Borg Live Debug Skill

You have direct access to a running borg-web-ui Docker container. Use this to run real borg/borg2 commands, inspect actual output, and use that ground truth to write code, tests, and fixes.

Container Details

• Container name: borg-web-ui
• Borg 1 binary: borg (e.g. /usr/bin/borg or via PATH)
• Borg 2 binary: borg2 (e.g. /usr/local/bin/borg2)
• Working dir: /app
• Data dir: /data (database, SSH keys, repos)
• Working user for borg ops: borg (use gosu borg or su borg -c)

How to exec into the container

Run commands inside the container using:

docker exec -it borg-web-ui <command>
# or as the borg user:
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui <command>
# or for multi-step shell sessions:
docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "<cmd1> && <cmd2>"

Workflow

When the user asks to debug, test, or develop borg functionality:

Step 1 — Verify the container is running

docker ps --filter name=borg-web-ui --format "{{.Names}} {{.Status}}"

If it's not running, tell the user to start it: docker compose up -d

Step 2 — Probe the environment

# Check borg versions available
docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "borg --version 2>/dev/null; borg2 --version 2>/dev/null"

# Check what repos are configured (from DB or env)
docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "ls /data/ 2>/dev/null"

Step 3 — Run the borg command and capture output

Run the exact borg command you need to test. Always capture both stdout and stderr:

docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "BORG_PASSPHRASE='' borg list /path/to/repo 2>&1"
# For borg2:
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "BORG_PASSPHRASE='' borg2 rinfo /path/to/repo 2>&1"

Key environment variables to set when running borg commands:

• BORG_PASSPHRASE — passphrase (empty string if unencrypted)
• BORG_UNKNOWN_UNENCRYPTED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK=yes — skip prompts for unencrypted repos
• BORG_RSH — custom SSH command if needed
• BORG_REMOTE_PATH — path to borg on remote (for SSH repos)

Step 4 — Use output to write code

After seeing the real output:

• Parse the exact JSON structure (use borg ... --json wherever possible)
• Match error messages exactly for error handling
• Match field names precisely in Python code
• Write tests using real fixture data from the output

Common borg2 command cheat sheet (key differences from borg1)

Task	Borg 1	Borg 2
Init repo	borg init REPO	borg2 rcreate REPO
Repo info	borg info REPO	borg2 rinfo REPO
Delete repo	borg delete REPO	borg2 rdelete REPO
List archives	borg list REPO	borg2 list REPO
Archive info	borg info REPO::ARC	borg2 info REPO::ARC
Create	borg create REPO::ARC src/	borg2 create REPO::ARC src/
Extract	borg extract REPO::ARC	borg2 extract REPO::ARC
Prune	borg prune REPO	borg2 prune REPO
Compact	N/A (auto)	borg2 compact REPO (REQUIRED after delete/prune)
Check	borg check REPO	borg2 check REPO
Mount	borg mount REPO::ARC MNTPT	borg2 mount REPO::ARC MNTPT

Create a temporary test repo inside the container

When you need a throwaway repo to test against:

# Create a temp repo (unencrypted for easy testing)
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "
  BORG_UNKNOWN_UNENCRYPTED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK=yes \
  borg init --encryption=none /tmp/test-repo-1 2>&1 &&
  echo 'test content' > /tmp/testfile.txt &&
  borg create /tmp/test-repo-1::archive-1 /tmp/testfile.txt 2>&1 &&
  borg list /tmp/test-repo-1 2>&1
"

# Same for borg2
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "
  BORG_UNKNOWN_UNENCRYPTED_REPO_ACCESS_IS_OK=yes \
  borg2 rcreate --encryption=none /tmp/test-repo-2 2>&1 &&
  echo 'test content' > /tmp/testfile.txt &&
  borg2 create /tmp/test-repo-2::archive-1 /tmp/testfile.txt 2>&1 &&
  borg2 list /tmp/test-repo-2 2>&1
"

JSON output for parsing

Always prefer --json flag to get structured output you can map directly to Python:

docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "borg list --json /tmp/test-repo-1 2>&1"
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "borg info --json /tmp/test-repo-1::archive-1 2>&1"
docker exec -u borg borg-web-ui bash -c "borg2 rinfo --json /tmp/test-repo-2 2>&1"

Inspect the Python app code live

# Check what Python modules are available
docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "cd /app && python3 -c 'from app.core.borg2 import *; print(\"ok\")'"

# Run a quick Python snippet against the live app
docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "cd /app && python3 -c \"
import asyncio
from app.core.borg2 import borg2_rinfo
result = asyncio.run(borg2_rinfo('/tmp/test-repo-2'))
print(result)
\""

Cleanup

After debugging, clean up temp repos:

docker exec borg-web-ui bash -c "rm -rf /tmp/test-repo-1 /tmp/test-repo-2 /tmp/testfile.txt"

Rules

1. Always run the command first, then write code — never guess borg output format.
2. Use --json wherever possible — map the exact field names into Python dicts.
3. Capture stderr — borg sends warnings and errors to stderr; use 2>&1.
4. Test both binaries — when working on borg2 features, also verify borg1 is unaffected.
5. Clean up temp repos after debugging sessions.
6. If container is not running, tell the user before attempting anything.