Usage Examples

This page provides practical examples and common workflows to help you get the most out of FileFortress CLI. Each example includes step-by-step instructions and expected outcomes.

Make sure you have completed the Getting Started guide and have at least one cloud storage account connected.

Complete setup from installation to first search

View Workflow

Complex search queries and filtering techniques

View Examples

Managing files across multiple cloud providers

View Examples

Regular maintenance and optimization tasks

View Tasks

Complete walkthrough from installation to your first successful file search.

Install & Verify

Initialize Device

Add Cloud Storage

Verify Setup

First Search

After installing FileFortress CLI, verify the installation:

filefortress --version

Expected output: Version number (e.g., "FileFortress CLI v1.2.3")

Choose your initialization method:

Option A: Interactive Mode (Recommended for Beginners)

filefortress init --interactive

Guided setup with step-by-step prompts. The system will ask you for:

Registration code from your dashboard
Device name (optional)
Device type (desktop, server, mobile)
Password setup (optional but recommended)
Key file creation (if you set a password)

Option B: Command Line Mode with Automatic Encryption

filefortress init --code YOUR_REGISTRATION_CODE

Uses machine-specific encryption - no password required for future commands.

Option C: Command Line Mode with Custom Password

filefortress --password mySecretPassword init --code YOUR_REGISTRATION_CODE --create-key-file

Creates a custom password and automatically generates a key file for convenience.

Interactive Mode: Best for first-time users, provides guidance
Automatic Encryption: Easier, tied to this machine only
Custom Password: More flexible, works across multiple devices

Expected output: "✓ Device successfully registered with ID: [device-id]"

If you used custom password mode, you'll also see key file creation confirmation.

Connect your Google Drive (or other cloud storage):

If you used automatic encryption mode:

filefortress remotes add gdrive

If you used custom password mode:

# Using password directly:

filefortress --password mySecretPassword remotes add gdrive


# Using key file (recommended):

filefortress --key-file filefortress.key remotes add gdrive

Follow the interactive prompts to authenticate with your cloud provider.

Expected outcome: Browser opens for authentication, then returns to CLI with success message.

Check that your remote is connected and perform initial scan:

Automatic encryption mode:

filefortress remotes list

filefortress remotes scan "My Google Drive"

Custom password mode (using key file):

filefortress --key-file filefortress.key remotes list

filefortress --key-file filefortress.key remotes scan "My Google Drive"

Expected output: List showing your connected remote, followed by scan progress.

Check that your device is properly registered:

Automatic encryption mode:

filefortress device info

Custom password mode:

filefortress --key-file filefortress.key device info

Expected output: Device details, user information, and configuration status.

Search for files to verify everything is working:

Automatic encryption mode:

filefortress find query --extensions pdf,docx --view summary

Custom password mode:

filefortress --key-file filefortress.key find query --extensions pdf,docx --view summary

Expected output: Summary of documents found across your connected storage.

You've successfully set up FileFortress and can now search across all your cloud storage accounts. Remember to keep your key file secure if you're using custom password mode.

Master the search functionality with these advanced examples.

Find Large Files Taking Up Space

Identify files larger than 50MB to free up storage space:

filefortress find query --size-min 50MB --format table

Use case: Storage cleanup and identifying large files across all your cloud accounts.

For even more detailed analysis, sort by size:

filefortress find query --size-min 10MB --format json | jq 'sort_by(.size) | reverse'

Find Recent Work Files

Find documents modified in the last 30 days:

filefortress find query --modified-after $(date -d "30 days ago" +%Y-%m-%d) --extension docx,pdf,pptx

Use case: Quickly locate recent work files for project reviews or backups.

Find files modified today:

filefortress find query --modified-after $(date +%Y-%m-%d)

Search Specific File Types

Find all images across your cloud storage:

filefortress find query --extension jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,tiff --limit 50

Find all spreadsheets containing "budget":

filefortress find query --text "budget" --extension xlsx,xls,csv

Find all code files:

filefortress find query --extension js,ts,py,java,cs,cpp,h --limit 100

Complex Multi-Criteria Searches

Find large PDF reports from this year:

filefortress find query --text "report" --extension pdf --size-min 1MB --modified-after 2024-01-01

Find old large files (potential cleanup candidates):

filefortress find query --size-min 100MB --modified-before 2023-01-01

Find presentation files in specific cloud storage:

filefortress find query --extension pptx,ppt --remote "Google Drive" --text "meeting"

Duplicate File Detection

Find duplicate files using hash comparison (most accurate):

filefortress find duplicates --method hash --min-size 1MB

Find duplicate images:

filefortress find duplicates --method hash --extensions jpg,png,gif --group-by size

Find files with similar names (potential duplicates):

filefortress find duplicates --method name --min-size 100KB

Examples for managing files across multiple cloud storage providers.

