Module data 

Data operation commands for archive management.

This module provides commands for creating, inspecting, and analyzing Hexz archives. Archives (.st files) are the primary storage format for snapshots, containing compressed, deduplicated, and optionally encrypted data.

Available Commands

• pack: Create archives from raw disk images or memory dumps
• build: Build archives from source directories with profiles
• info: Inspect archive metadata (header, index, compression stats)
• diff: Show block/file-level differences in overlays (diagnostics)
• analyze: Run DCAM analysis to optimize CDC parameters (diagnostics)

Workflow Example

# 1. Analyze optimal parameters
hexz data analyze disk.img

# 2. Pack with optimized settings
hexz data pack --disk disk.img --output snapshot.st --cdc \
  --min-chunk 8192 --avg-chunk 32768

# 3. Inspect the result
hexz data info snapshot.st --json

Archive Format

Archives consist of:

• Header: Magic bytes, version, flags, encryption metadata
• Index: B-tree or hash-based block index for fast lookups
• Data: Compressed, deduplicated blocks
• Signature: Optional Ed25519 signature (if signing enabled)

Performance Considerations

• CDC vs Fixed: CDC provides better deduplication but slower packing
• Compression: LZ4 is faster, Zstandard has higher ratios
• Dictionary Training: Improves Zstandard compression by 10-30%
• Block Size: Larger blocks = less overhead, worse deduplication

Modules

analyze

Analyze archive structure and optimize CDC parameters using DCAM.

build

Build archive from source with profile-based optimization.

convert

Convert external data formats into Hexz snapshots.

diff

Show differences in overlay and identify modified blocks.

info

Inspect archive metadata and display snapshot information.

pack

Pack data into a Hexz archive.