Track Folder — v0.9.7

If your recorder already writes MCAP files to a folder, Alloy Edge can watch it and upload completed recordings to Mesh Storage. The device needs outbound HTTPS on port 443, but no inbound port.

Need a recorder as well? Docker provides one in a container. Docker images have a separate release version.

1. Download the binary

Open Mesh Storage → Devices → Add device. The binary setup opens by default. Select the device's operating system and architecture, then download v0.9.7. The downloaded filename includes the operating system and architecture; install it as alloy-edge before using the commands below. On Linux, the standalone binary requires glibc 2.31 or newer. For a Linux x86_64 download:

mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
install -m 755 "$HOME/Downloads/alloy-edge-linux-amd64" "$HOME/.local/bin/alloy-edge"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Use the downloaded filename for your selected platform. The setup panel shows the matching macOS or Windows install command. On Linux, you can instead select the .deb package and install it with sudo dpkg -i alloy-edge_*.deb.

2. Link the recordings folder

Copy the organization key from the Provisioning Key tab, then replace the folder path with an existing recordings folder. The CLI reads the key from the environment:

export ALLOY_PROVISIONING_KEY="paste-key-here"
alloy-edge link --track-folder /data/recordings

If the key is already in the environment, you can read it through stdin to avoid putting it in process arguments:

printenv ALLOY_PROVISIONING_KEY | alloy-edge link \
  --provisioning-key-stdin \
  --track-folder /data/recordings

link checks the credential, creates the configuration, and waits up to 60 seconds for approval. It prints the matching run command, but does not start a background process. If approval takes longer, the installation remains pending; you can still start run and approve it afterward.

3. Run Alloy Edge

For the default user installation:

alloy-edge run --user

Keep run in the foreground under a supervisor you control. For other scopes, run alloy-edge run --local from the tracked folder or sudo alloy-edge run --system. To check the installation without backend calls or child processes, run:

alloy-edge run --user --dry-run

On Linux, alloy-edge config --user systemd print previews a service unit; alloy-edge config --user systemd install installs it. Use the scope selected during link.

4. Approve and verify

If the device is pending, open Mesh Storage → Devices and select Approve. The manager then receives its device key and starts syncing. Last Seen updates, and completed recordings appear under the device's folder.

For retention or pipeline settings, see the v0.9.7 Configuration reference. If an older installation has input_dir in edge-sync.yaml, follow the tracked-folder migration before starting v0.9.7.