Skip to content

Hardlinks and Instant Moves (Atomic-Moves)

Description

Info

If you’re wondering why hard links aren’t working or why a simple move is taking far longer than it should.

Here we will try to explain it.

This Guide exist out of 4 Sections

  1. This page with a short description.
  2. How to setup for your installation method.
  3. Examples what you should use for your path settings in your used applications.
  4. Check if hardlinks are working

So you want one of the following ?

  • Instant moves (Atomic-Moves) during import of the Starr Apps (useful when using Usenet)?
  • You don't want to use twice the storage when using torrents. (hardlinks)?
  • You want to perma seed?

Then Continue to How to setup for your installation method.

FAQ

What are hardlinks? - [Click to show/hide]
  • [Short answer] Having a file in multiple locations without using double your storage space.

  • [Long answer] Hard links are a way for a copy operation to be instant and not consume space for those additional copies.

    Every file is a hard link: some metadata that points at blocks on the file system, which is why they're restricted to the same file system. There can be as many metadata files pointing at those blocks as needed and the blocks know how many links point to them. Once the blocks have 0 links, they're considered deleted.

    This means:

    - You can delete any "copy" w/o impacting the others.

    Your download client can remove it's "copy" w/o impacting the library "copy". The library "copy" can be removed by Plex or Sonarr/Radarr or yourself w/o impacting the download client "copy".

- Space is only regained when all "copies" are deleted.

- Modifying the file will impact all "copies".

    For example, modifying the id3 tags of a .mp3 download after import would modify the download client "copy", resulting in breaking the torrent.

    More info from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Warning

    You can't create hard links for directories ‼

    You can't cross file systems ‼

What are Instant Moves (Atomic Moves)

What are Instant Moves (Atomic Moves)? - [Click to show/hide]

A real move and not a copy file from download folder to media folder and then delete file from download folder.

What are the Starr Apps

What are the Starr Apps? - [Click to show/hide]

Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, etc.