Documentation

v0.3.7 · last updated 2026-04-15

Frostvex is a small command-line tool for synchronizing directories across networks where you can't trust the link to stay up. The mental model is simple:

1. You run frostvex init on a directory. That writes a hidden .frostvex/ with a manifest of every file and a content-addressed chunk store.
2. You point that pool at a remote — another frostvex instance, reachable over QUIC. The remote can be a server, a NAS, another laptop on your LAN, or a peer behind NAT.
3. You call frostvex sync when you want them to converge. The tool figures out the smallest set of chunks to transfer, ships them, and verifies parity at the destination.

That's the whole pipeline. Everything else — peer discovery, conflict resolution, parity recovery — is the same primitives applied at different layers.

What's covered here

• Installation — pre-built binaries, install script, building from source.
• Quickstart — a five-minute walk through the common flow.
• Configuration — the frostvex.toml reference, including all transport, parity, and peer settings.
• CLI reference — every command, every flag, with realistic examples.

Conventions

Throughout the docs, $ is a shell prompt. Anything in % is a placeholder. We assume Linux/macOS unless a section is marked otherwise.