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Usage

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When to run this

You only need to run capsule auth once per server during normal use. Do not skip it — without a license key, the agent cannot connect to the dashboard, upload backups, or receive restore commands.

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What it does

  • Prompts for your license key (starts with cpsl_live_)
  • Saves it to ~/.config/capsule/capsule.yaml
  • Links this server to your Capsule account
When --restore is used, it also prompts for your saved encryption key and loads it into the OS keyring — making your existing encrypted backups accessible on the new server.

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Where to find your license key

Your license key is on the Setup page in your dashboard.
Keep your license key secret. Anyone with access to it can link a server to your account.

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Flags

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Disaster recovery — restoring on a new server

Use this when your original server is gone and you need to access your existing encrypted backups from a fresh install. Prerequisite: You must have already saved your encryption key from the old server using capsule key show. If you haven’t done that yet and the old server is still accessible, do it now before continuing. Once you have your saved key, run on the new server:
You’ll be prompted for two things in sequence:
Paste your 64-character hex key at the second prompt (input is hidden). After this completes, restores will work normally — Capsule will decrypt backups using the imported key.
Importing the wrong key will appear to succeed but will cause decryption failures at restore time. Verify you’re pasting the exact key from your old server before pressing Enter.

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Notes

  • You only need to run capsule auth once per server
  • Re-running it re-saves your license key to the config file but does not affect your encryption key — pass --restore if you also need to import a replacement encryption key
  • capsule auth is exempt from the license key check — you can always run it on a fresh install with no prior config

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See also

  • capsule key show — display and save your encryption key before you need to restore it