Skip from backup files that are equal to those in /rom?

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Cudy WR3000 v1 (but the OP and solution seem generic enough to apply to any model).

I am in the process of installing openwrt for the first time. I have flashed from the factory firmware that the device shipped with to the Cudy provided "interim" firmware.
Now I am about to flash from the interim firmware to a current version of openwrt.

I am on a page in the router's GUI (web interface) that says,
"Flash image?"

There are 3 check boxes that I can check or uncheck.
One of these I do not understand.
"skip from backup files that are equal to those in /rom"
what does that mean?

the instructions that I am following say, "Make sure that you do not keep the previous settings while upgrading."

2

Do not keep any cudy otr interim configs.

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does that mean that I should uncheck "skip from backup files that are equal to those in /rom?"

4

Trial and error, it won't kill your router.

If it messed things up in a bad way, you'll just perform the TFTP recovery.

5

It means that IF you do a backup, do not include config files that are unchanged from the ones in the firmware. (And if you already uncheck the "keep settings", this selection has no role)

Deeper explanation about skip from backup files that are equal to those in /rom:

The setting is useful if you want to be sure that you e.g. get the possible OpenWrt changes to /etc/profile, etc/profile.d/* and other similar config files that are rarely modified by most users. Normally those files are copied to the backup, and then in sysupgrade your backuped/restored old files will overwrite the newer defaults from the new image.

As concrete example, the /etc/profile.d was heavily modified by https://github.com/openwrt/openwrt/commit/eb71d1000968ff45f6ed5aeda87a86548eb0685a last week. I assume that many users still carry the old version, as they have sysupgraded with "keep settings".

I usually check that box for my own backups, so that the backup does not carry default stuff from the current image.

3 Likes
6

Didn't see the checkbox on stock OpenWrt Snapshot. So decided to add it myself:

skip unchanged configs
skip unchanged configs1370×999 82.4 KB

7

I believe it should be in the window dialogue after you uploaded the firmware to keep settings and the one you are missing.

1 Like
8

Ah.. I seldom use restore feature. I just checked the restore UI and it seems no checkbox either.

EDIT:

Perhaps in "Flash new firmware image" which I never used.

9

It is possible only on routers with traditional flash, and related file systems. Meaning /rom with the flashed firmware and all changes on /overlay

Based on your screenshot, you have BPI-R4, which has SD card, right? so that the overlayfs strategy may not be in use at all.

2 Likes
10

I misunderstood the LuCi web UI feature being discussed in this thread initially. Now I got it. The checkbox is in the UI flows of "Flash new firmware image" operations.

I mistook it as a checkbox for "Backup > Generate archive". I didn't see it, and then I added it myself. It's okay. I want not to backup unchanged config files for a while.

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