Interactive Mode

FsPulse includes an interactive mode that provides a menu-driven interface for common tasks.

Interactive menu

To launch interactive mode:

fspulse interact

Overview

The interactive menu offers the following options:

  • Scan — Re-scan a previously scanned root
  • Query — Run custom queries using the query language
  • Report — View predefined summary reports
  • Exit — Close interactive mode

Scan

This option lets you scan a folder that has already been scanned.

⚠️ You must first perform a scan from the command line using:

fspulse scan --root-path /your/path

Once a root has been scanned at least once, it becomes available in the interactive menu.

Interactive scans allow you to toggle:

  • Hashing — compute SHA2 file hashes
  • Validation — check file content integrity for supported types

Query

Allows you to enter queries using FsPulse’s query syntax.

  • Use full expressions like: 
    items where item_path:('photos')
changes where val_new:(I) show default, val_old, val_new
  • Queries may be repeated until you type q or exit
  • Query errors provide detailed syntax feedback
  • Use the ↑ and ↓ arrow keys to scroll through previous entries in your session

Report

Provides quick access to common predefined reports:

  • List all roots
  • Show recent scans
  • Display invalid items
  • View changes from the latest scan

Reports are internally implemented as saved queries and will expand over time.

Interactive mode is especially helpful for exploring your data once scans are available, and for learning the query syntax interactively.