341 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
341 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
# truenas-truecloud-patch
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Extends TrueNAS SCALE's **TrueCloud Backup** feature to work with S3-compatible
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providers and native Backblaze B2, instead of Storj only.
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---
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## Why this exists
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In 2026, Storj raised the price of their TrueNAS-integrated storage tier from
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**$5/month to $50/month** — a 10× increase. For many home lab and small-office
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users, the TrueCloud Backup feature became unaffordable overnight.
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TrueCloud Backup is the only native TrueNAS mechanism that provides:
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- Integrated ZFS snapshot support before each backup
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- Restic-based incremental deduplication
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- Scheduled tasks with progress and log tracking in the UI
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- Dataset lock integration
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Running restic manually is possible but loses all of the above.
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This patch restores access to the TrueCloud Backup feature for users who
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need a provider other than Storj, with storage they already pay for or that
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costs a fraction of the new Storj price.
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---
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## ⚠ Disclaimer — please read before installing
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**This project is unofficial, unsupported, and not affiliated with iXsystems
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or the TrueNAS project in any way.**
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By installing this patch you accept the following:
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- **Unsupported configuration.** TrueNAS support staff are not obligated to
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help with any issue on a system running this patch. If you file a bug report,
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remove the patch first and reproduce the issue on an unmodified system.
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- **May break on TrueNAS updates.** The patch targets internal middleware APIs
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that are not part of any public contract. They can change at any time. When
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they do, the patch silently degrades to Storj-only behaviour rather than
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breaking TrueNAS — but you should check the log after each update.
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- **Your backups are your responsibility.** Verify that your backup jobs
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complete successfully and that restores work before relying on them for
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disaster recovery.
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- **No warranty.** This software is provided as-is. See the LICENSE file.
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If TrueNAS adds native B2 or S3 support to TrueCloud Backup, the patch
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detects it at boot, disables itself, and tells you to run `uninstall.sh` —
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see [Native support](#if-truenas-adds-native-support) below.
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---
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## What is actually patched
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**Nothing in TrueNAS's persistent database or configuration is modified.**
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On every boot, `patch/apply.sh` runs as a PREINIT script before middlewared
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starts. It mounts a writable
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[overlayfs](https://docs.kernel.org/filesystems/overlayfs.html) over the
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relevant directories in `/usr/` (upper layer in `/run` tmpfs), then patches
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`b2.py` and `restic.py` inside that overlay. The overlay is volatile — it
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exists only for the current boot — but the PREINIT script recreates it
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automatically on every subsequent boot. Nothing in `/usr/` is written to
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directly.
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| Layer | What changes | Technique |
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|---|---|---|
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| **Backend** | `B2RcloneRemote` gains `get_restic_config()` — skipped automatically if TrueNAS already provides one on the class. `restic.py` URL builder is fixed: strips the stray leading slash and converts the slash separator to a colon (`b2:bucket:path`), which is the format restic 0.16.x expects. URL wrapper is a no-op if the URL is already correctly formed. | File patch applied inside the overlayfs upper layer |
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| **UI** | The Angular bundle's `filterByProviders` binding is widened from `["STORJ_IX"]` to `["STORJ_IX","S3","B2"]` | In-place text replacement in the compiled JS chunk; original is backed up before patching |
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Both changes are **fail-safe**: if a patch cannot be applied (e.g. TrueNAS
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restructured the relevant code), middlewared starts normally with Storj-only
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support and the reason is logged to `apply.log` in your repo root.
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## Supported providers after patching
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| Provider | Credential type in TrueNAS |
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|---|---|
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| Backblaze B2 (native B2 API) | `B2` |
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| AWS S3, Wasabi, Cloudflare R2, MinIO, and any S3-compatible endpoint | `S3` |
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| Storj (unchanged) | `STORJ_IX` |
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## How persistence works
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TrueNAS SCALE updates replace `/usr/` entirely. The patch survives by keeping
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this repository on a **persistent ZFS pool** (your data pool, not `/tmp` or a
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system path) and registering a **PREINIT initshutdownscript** in the TrueNAS
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database. On every boot, `patch/apply.sh` runs before `middlewared` starts. It
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mounts a writable [overlayfs](https://docs.kernel.org/filesystems/overlayfs.html)
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over the relevant directories (upper layer in `/run`, recreated each boot), then
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patches `b2.py` and `restic.py` directly in that overlay and re-patches the UI
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bundle. No extra configuration is needed.
