Inspecting a snapshot

You can check and analyze an existing snapshot file without restoring it into a cluster using the stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect command.

Unlike snapshot save and snapshot restore, this command works locally and does not require access to a running Stronghold server. That makes it useful for backup validation, initial troubleshooting, and snapshot analysis before a restore.

Basic usage

To check a snapshot, run the following command specifying a path to the snapshot file instead of <SNAPSHOT_FILE>:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect <SNAPSHOT_FILE>

stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect <SNAPSHOT_FILE>

Example:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect raft.snap

stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect raft.snap

The command prints snapshot metadata and a table that shows the number of keys and the amount of space used by each key group.

Command output

The default output includes:

• Snapshot metadata such as ID, Size, Index, Term, and Version.
• Grouped storage keys.
• The number of keys in each group.
• The total size of data in each group.

Example abbreviated output:

ID           bolt-snapshot
Size         93290
Index        8957
Term         11
Version      1

Key Name                                          Count      Size
--------                                          -----      ----
wal/logs                                          54         9 KB
index/pages                                       14         26.1 KB
sys/policy                                        3          3.4 KB
core/cluster                                      2          236 B

Main flags

Common scenarios

Quick validation after backup creation

You can inspect the file immediately after creating it:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot save /backup/raft.snap
d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect /backup/raft.snap

stronghold operator raft snapshot save /backup/raft.snap
stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect /backup/raft.snap

Validation of snapshot consistency

Use the -validate flag for a thorough backup check:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -validate raft.snap

stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -validate raft.snap

This helps confirm that:

• The snapshot is not empty.
• Contents of state.bin can be parsed correctly.
• Critical paths such as core and sys are present.

This is useful for automated backup checks, but it does not replace a real restore test.

Analysis of selected prefixes

To inspect a specific part of the stored data, use -filter together with -depth:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -depth 3 -filter=core raft.snap

stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -depth 3 -filter=core raft.snap

This is useful when troubleshooting storage growth or identifying unusually large key groups.

Output in JSON

For scripts and monitoring workflows, use JSON output:

d8 stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -format=json raft.snap

stronghold operator raft snapshot inspect -format=json raft.snap

When combined with -validate, JSON output is convenient for automated processing with tools such as jq.

Important considerations

• The inspect command does not restore a snapshot or modify cluster state.
• Checksum and structural validation do not guarantee that the snapshot is fully suitable for restore into a specific cluster.
• For full confidence, periodically run a test restore in a separate environment.