Bug 477002 - Kup does not ask for confirmation consistently
Summary: Kup does not ask for confirmation consistently
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: kup
Classification: Applications
Component: general (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: 0.9.1
Platform: Debian testing Linux
: NOR minor
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Simon Persson
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2023-11-14 17:59 UTC by Daniel M
Modified: 2024-05-03 16:27 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Daniel M 2023-11-14 17:59:31 UTC
SUMMARY
Even though Ask for confirmation before saving backup is checked, Kup does not do this consistently; sometimes it does, sometimes it does not.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open System Settings
2. Click Backups and Add a New Plan
3. In Schedule, make certain Ask for confirmation before saving backup is checked (In my case, I'm using Active Usage Time and have this configured for 3 Hours, and this might help reproduce the issue if this runs often.)
4. Click Apply
5. Wait for the scheduled backup to start

OBSERVED RESULT
At the scheduled backup times, Kup does not consistently ask for confirmation; sometimes the backup will just start and sometimes Kup will ask before starting.

EXPECTED RESULT
Kup should ask for confirmation before starting if this setting is enabled.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Debian Testing
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.9
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.107.0
Qt Version: 5.15.10
Kernel Version: 6.5.0-4-amd64 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 16 × AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U w/ Radeon 780M Graphics
Memory: 58.6 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: AMD Radeon Graphics

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Not sure if https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=463016 is related, but it appears Kup has a smart feature that forcibly asks for confirmation if the computer is set for Power Save.  I have not tested this, as I'm almost always On AC Power and using Balanced for the Power profile when the backups runs, but I'm wondering if there might be some logic error here that might be interfering.  Alternatively, but in the same vain, might there be another smart feature that automatically runs the backup without confirmation if Kup determines the backup operation will be relatively quick?
Comment 1 Simon Persson 2024-05-03 08:55:34 UTC
Thanks for reporting!

The intentional behavior is that you only get a question to confirm the first time after a backup destination becoming available. Any time after that will go ahead and save directly without asking. This is something that has been in Kup for a long time, I had forgotten about it.

I would like your feedback on if you think this is a bad idea. I am not completely sure. I am also not sure if I remember the whole original motivation. It was about not disturbing the user too much, that if you said yes once then Kup should just assume that it is yes for the following times. If you say no (or ignore the question) then you will also not get asked again, even if yet another interval passes. You then need to start "manually" by clicking the button "Save new backup" and after that it will happen automatically without question.

I will close this report as intentional but please share your thoughts! And please reopen if this is not does not explain what you see happening on your computer.
Comment 2 Daniel M 2024-05-03 16:27:51 UTC
Thanks for chiming in Simon!

When I originally submitted the bug, I was new to Kup.  After using it for a while now, I think I have a somewhat better understanding of what's happening and I get the feeling Kup was written for a time when faster networks, faster computers and broad Internet/cloud coverage was less plentiful.

As for getting a question the first time a backup runs, it feel it should be the default and unchangeable; the backup is likely to be large and you might want an ideal environment before doing this.

While bup natively supports a bup server/SSH endpoint, it appears Kup does not support this configuration and was designed for attached storage.  Since lugging around and connecting/disconnecting external storage is not ideal for me, I configured sshfs on my machine (x-systemd.automount,_netdev,auto_cache,delay_connect,reconnect,nofail,ServerAliveInterval=10), which connects to another machine on my LAN, and configure Kup to use this mount/Destination.

So, my Kup workflow tends to go like this:

1. Kup runs when I'm at the office and does not ask for confirmation (this reflects your comment).
2. When I'm away from the office, I'm usually running off the battery/in Power Save, so Kup asks for confirmation and I say no.
3. When I return to the office, Kup never runs unless I do it manually (this reflects your comment).

This workflow is less than ideal; I could have days without a backup if I don't remember/pay attention to the icon/tray.

I think it should go like this:

1. Kup runs when I'm at the office and does not ask for confirmation.
2. When I'm away from the office, Kup notices the Destination does not exist, so it does not run/ask for confirmation.
3. When I return to the office, Kup runs as normal and does not ask for confirmation.

In the original workflow case, if I'm being asked for confirmation because of Power Save, I feel Kup should automatically run the backup at the next interval if the system is no longer set for Power Save.  This will ensure more backups.

Hope some of this makes sense.

Thanks.