Using the CLI

The File Mover Express command-line interface provides powerful scripting capabilities and advanced control over file transfers.

Basic Commands

Starting the Daemon

The daemon must be running for GUI connectivity:

filemoverexpress daemon

Options:

• --remote: Start as remote daemon for multi-user access
• --address=<address>: Specify listening address
• --ports=<ports>: Specify listening ports

Uploading Files

Upload files from your local system to Amazon S3:

filemoverexpress upload [remote-configuration] [paths...]

Examples:

# Upload a single file
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./video.mp4

# Upload a directory
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./project-files/

# Upload multiple items
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./file1.mov ./file2.mov ./folder/

Downloading Files

Download files from Amazon S3 to your local system:

filemoverexpress download [remote-configuration] [local-destination] [s3-prefix]

Examples:

# Download specific file
filemoverexpress download my-config ./downloads/ my-folder/video.mp4

# Download entire folder
filemoverexpress download my-config ./downloads/ project-files/

# Download to current directory
filemoverexpress download my-config ./ important-file.txt

Path Handling

Relative vs Absolute Paths

Relative Paths (Recommended for Uploads):

• Don't start with / (forward slash)
• Preserve directory structure in S3
• Example: dir/file.txt uploads as dir/file.txt in S3

Absolute Paths:

• Full file path from root
• File Mover Express strips path and uploads file only
• Example: /Users/username/dir/file.txt uploads as file.txt in S3

Important Notes:

• Cannot mix relative and absolute paths in same command
• Relative paths with .. are not supported
• For downloads, use relative destination paths only

Command Flags

Global Flags

Flag	Description	Example
--help	List available flags and commands	filemoverexpress --help
--profile	AWS named profile	--profile my_profile
--prefix	S3 prefix path	--prefix my/s3/path

Transfer Control Flags

Flag	Description	Example
--force	Force transfer regardless of conflicts	--force
--retry-count	Number of retry attempts on error	--retry-count 4
--max-active-transfers	Max concurrent file transfers	--max-active-transfers 10
--max-active-checksums	Max concurrent checksums (upload only)	--max-active-checksums 5

Performance Flags

Flag	Description	Example
--auto-tuning	Enable automatic performance tuning	--auto-tuning true
--chunk-size	Chunk size in MB	--chunk-size 50
--threads	Number of threads per transfer	--threads 10

File Processing Flags

Flag	Description	Example
--checksum-algorithm	Checksum algorithm (md5, xxhash, xxhash64, xxh3)	--checksum-algorithm xxhash64
--enable-metadata-filter	Filter system metadata files	--enable-metadata-filter
--filter	Regular expression file filter	--filter "^.*\.(mov)$"
--max-age	Only process files within time window	--max-age "2d"

System Flags

Flag	Description	Example
--no-sleep	Prevent macOS sleep during transfers	--no-sleep true

Advanced Usage

Filtering Files

By File Extension:

# Only upload .mov files
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./footage/ --filter "^.*\.(mov)$"

# Upload video files only
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./media/ --filter "^.*\.(mov|mp4|avi)$"

By Age:

# Upload files from last 2 days
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./daily-footage/ --max-age "2d"

# Upload files from last 3600 seconds
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./recent/ --max-age "3600"

Metadata Filtering:

# Exclude system files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db, ._* files)
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./project/ --enable-metadata-filter

Performance Tuning

High-Performance Upload:

filemoverexpress upload my-config ./large-files/ \
  --max-active-transfers 20 \
  --threads 15 \
  --chunk-size 100 \
  --max-active-checksums 8

Conservative Settings:

filemoverexpress upload my-config ./files/ \
  --max-active-transfers 5 \
  --threads 5 \
  --chunk-size 25

Auto-tuned (Recommended):

filemoverexpress upload my-config ./files/ --auto-tuning true

Scripting Examples

Batch Upload Script:

#!/bin/bash
REMOTE_CONFIG="production-bucket"
SOURCE_DIR="/media/daily-footage"

# Upload today's footage
filemoverexpress upload $REMOTE_CONFIG $SOURCE_DIR \
  --max-age "1d" \
  --filter "^.*\.(mov|mp4)$" \
  --enable-metadata-filter \
  --retry-count 3

Backup Script with Error Handling:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

REMOTE_CONFIG="backup-bucket"
BACKUP_DIR="/important-data"
LOG_FILE="/var/log/backup.log"

echo "Starting backup at $(date)" >> $LOG_FILE

if filemoverexpress upload $REMOTE_CONFIG $BACKUP_DIR --force; then
    echo "Backup completed successfully at $(date)" >> $LOG_FILE
else
    echo "Backup failed at $(date)" >> $LOG_FILE
    exit 1
fi

Hot Folders via CLI

Configure hot folders in the configuration file for automatic uploads:

Configuration Example

hotFolders:
  - enabled: true
    localSourceFolder: /Users/user/watch-folder
    name: auto_upload
    remoteConfigurations:
      - remoteConfigurationName: my-config
        s3DestinationFolder: auto-uploads/

Multiple Hot Folders

hotFolders:
  - enabled: true
    localSourceFolder: /media/camera-1
    name: camera_1_upload
    remoteConfigurations:
      - remoteConfigurationName: production
        s3DestinationFolder: camera-1/
      - remoteConfigurationName: backup
        s3DestinationFolder: camera-1-backup/
  
  - enabled: true
    localSourceFolder: /media/camera-2
    name: camera_2_upload
    remoteConfigurations:
      - remoteConfigurationName: production
        s3DestinationFolder: camera-2/

Utility Commands

Validate Credentials

Test your AWS configuration:

filemoverexpress validate-credentials [remote-configuration]

Generate Support File

Create diagnostic information for troubleshooting:

filemoverexpress support-file

Output location:

• Windows: C:\Users\username\.filemoverexpress\support-files\
• macOS/Linux: ~/.filemoverexpress/support-files/

Bucket Inventory

Generate detailed bucket reports:

filemoverexpress inventory [remote-configuration] [options]

Options:

• --output-format: Format (json, yaml, csv, xml)

Example:

filemoverexpress inventory my-config --output-format csv

Environment Variables

Configuration Directory

Override default configuration location:

export filemoverexpress_CONFIG_DIR=/custom/config/path
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./files/

Default Locations:

• Windows: C:\Users\username\.filemoverexpress\
• macOS/Linux: ~/.filemoverexpress/

Error Handling and Debugging

Common Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: General error
• 2: Configuration error
• 3: Network/AWS error

Verbose Output

Enable detailed logging by setting log level in configuration:

logging:
  log_severity: info  # debug, info, warn, error, fatal
  directory: /path/to/logs/

Debugging Network Issues

# Test with minimal settings
filemoverexpress upload my-config ./test-file.txt \
  --max-active-transfers 1 \
  --threads 1 \
  --retry-count 1

Integration Examples

CI/CD Pipeline

# In your build script
if [ "$BUILD_SUCCESS" = "true" ]; then
    filemoverexpress upload artifacts-bucket ./build-output/ \
      --prefix "builds/$BUILD_NUMBER/" \
      --force
fi

Cron Job

# Daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/filemoverexpress upload backup-config /data/daily/ --max-age "1d"

Docker Container

FROM alpine:latest
RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates
COPY filemoverexpress /usr/local/bin/
COPY config.yaml /root/.filemoverexpress/configuration.yaml
ENTRYPOINT ["filemoverexpress"]

Next Steps

• Hot Folders - Automated file monitoring and uploads
• Remote Daemon - Multi-user and high-performance setups
• Performance Optimization - Tune for your workload
• Troubleshooting - Resolve common issues