Storage Management

Configure storage limits and manage your Dayflow data

Dayflow stores all data locally on your Mac with configurable automatic cleanup.

Data Locations

All Dayflow data is stored in:

~/Library/Application Support/Dayflow/

Storage Structure

Dayflow/
├── recordings/           # Screenshot files (.jpg)
├── chunks.sqlite        # Timeline and analysis database
├── chunks.sqlite-wal    # Write-Ahead Log (WAL mode)
└── chunks.sqlite-shm    # Shared memory file (WAL mode)

• Screenshots: Captured every 10 seconds during recording (/Library/Application Support/Dayflow/recordings/)
• Database: SQLite database storing timeline cards, observations, batches, and metadata
• WAL files: Temporary files for database transactions (automatically managed)

To access the recordings folder quickly, click the Dayflow menu bar icon → Open Recordings…

Configurable Storage Limits

Dayflow supports flexible storage management:

Available Options

StorageManager.swift:432-520

final class StorageManager: StorageManaging, @unchecked Sendable {
    static let shared = StorageManager()
    
    private let dbURL: URL
    private var db: DatabasePool!
    private let root: URL
    private let backupsDir: URL
    
    var recordingsRoot: URL { root }
    
    private init() {
        let appSupport = fileMgr.urls(for: .applicationSupportDirectory, in: .userDomainMask)[0]
        let baseDir = appSupport.appendingPathComponent("Dayflow", isDirectory: true)
        let recordingsDir = baseDir.appendingPathComponent("recordings", isDirectory: true)
        let backupDir = baseDir.appendingPathComponent("backups", isDirectory: true)
        
        // Ensure directories exist
        try? fileMgr.createDirectory(at: baseDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
        try? fileMgr.createDirectory(at: recordingsDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
        try? fileMgr.createDirectory(at: backupDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
        
        root = recordingsDir
        backupsDir = backupDir
        dbURL = baseDir.appendingPathComponent("chunks.sqlite")
    }
}

In Settings, you can choose:

• 1 GB - Minimal storage (~7-10 days of recordings)
• 5 GB - Moderate storage (~1-2 months)
• 10 GB - Extended storage (~2-3 months)
• 20 GB - Long-term storage (~4-6 months)
• Unlimited - No automatic cleanup (manual purge only)

Actual storage duration depends on your screen resolution and capture frequency. Higher resolution screenshots use more space.

Automatic Cleanup Policies

Dayflow automatically manages storage using a purge scheduler:

Purge Schedule

StorageManager.swift:509-518

private init() {
    // ...
    
    // Run initial purge, then schedule hourly
    purgeIfNeeded()
    TimelapseStorageManager.shared.purgeIfNeeded()
    startPurgeScheduler()
    
    // Schedule WAL checkpoints every 5 minutes
    startCheckpointScheduler()
    
    // Schedule daily backups
    startBackupScheduler()
}

• Initial purge: On app launch
• Hourly purge: Automated cleanup every hour
• WAL checkpoint: Every 5 minutes to persist data
• Database backup: Daily automated backups

What Gets Purged

When storage exceeds your limit, Dayflow removes:

1. Oldest screenshots first (based on capture timestamp)
2. Orphaned database records (screenshots deleted but DB entries remain)
3. Soft-deleted timeline cards (marked as is_deleted = 1)

Timeline cards and observations are preserved even when source screenshots are purged. You can still view your timeline history.

Database Schema

StorageManager.swift:722-740

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS screenshots (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    captured_at INTEGER NOT NULL,
    file_path TEXT NOT NULL,
    file_size INTEGER,
    is_deleted INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
    created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_screenshots_captured_at ON screenshots(captured_at);

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS timeline_cards (
    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    batch_id INTEGER REFERENCES analysis_batches(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    start_ts INTEGER,
    end_ts INTEGER,
    is_deleted INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
    ...
);

Screenshots and timeline cards use soft deletion (is_deleted = 1) so they can be excluded from queries without immediate file deletion.

