Alerts

The Alerts page provides a centralized view for managing integrity issues detected during scans.

Alert Types

FsPulse generates three types of alerts:

Access Denied

Triggered when FsPulse is unable to access an item or folder. These alerts can occur during either the scan phase or the analysis phase:

During Scan Phase:

• Unable to retrieve item metadata (type, size, or modification date)
• Unable to enumerate folder contents (typically due to permission restrictions)

During Analysis Phase:

• Unable to read a file for hashing or validation

Notes:

• If FsPulse cannot determine an item’s type from metadata, the item is recorded as an instance of the “Unknown” type
• Items with failed metadata retrieval, whether “Unknown” or otherwise, are not examined during the analysis phase

Suspicious Hash Changes

Triggered when:

• A file’s hash changes between scans
• The file’s modification time has NOT changed

This pattern indicates potential:

• Bit rot (silent data corruption)
• Tampering or malicious modification
• Filesystem anomalies

Invalid Items

Triggered when format validation fails:

• FLAC audio files with invalid structure
• JPEG/PNG images that fail format checks
• PDF files with corruption
• Other validated file types with detected issues

See Validators for details on supported file types.

Alert Status

Each alert can be in one of three states:

• Open: New alert requiring attention
• Flagged: Marked for follow-up or further investigation
• Dismissed: Reviewed and determined to be non-critical

Managing Alerts

Filtering

Filter alerts by:

• Status (Open/Flagged/Dismissed)
• Alert type (Access denied/Hash change/Validation failure)
• Root
• Time range
• Path search

Status Actions

• Flag: Mark alert for follow-up
• Dismiss: Acknowledge and close the alert
• Reopen: Change dismissed alert back to open

Batch Operations

Select multiple alerts to update status in bulk.

Alert Details

Click an alert to view:

• Item path and metadata
• Alert timestamp
• Access error details (for access denied alerts)
• Change details (for hash changes)
• Validation error message (for invalid items)
• Link to item in Browse view

Integration with Browse

Alerts are also displayed in the Browse page’s item detail panel, providing context when investigating specific files.

Workflow Recommendations

1. Review Open Alerts: Check new alerts regularly
2. Investigate: Use Browse to examine affected items
3. Triage: Flag important issues, dismiss false positives
4. Restore: Use backups to restore corrupted files if needed
5. Track: Monitor alert trends in Insights