Concepts

Group

To use FilePipe's service, you first need to create a Group in the console. After obtaining the corresponding apiKey in the Group settings and filling it in the configuration file, start the Node client again, and this machine will automatically join the corresponding Group as a Node for unified management. An apiKey can be used by multiple Nodes. File transfer is only possible between Nodes that belong to the same Group.

Node

Each Node refers to a machine (including virtual machines) running the Node client. Each Node belongs to a specific Group determined by the apiKey in the configuration file when starting up the Node client. After the Node client program is started, it will automatically join the Group, and you can view this Node on the web console. Each window in the console represents a Node, and the console will display information about the Node, including IP, name, client version, and operating status. Users can customize the name and position of the Node in the console, and perform various convenient management operations.

Path

Path refers to the directory where files are stored on a Node, which can also be understood as a folder. Creating a Path on a Node means creating a directory or folder that already exists on the Node, or a directory or folder that does not yet exist. If it is an existing directory, our client program will find the corresponding directory or folder, and monitor any file changes inside it, and perform corresponding operations after creating a synchronization transfer. If it is a non-existent directory or folder, it will create a corresponding folder and perform the aforementioned monitoring operation.

In the console, there are four different states that Path can display:

🟢 working indicates that it is currently working.

⚪ waiting indicates that it is currently searching.

🟡 warning indicates that the Path was not found, but can be created.

🔴 error indicates that there is an error with the Path and it cannot work properly.

Sync

Creating a Sync means creating a file transfer pipeline. In the console, each Path can drag an arrow to another Path (which can be either under the same Node or another Node) to create a Sync. This means establishing a file transfer pipeline between two paths. According to the various options set when you create the Sync, when a file change is detected in the corresponding Path, the corresponding file synchronization operation will be performed. You can choose to synchronize files absolutely or relatively, and there are various specific settings for you to choose from.