Manual Data Management

View Current Usage

Check your current storage usage:

1. Open Settings → Storage
2. View total size of recordings directory
3. See breakdown by data type (screenshots, database, etc.)

Purge Old Data

To manually free up space:

1. Open Settings

   Go to Settings → Storage

2. Select time range

   Choose how far back to keep data (e.g., “Last 30 days”)

3. Preview impact

   See how much space will be freed

4. Confirm purge

   Click Purge to remove old data

Reset All Data

To completely reset Dayflow and start fresh:

1. Quit Dayflow

   Ensure the app is completely closed

2. Delete data directory

   Remove the entire Dayflow folder:

   rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dayflow/
   
3. Relaunch Dayflow

   Open the app - it will create a fresh database and start recording

This is irreversible - all timeline history, recordings, and settings will be lost. Consider exporting important timeline data first.

Database Backups

Dayflow automatically backs up your database:

Backup Location

~/Library/Application Support/Dayflow/backups/

Backups are created:

• Daily at scheduled times
• Before major migrations (automatic)
• On database corruption recovery (automatic)

Restore from Backup

If your database becomes corrupted, Dayflow automatically attempts recovery:

StorageManager.swift:484-490

// Safe database initialization with automatic recovery from backup
db = Self.openDatabaseSafely(
    at: dbURL,
    backupsDir: backupDir,
    config: config,
    fileManager: fileMgr
)

Manual restoration:

1. Quit Dayflow

   Close the app completely

2. Find latest backup

   Navigate to:

   ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dayflow/backups/
   
3. Restore backup

   Copy the backup file over the current database:

   cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dayflow/backups/chunks_backup_YYYY-MM-DD.sqlite \
      ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dayflow/chunks.sqlite
   
4. Relaunch Dayflow

   Open the app and verify your data is restored

Database Optimization

Dayflow uses WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) mode for better performance:

StorageManager.swift:474-482

var config = Configuration()
config.maximumReaderCount = 5
config.prepareDatabase { db in
    if !db.configuration.readonly {
        try db.execute(sql: "PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL")
        try db.execute(sql: "PRAGMA synchronous = NORMAL")
    }
    try db.execute(sql: "PRAGMA busy_timeout = 5000")
}

Benefits of WAL Mode

• Concurrent reads and writes: Multiple readers don’t block writers
• Better performance: Fewer disk syncs required
• Crash safety: Changes are atomic and recoverable

WAL Checkpoints

Checkpoints merge the WAL file back into the main database:

• Automatic: Every 5 minutes via scheduler
• On quit: When app closes gracefully
• Size threshold: When WAL grows too large

This prevents data loss and keeps the database compact.

Performance Monitoring

Dayflow includes debug tools for monitoring database performance:

StorageManager.swift:442-501

private let debugSlowQueries = true
private let slowThresholdMs: Double = 100  // Log anything over 100ms

#if DEBUG
try? db.write { db in
    db.trace { event in
        if case .profile(let statement, let duration) = event, duration > 0.1 {
            print("📊 SLOW SQL (\(Int(duration * 1000))ms): \(statement)")
        }
    }
}
#endif

In debug builds, slow queries (>100ms) are logged to help identify performance issues.

Troubleshooting

Database Corruption

If you see database errors:

1. Automatic recovery: Dayflow will attempt to restore from backup
2. Manual recovery: Copy latest backup from backups/ directory
3. Last resort: Delete database and start fresh (loses all history)

Storage Not Freeing Up

If storage usage isn’t decreasing after purge:

1. Check WAL files: The -wal and -shm files may be holding data temporarily
2. Force checkpoint:
   sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dayflow/chunks.sqlite "PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE);"
   
3. Restart Dayflow: This triggers a full checkpoint

High Storage Usage

If Dayflow is using more storage than expected:

1. Check screenshot resolution: Higher resolution = larger files
2. Review capture frequency: More frequent screenshots = more storage
3. Lower storage limit: Reduce limit in Settings to trigger more aggressive purging
4. Manual purge: Use Settings → Storage → Purge to remove old data