.g. this isn't the default data folder), so it can say "Backups for this data folder stay inside it"?
2. Docs: please update docs/API.md "Where backups go" (~3511), the backups.folder description (config/schema.py ~1264) and the sentient backup --to help (cli.py ~146), as CodeRabbit noted.

Minor, optional: a non-default home that already had backups in Documents stops listing them. A one-line note in the changelog would cover it.

[bercedev]

thanks for testing it on a real engine. pushed both:

1. the overview now has home_is_default (secrets.is_default_home()), and the Backups page uses it: for a non-default data folder it says "Backups for this data folder stay inside it. Pick a folder elsewhere so a backup survives losing it.", the Documents-can't-be-used text only shows for the default home. added to BackupOverview in types.ts and the API.md example, and the two overview tests assert it (true with the default-home fixture, false for the other data folder).
2. updated docs/API.md "Where backups go", the backups.folder description in config/schema.py and the sentient backup --to help.

also added the changelog note: backups an older non-default home already had in Documents stay there, pick that folder to see them. rebased on main. tests/test_backup.py 24 passed, desktop npm run typecheck clean.