Slots, metadata and backups

Named save slots with their own data and description, rotating backups, and the recovery ladder that completes a damaged save from the newest copy that still works.

Named slots#

csharp

var slot = Persist.Slots.Create(class="tok-str">"Chapter 1");   // a display name becomes a safe folder name
Persist.Slots.Select(slot.Id);

Persist.Save(class="tok-str">"score", 1500);                    // unchanged code, a different file

Persist.Slots.Select(Persist.Slots.Default);    // back to the built-in slot

Call	What it does
`Persist.Slots.List()`	every slot, with its state, size, and when it was last written
`Persist.Slots.Create(displayName, id)`	makes a slot; the id is derived from the name unless you give one
`Persist.Slots.Select(id, remember)`	sends later saves to that slot; `remember: true` survives a restart
`Persist.Slots.Inspect(id)`	the state, the problem in plain words, and the exact code for that problem
`Persist.Slots.Rename`, `Relabel`, `Delete(confirm: true)`	renames the folder, changes the shown name, deletes

Each slot lives in its own folder with its own save file, its own backups and a small slot.json description. A description is never a source of truth: every list, load and report reads the save file itself, so a missing or damaged description cannot make a slot look better or worse than it is.

Backups#

Every save keeps the file it replaced. Three copies by default, between one and ten:

csharp

Persist.Backups.Keep = 5;
int howMany = Persist.Backups.Count();
Persist.Backups.Restore(confirm: true);      // puts the newest usable copy in place

The recovery ladder#

When the file a load wants cannot be used, the newest copy that still works is used instead, and the result says which file that was:

csharp

var result = Persist.LastResult;

if (result.Recovered)
{
    Debug.Log(class="tok-str">"Loaded from " + result.RecoveredFrom);   // the full path
    Debug.Log(result.Code);                             // PK-RECOVERY-002, or whatever was wrong
}

Code	What it means
`PK-INTEGRITY-001`	The file was changed or damaged after it was written
`PK-RECOVERY-001`	There is no usable backup to go back to
`PK-RECOVERY-002`	The current file was missing, so the newest usable copy was used
`PK-FORMAT-001`	That file is not a PersistKit save, or its format is newer than this build
`PK-VERSION-001`	That save came from a newer build of the game

Nothing is ever deleted or repaired behind your back: a damaged file is left exactly where it is, because it may still hold data the backups do not, and it is the thing somebody would look at to work out what happened.

File management#

Persist.Files.Exists, List, Delete, Rename, Copy and Path cover the rest. Anything that replaces or deletes saved data needs confirm: true.

Named slots#

Backups#

The recovery ladder#

File management#

Next#