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---
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## Install
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Clone the repository to a **persistent ZFS pool** so it survives OS updates,
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then run `install.sh` from there:
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```bash
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# Replace /mnt/tank with your pool name
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git clone https://github.com/sudolulo/truenas-truecloud-patch.git \
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/mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch
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cd /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch
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bash install.sh
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```
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The directory you clone into becomes the **permanent install location**. The
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PREINIT boot hook is registered with the exact path you chose, and TrueNAS will
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call that path on every boot.
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> **Do not delete or move the repository after install.**
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> If you need to relocate it, run `bash uninstall.sh` first, move the directory,
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> then run `bash install.sh` again from the new location. Deleting the repo
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> without uninstalling leaves a dangling PREINIT hook in the TrueNAS database —
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> if that happens, see [Emergency recovery](#emergency-recovery) below.
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Refresh your browser. S3 and B2 credentials now appear in the
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**Data Protection → TrueCloud Backup → Add** credential dropdown.
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## Creating a task via CLI
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If the UI still shows only Storj after refreshing (e.g. the JS bundle pattern
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changed in a new TrueNAS version), create tasks directly via the REST API:
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```bash
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# Replace /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch with your clone path
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# List your cloud credentials to find the right ID
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python3 /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/create_task.py \
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--host 192.168.1.1 --api-key <key> list-credentials
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# Create a task with a B2 credential (id=3)
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python3 /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/create_task.py \
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--host 192.168.1.1 --api-key <key> create \
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--name "tank-to-b2" \
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--path /mnt/tank/data \
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--credential 3 \
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--bucket my-bucket \
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--folder backups/tank \
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--password "restic-repo-password" \
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--keep-last 14
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```
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Get an API key from **System → API Keys → Add**.
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---
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## Uninstall
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```bash
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bash /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/uninstall.sh
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```
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Replace the path with your clone location. Removes the PREINIT hook,
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unmounts the overlay (restoring the original backend files immediately),
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and restores the original UI bundle from backup.
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---
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## If TrueNAS adds native support
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`apply.sh` checks at every boot whether TrueNAS has shipped native B2 restic
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support (by inspecting `B2RcloneRemote.__dict__`). If it has:
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1. The kill switch (`disabled` file) is set — no patching on any future boot.
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2. Any active overlays are unmounted immediately.
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3. The following message is written to `apply.log`:
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```
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NOTICE: TrueNAS now provides native B2 restic support — truecloud-patch is no longer needed.
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NOTICE: Setting kill switch; patching will be skipped on all future boots.
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NOTICE: Run the following to fully remove the patch:
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NOTICE: bash /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/uninstall.sh
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```
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Check the log after any TrueNAS update:
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```bash
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cat /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/apply.log | tail -20
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```
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**Scenarios where the auto-detect may not fire** (manual check needed):
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| Scenario | What happens | Action |
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| B2 support added to a **base class** (not `B2RcloneRemote` directly) | `__dict__` check misses it; our method shadows native | Uninstall manually |
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| B2 **credential schema changed** (e.g. `provider["account"]` renamed) | `KeyError` on first backup | Uninstall or update the patch |
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| **URL builder** fixed but B2 class unchanged | URL wrapper becomes a no-op; no harm, but patch is dead weight | Uninstall at your convenience |
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---
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## After a TrueNAS update
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1. Check the log: `cat /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/apply.log | tail -30`
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2. If you see "WARNING: … pattern not found", the UI patch needs updating.
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[Open an issue](https://github.com/sudolulo/truenas-truecloud-patch/issues)
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with your TrueNAS version number.
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3. The backend patch (B2 support + URL fix) is more stable — check that a
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B2 backup job still completes successfully after any update.
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---
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## Emergency recovery
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### middlewared won't start
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Run this from the TrueNAS shell (local console, SSH, or the debug shell in
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the UI):
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```bash
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bash /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/recover.sh
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```
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Replace the path with your clone location. This creates a kill-switch file
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(`disabled`) in the repo root, unmounts the overlay so the original files are
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visible immediately, then restarts middlewared. No reboot required.
