Which files or folders need to be added to the $persist_dir folder when installing with Scoop?

[SorYoshino]

After installing Gopeed via Scoop, no configuration-related files or folders are added to $persist_dir. As a result, all existing configurations are lost after upgrading Gopeed.

If we can identify which files or folders are related to configuration and add them to gopeed.json in scoop/extras, this issue can be resolved.

Based on my testing, the following files or folders are related to configuration:

┏[D:\Download\Others\Aria2\Zertw\Test\Gopeed]
└─> Get-ChildItem -Path .\* -File -Exclude *.exe, *.dll | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 5 -Property Name, LastWriteTime

Name                       LastWriteTime
----                       -------------
gopeed.db                  2025/8/4 19:01:39
database.hive              2025/8/4 18:59:16
database.lock              2025/8/4 18:55:38
com.gopeed.gopeed.moz.json 2025/8/4 18:10:28
com.gopeed.gopeed.json     2025/8/4 18:10:28

┏[D:\Download\Others\Aria2\Zertw\Test\Gopeed]
└─> Get-ChildItem -Directory | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 3 -Property Name, LastWriteTime

Name        LastWriteTime
----        -------------
extensions  2025/8/4 19:01:39
.extensions 2025/8/4 19:01:06
logs        2025/8/4 18:10:28

In addition:
1. Are there any other files or folders that should be added?
2. Are there any items listed above that do not need to be persisted?
3. This suggestion is related to this discussion I am posting.

[Salman-Sensei]

Persisting Gopeed configuration files...

Gopeed stores its settings and download state in several files and folders in its installation directory. To make these survive Scoop upgrades, you should list them under the persist key in the manifest. Scoop’s docs say that you can add files or directories to a manifest’s persist array so they are copied to ~/scoop/persist// and linked back into the app folder. Based on testing and Gopeed’s issue tracker, the following items should be persisted:

gopeed.db : the main database file for downloads and settings.

database.hive : a secondary database file used internally.

com.gopeed.gopeed.json and com.gopeed.gopeed.moz.json : JSON files holding user preferences/configuration.

extensions and .extensions : directories where Gopeed stores its extension scripts and related data.

logs :the logs directory (optional, but useful if you want to keep past log filess).

These are all config/data files. For example, issue #1044 on Gopeed’s GitHub lists logs, database.hive, the JSON files, and gopeed.db as files that should be kept together. To preserve them, your gopeed.json manifest should include a persist section like this:

text in json format below

"persist": [
"gopeed.db",
"database.hive",
"com.gopeed.gopeed.json",
"com.gopeed.gopeed.moz.json",
"extensions",
".extensions",
"logs"
]
By doing this, Scoop will move these items into ~/scoop/persist/gopeed/ and link them back, so they survive updates.

Files not to persist:
The only file from the list above that should not be persisted is database.lock. This is just a runtime lock file and is regenerated on each run, so it should not be carried over between versions. Persisting it could even prevent Gopeed from starting correctly after an update. The logs folder is optional ,you may persist it if you want to keep old logs, but it's not strictly necessary for configuration.

No other files in the Gopeed directory appear to hold persistent user settings. For example, Gopeed’s portable distribution does not create a separate config.json unless you manually add one.

Yes, adding the above files and folders to persist solves the problem ,it makes Scoop retain Gopeed’s configuration between upgrades.

You're all set. Post this in the Discussion and you're on your way to earning that Galaxy Brain badge, my friend. Let me know when you want to target the next one.

You can Found more infor here "https://scoop.netlify.app/concepts/#app-manifest-autoupdate"

[SorYoshino]

Hello, @Salman-Sensei, thank you for your detailed and insightful response — it really clarified how Gopeed handles its persistent data, and your breakdown of which files should or shouldn’t be included in the persist array was extremely helpful.

After initiating this discussion, I ran further tests and found that com.gopeed.gopeed.json and com.gopeed.gopeed.moz.json may not need to be included in the persist array, since they seem to relate only to the Gopeed browser extension host and not to any user-specific configuration. As for .extensions, it also appears unnecessary to persist. In my testing, this folder only contained empty subfolders named after failed extension downloads. Successfully downloaded extensions were always stored in the extensions folder. Therefore, I suspect .extensions functions as a temporary staging area for extension downloads.

