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Backup & Maintenance

Because Kinema stores all server state in a single data directory ($KINEMA_DATA_DIR), backups, migrations, and disaster recovery are straightforward.

Directory Structure​

$KINEMA_DATA_DIR/
├── kinema.db            # Primary SQLite database file
├── kinema.db-wal        # SQLite Write-Ahead Log
├── kinema.db-shm        # Shared memory file
├── tls/                 # Auto-generated self-signed TLS certificates
│   ├── cert.pem
│   └── key.pem
└── cache/               # Ephemeral caches (safe to delete anytime)
    ├── images/          # Cached TMDB / TVmaze posters and backdrops
    ├── thumbs/          # Video keyframe JPEG thumbnails
    ├── subtitles/       # Extracted WebVTT subtitle files
    └── prints/          # Acoustic audio fingerprint bit vectors

Safe Online Database Backup​

Because SQLite operates in WAL mode, you can safely copy or backup kinema.db even while streams are actively playing:

Using the SQLite CLI​

sqlite3 data/kinema.db ".backup 'backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).db'"

This creates a clean, atomic snapshot without locking database writes.

Cache Management & Purging​

Cache directories (images, thumbs, subtitles, prints) are entirely ephemeral:

  • If deleted, Kinema will automatically re-extract or re-download assets on demand.
  • You can clear individual caches from the Admin Settings dashboard or via the REST API: 
    curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer <ADMIN_TOKEN>" \
      https://localhost:3000/api/server/cache/thumbnails/clear