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If you cannot run a script and only have a bare shell prompt:
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```bash
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touch /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/disabled
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systemctl restart middlewared
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```
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If you don't remember where you cloned the repo (midclt won't work while middlewared is
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down), find the path two ways:
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```bash
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# Option 1 — search the filesystem:
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find /mnt -name "recover.sh" -path "*/truenas-truecloud-patch/*" 2>/dev/null
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# Option 2 — query the TrueNAS database directly:
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sqlite3 /data/freenas-v1.db \
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"SELECT script FROM initshutdownscript WHERE comment = 'TrueCloud provider patch (S3/B2)';"
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```
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The `script` column shows the full path to `patch/apply.sh`; your clone root is one
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level up (strip `/patch/apply.sh` from the end). Then run the `touch` command above
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with that path.
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If middlewared **still** won't start after the kill switch is set, the problem
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is unrelated to this patch. Check:
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```bash
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journalctl -u middlewared -n 50
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```
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To re-enable the patch once you have investigated:
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```bash
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rm /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/disabled
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bash /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/apply.sh
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```
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---
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### Web UI is blank or broken
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If the TrueNAS web interface loads blank or shows JavaScript errors, the
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Angular bundle may have been interrupted mid-write (e.g. power cut during
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boot). The original bundle is always backed up before patching, so recovery
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is straightforward:
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```bash
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# Find the backup (the path varies by TrueNAS version):
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find /usr/share/truenas /usr/share/truenas-ui /var/www/truenas -name "*.js.pre-truecloud-patch" 2>/dev/null
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# Restore it — substitute the actual path from the find output:
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mv /usr/share/truenas/webui/main.XXXXXXXX.js.pre-truecloud-patch \
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/usr/share/truenas/webui/main.XXXXXXXX.js
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```
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Refresh your browser. The UI will return to normal (Storj-only until the
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patch re-runs at next reboot, or you run
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`bash /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/apply.sh` manually).
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---
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### Backend verify shows FAIL
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```bash
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python3 /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/create_task.py verify
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```
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If one or more entries show `[FAIL]`:
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1. **Check the apply log** for errors during the last boot:
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```bash
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cat /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/apply.log | tail -40
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```
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2. **Check middlewared's own log** for Python tracebacks:
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```bash
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grep -i "truecloud\|traceback\|error" /var/log/middlewared.log 2>/dev/null | tail -30
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journalctl -u middlewared -n 50
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```
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3. **A FAIL is non-fatal.** middlewared runs normally; the affected provider
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falls back to Storj-only. Your existing backups are not at risk.
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4. **If the detail says the module doesn't exist**, a TrueNAS update renamed
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or restructured the internal API.
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[Open an issue](https://github.com/sudolulo/truenas-truecloud-patch/issues)
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with your TrueNAS version number and the full verify output.
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---
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## Troubleshooting
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**Apply log** (check after each reboot or install):
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```bash
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cat /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/apply.log
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```
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**Verify backend patch is loaded** (while middlewared is running):
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```bash
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python3 /mnt/tank/truenas-truecloud-patch/patch/create_task.py verify
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```
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Reads `hook_status.json` written by `apply.sh` at boot. Reflects whether the
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overlay patches to `b2.py` and `restic.py` were applied successfully. Does not
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require `--host` or `--api-key`.
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**Middlewared log:**
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```bash
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grep truecloud-patch /var/log/middlewared.log 2>/dev/null | tail -20
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journalctl -u middlewared -n 100 2>/dev/null | grep truecloud-patch
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```
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**Verify the UI patch** (should print your TrueNAS version):
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```bash
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grep -c 'STORJ_IX.*S3.*B2' \
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$(find /usr/share/truenas -name '*.js' 2>/dev/null) 2>/dev/null \
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| grep -v ':0'
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```
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**`create_task.py` SSL error connecting to TrueNAS**
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`create_task.py` talks to the **TrueNAS API**, not your S3 endpoint, and
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verifies its TLS certificate. If your NAS uses a self-signed certificate,
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pass `--insecure` — but be aware this disables certificate verification for
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the API call that transmits your TrueNAS API key. Adding your NAS certificate
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to your system's trust store is safer.
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