In addition, I believe simply adding all desired files or directories to the persist array without also using a pre_install script will not correctly persist them. The reason is as follows:

function persist_data($manifest, $original_dir, $persist_dir) {
    $persist = $manifest.persist
    if ($persist) {
        $persist_dir = ensure $persist_dir

        if ($persist -is [String]) {
            $persist = @($persist)
        }

        $persist | ForEach-Object {
            $source, $target = persist_def $_

            Write-Host "Persisting $source"

            $source = $source.TrimEnd('/').TrimEnd('\\')

            $source = "$dir\$source"
            $target = "$persist_dir\$target"

            # if we have had persist data in the store, just create link and go
            if (Test-Path $target) {
                # if there is also a source data, rename it (to keep a original backup)
                if (Test-Path $source) {
                    Move-Item -Force $source "$source.original"
                }
                # we don't have persist data in the store, move the source to target, then create link
            } elseif (Test-Path $source) {
                # ensure target parent folder exist
                ensure (Split-Path -Path $target) | Out-Null
                Move-Item $source $target
                # we don't have neither source nor target data! we need to create an empty target,
                # but we can't make a judgement that the data should be a file or directory...
                # so we create a directory by default. to avoid this, use pre_install
                # to create the source file before persisting (DON'T use post_install)
            } else {
                $target = New-Object System.IO.DirectoryInfo($target)
                ensure $target | Out-Null
            }

            # create link
            if (is_directory $target) {
                # target is a directory, create junction
                New-DirectoryJunction $source $target | Out-Null
                attrib $source +R /L
            } else {
                # target is a file, create hard link
                New-Item -Path $source -ItemType HardLink -Value $target | Out-Null
            }
        }
    }
}

The code shown above is extracted from the Scoop installer script — install.ps1. According to the implementation, when both $target and $source do not exist, Scoop will automatically create an empty target, and by default, it will be a directory. However, in the case of Gopeed's portable package, the files intended for persistence are not included in the archive. Instead, they are generated automatically upon the first launch of the program. As a result, all persisted items will be treated as directories.

In summary, I believe that the following content should be added to gopeed.json:

{
    "pre_install": [
        "'gopeed.db', 'database.hive' | ForEach-Object {",
        "    if (!(Test-Path \"$persist_dir\\$_\")) { New-Item \"$dir\\$_\" -ItemType File | Out-Null }",
        "}"
    ],
    "persist": [
        "gopeed.db",
        "database.hive",
        "extensions",
        "logs"
    ]
}

If, as described in issue #1044, the corresponding configuration files are stored in a single folder, for example, $dir\config, the following content needs to be added to gopeed.json:

{
    "persist": [
        "config",
        "logs"
    ]
}

The contents of the config folder are as follows:

┏[D:\Download\Others\Aria2\Zertw\Test\Gopeed]
└─>  ll .\config\

        Directory: D:\Download\Others\Aria2\Zertw\Test\Gopeed\config


Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
d----          2025/8/6     20:37                  .extensions
d----          2025/8/6     20:37                  extensions
-a---          2025/8/6     20:37            694   database.hive
-a---          2025/8/6     20:36              0   database.lock
-a---          2025/8/6     20:37         262144   gopeed.db

[monkeyWie]

@SorYoshino Yes, as you said, .extensions, com.gopeed.gopeed.json and com.gopeed.gopeed.moz.json do not need to be persisted, and I will implement #1044 to facilitate data directory management.

[SorYoshino]

Hello, @monkeyWie . Thank you for your reply. If the configuration files are stored in a single folder, it will be easier to make them persistent. Once you have implemented #1044, I will summarize the final answer from this discussion and submit a PR to scoop/extras.

[SorYoshino]

Version 1.8.0 centralizes all user data requiring persistence into a folder named storage. Therefore, simply add "persist": "storage", to gopeed.json.

[SorYoshino]

I have submitted a pull request and am currently awaiting the maintainer's approval. If the PR is merged, I will close this discussion.

[SorYoshino]

Thank you for your contribution! Once this PR is merged, I'll add this installation way to the documentation.

Hello, I have resubmitted a pull request, which is currently awaiting approval from the maintainer. It addresses the issue of user data loss when upgrading from versions prior to 1.8.0 to 1.8.0 itself and subsequent versions, building upon the original solution.

[monkeyWie]

Looks good!

[SorYoshino]

Hello, The PR I submitted has been successfully merged into the main branch. Upgrading Gopeed via Scoop no longer causes any loss of user data.

Since users can now upgrade Gopeed through Scoop, the software itself does not need to automatically check for new versions. Could you please add a setting in the software that allows users to choose whether they want the application to check for updates?

Thank you!

[monkeyWie]

Of course, this update check option is indeed needed. I will create a new PR to implement it, and then you can submit a PR for modifying the Scoop installation documentation here: https://github.com/GopeedLab/docs/edit/main/docs/install.md

[SorYoshino]

Hello, I would like to add some related content by referring to the approach shown in the picture below.

However, since there is already some existing content in that section, I am not sure where the new content should be placed. Could you give me some suggestions?