Add multiple cloud storage providers:

# Add Google Drive

filefortress remotes add

# Follow prompts for Google Drive



# Add Dropbox

filefortress remotes add

# Follow prompts for Dropbox



# Add OneDrive

filefortress remotes add

# Follow prompts for OneDrive



# Verify all connections

filefortress remotes list --detailed

Search for the same file across all cloud providers:

filefortress find query --text "project proposal" --extension pdf

This will search across all connected cloud storage accounts and show which provider has the file.

Search specific providers only:

# Search only in Google Drive and Dropbox

filefortress find query --text "presentation" --remote "Google Drive"

filefortress find query --text "presentation" --remote "Dropbox"

Get comprehensive storage information for each provider:

# Get detailed storage information

filefortress remotes info "Google Drive" --refresh

filefortress remotes info "Dropbox" --refresh

filefortress remotes info "OneDrive" --refresh

Shows storage usage, account details, and sync statistics.

Scan all remotes to keep the index up-to-date:

# Scan all remotes

filefortress remotes scan --background



# Scan specific remote

filefortress remotes scan "Google Drive" --full



# Check scan status

filefortress remotes list

Keep your FileFortress installation running smoothly with these maintenance routines.

Daily Maintenance (5 minutes)

# Check for CLI updates

filefortress update --check



# Quick scan of all remotes

filefortress remotes scan "My Google Drive"

filefortress remotes scan "My OneDrive"



# Check storage information

filefortress remotes info "My Google Drive"

Purpose: Ensure you have the latest features and your file index is current.

Weekly Maintenance (15 minutes)

# Full scan of all remotes

filefortress remotes scan --full



# Check for duplicate files

filefortress find duplicates --method hash --min-size 1MB



# Review large files

filefortress find query --size-min 50MB --format table



# Update CLI if needed

filefortress update

Purpose: Deep maintenance to identify duplicates and large files, ensure complete indexing.

Monthly Maintenance (30 minutes)

# Review and clean configuration

filefortress config list



# Check device information

filefortress device info



# Review old files (potential cleanup)

filefortress find query --modified-before $(date -d "1 year ago" +%Y-%m-%d) --size-min 10MB



# Enrich metadata for better search

filefortress remotes enrich



# Get comprehensive storage information

filefortress remotes info "My Google Drive" --refresh

Purpose: Comprehensive maintenance including metadata enrichment and configuration review.

Problem: Search commands return empty results even though files exist.

Solution:

# Check if remotes are connected

filefortress remotes list



# Perform full scan

filefortress remotes scan --full



# Try a broader search

filefortress find query --limit 10

Problem: Cloud storage connection fails or shows as disconnected.

Solution:

# Check remote status

filefortress remotes show "Remote Name"



# Remove and re-add the remote

filefortress remotes remove "Remote Name"

filefortress remotes add



# Check storage information

filefortress remotes info "Remote Name" --refresh

Problem: Commands fail with "device not registered" error.

Solution:

# Check device status

filefortress device info



# Re-initialize if needed

filefortress init --code YOUR_CODE --force

Problem: Commands fail with "This database requires a password!" error.

Cause: You set up a custom password during initialization but didn't provide it.

Solution:

# Use your password directly

filefortress --password yourCustomPassword remotes list



# OR use your key file (if you created one)

filefortress --key-file path/to/your.key remotes list



# If you forgot your password, you'll need to reinitialize

filefortress --password newPassword init --code YOUR_CODE

Problem: "Failed to read password from key file" error.

Possible Causes: Missing files, wrong path, or file corruption.

