docs: clarify the warm-start capture workflow (--seed flag + validate switch)

Spell out how the warm-start seed is actually applied (a user asked): the seed is the --seed <file> given to `motatool serve`, NOT a file dropped into the --dir destination (which starts empty). motatool stamps that one seed into the fresh .part on every `… folder validate` begin, so it's always the named file — no guessing. `validate` is the switch (a plain folder pull fetches from 0); a re-pull re-begins fresh (never resumes a stale partial); a mismatched/absent seed just falls back to fetching those blocks over the radio (correct result, only slower).
This commit is contained in:
Valentin Kivachuk Burda
2026-07-03 08:16:56 +02:00
parent 0319a81d69
commit cbdc629f20
+9
View File
@@ -106,6 +106,15 @@ otherwise have. (`ota get` is an alias.)
every block your seed already matches, and pulls over the radio only the handful that actually differ —
turning a ~30-minute capture into seconds. The result is still a byte-exact, verified copy of the target.
*Where the seed comes from:* it is the **`--seed <file>` you pass to `motatool serve`** — **not** a file you
drop into the capture (`--dir`) folder, which is only the destination and starts empty. There is exactly one
configured seed. When you run `... folder validate`, the node asks motatool to begin the capture and motatool
stamps that seed's payload into the fresh `.part` in the same step — so it is always the file you named, with
no guessing. **`validate` is the switch:** a plain `folder` pull ignores any seed and fetches from scratch;
re-running a `validate` pull re-begins fresh (it never resumes a stale partial). Nothing about the seed is
trusted — every kept block is checked against the target's own fingerprints, so a mismatched or missing seed
just means those blocks are fetched over the radio (correct result, only slower).
The node fetches in the background, **at low priority**, a piece at a time — possibly from several
neighbours at once. Check progress with `ota status`. You can keep using your node normally meanwhile.