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Storage & Sync (Bring-Your-Own-Storage)

Learn how to synchronize your Netflix Narc configuration and Evidence Locker data across multiple devices using your own private storage backend.

Overview

netflix-narc is built on a Bring-Your-Own-Storage (BYOS) architecture. Your viewing history analysis, custom weights, and manual Evidence Locker dossiers remain entirely under your control—stored either locally or on your personal cloud storage.

Supported storage and sync backends:

Backend Provider Options Best For
Disabled (off) None Single machine, local privacy
Local Folder (local_folder) iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, local directory Multi-Mac users with cloud desktop sync
S3 Storage (s3) Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, MinIO, Wasabi Power users, self-hosters, multi-platform
WebDAV (webdav) Nextcloud, ownCloud, Fastmail Self-hosted cloud storage users

1. Local Folder / Cloud Drive (local_folder)

Ideal for synchronizing data across Macs using iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or a shared local network mount.

Configuration

In the TUI, select Local Folder under storage options, or add the following variables to your config file (~/.config/netflix-narc/.env):

SYNC_BACKEND=local_folder
SYNC_LOCAL_PATH=/Users/username/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/netflix-narc

[!TIP] iCloud Drive Path: On macOS, iCloud Drive folders are located at /Users/<username>/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/.

2. S3-Compatible Object Storage (s3)

Supports any standard S3-compatible service:

  • Cloudflare R2 (Recommended: 10GB free storage, 0 egress fees)
  • AWS S3
  • MinIO (Self-hosted)
  • Wasabi

Configuration

SYNC_BACKEND=s3
SYNC_S3_ENDPOINT_URL=https://<account_id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
SYNC_S3_BUCKET=netflix-narc-sync
SYNC_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key_id
SYNC_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_access_key

3. WebDAV / Nextcloud / ownCloud (webdav)

Ideal for users running Nextcloud, ownCloud, or standard WebDAV services.

Configuration

SYNC_BACKEND=webdav
SYNC_WEBDAV_URL=https://nextcloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/username/netflix-narc/
SYNC_WEBDAV_USERNAME=your_username
SYNC_WEBDAV_PASSWORD=your_app_password

[!IMPORTANT] When using Nextcloud or ownCloud, we recommend generating a dedicated App Password under Security Settings rather than using your primary account password.

Configuring & Testing Sync in the TUI

You can set up and test your storage backend visually inside the application:

  1. Press s to open Preferences (or launch a → Advanced Options).
  2. Scroll to the Storage & Sync section.
  3. Select your preferred Backend Type.
  4. Fill in the required endpoint, credentials, or path fields.
  5. Click Test Connection. netflix-narc will execute a test handshake to confirm read/write permissions.
  6. Click Save to write the configuration to ~/.config/netflix-narc/.env.

How Syncing & Merging Works

When sync is enabled:

  1. Automatic Local-to-Remote Sync: On application startup and after key edits (such as updating an Evidence Locker record), netflix-narc checks the remote manifest.
  2. Last-Write-Wins (LWW) Conflict Resolution: Title dossiers and settings are merged granularly based on UTC timestamps. Modifying title A on machine 1 and title B on machine 2 merges cleanly without losing data.
  3. Offline Safety: If network access is lost, netflix-narc continues operating against local storage and syncs when connectivity is restored.