Solution:

# Check if both .key and .store files exist

ls -la filefortress*.key filefortress*.store



# Try with absolute path

filefortress --key-file /full/path/to/your.key remotes list



# As fallback, use password directly

filefortress --password yourPassword remotes list



# Recreate key file if corrupted

filefortress --password yourPassword init --code YOUR_CODE --create-key-file

Problem: "Cannot specify both --password and --key-file options!" error.

Solution: Choose only one authentication method per command.

# Wrong - using both

filefortress --password myPass --key-file my.key remotes list



# Correct - use either password OR key file

filefortress --password myPass remotes list

# OR

filefortress --key-file my.key remotes list

Automate common tasks with scripts and scheduled commands.

Bash Scripts (Linux/macOS)

#!/bin/bash

# daily-check.sh



echo "=== FileFortress Daily Check ==="

echo "Date: $(date)"



# Check for updates

echo "Checking for updates..."

filefortress update --check



# Scan remotes

echo "Scanning remotes..."

filefortress remotes scan



# Check storage information

echo "Checking storage information..."

filefortress remotes info "My Google Drive"



echo "Daily check complete!"

#!/bin/bash

# find-large-files.sh



SIZE_THRESHOLD=${1:-100MB}

OUTPUT_FILE="large-files-$(date +%Y%m%d).csv"



echo "Finding files larger than $SIZE_THRESHOLD..."

filefortress find query --size-min "$SIZE_THRESHOLD" --format csv > "$OUTPUT_FILE"



echo "Results saved to $OUTPUT_FILE"

echo "Total large files found: $(wc -l < "$OUTPUT_FILE")"

filefortress remotes add s3 --interactive

Starts an interactive session to add an S3 remote. It will prompt for your Access Key and Secret Key, then discover your S3 buckets and allow you to select which ones to include.

PowerShell Scripts (Windows)

# weekly-maintenance.ps1



Write-Host "=== FileFortress Weekly Maintenance ===" -ForegroundColor Green

Write-Host "Date: $(Get-Date)" -ForegroundColor Yellow



# Update CLI

Write-Host "Updating CLI..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

& filefortress update



# Full scan

Write-Host "Performing full scan..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

& filefortress remotes scan --full



# Find duplicates

Write-Host "Finding duplicate files..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

& filefortress find duplicates --method hash --min-size 1MB



Write-Host "Weekly maintenance complete!" -ForegroundColor Green

Scheduled Tasks

# Edit crontab: crontab -e



# Daily scan at 9 AM

0 9 * * * /usr/local/bin/filefortress remotes scan



# Weekly full scan on Sundays at 2 AM

0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/filefortress remotes scan --full



# Monthly storage info check on 1st of month at 8 AM

0 8 1 * * /usr/local/bin/filefortress remotes info "My Google Drive" --refresh

Create scheduled tasks using Windows Task Scheduler:

Open Task Scheduler
Create Basic Task
Set trigger (daily, weekly, etc.)
Action: Start a program
Program: filefortress.exe
Arguments: remotes scan

Usage Examples
Real-world scenarios and workflows with FileFortress CLI

Common Workflows

First-Time Setup Workflow

Option A: Interactive Mode (Recommended for Beginners)

Option B: Command Line Mode with Automatic Encryption

Option C: Command Line Mode with Custom Password

If you used automatic encryption mode:

If you used custom password mode:

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode (using key file):

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode:

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode:

Advanced Search Examples

Multi-Cloud Management Examples

Regular Maintenance Tasks

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Automation Examples

Bash Scripts (Linux/macOS)

PowerShell Scripts (Windows)

Scheduled Tasks

Usage Examples Real-world scenarios and workflows with FileFortress CLI

Common Workflows

First-Time Setup Workflow

Option A: Interactive Mode (Recommended for Beginners)

Option B: Command Line Mode with Automatic Encryption

Option C: Command Line Mode with Custom Password

If you used automatic encryption mode:

If you used custom password mode:

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode (using key file):

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode:

Automatic encryption mode:

Custom password mode:

Advanced Search Examples

Multi-Cloud Management Examples

Regular Maintenance Tasks

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Automation Examples

Bash Scripts (Linux/macOS)

PowerShell Scripts (Windows)

Scheduled Tasks

Usage Examples
Real-world scenarios and workflows with FileFortress CLI