[](https://hub.docker.com/r/bellingcat/auto-archiver)
[](https://github.com/bellingcat/auto-archiver/actions/workflows/tests-core.yaml)
[](https://github.com/bellingcat/auto-archiver/actions/workflows/tests-download.yaml)
Read the [article about Auto Archiver on bellingcat.com](https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/09/22/preserve-vital-online-content-with-bellingcats-auto-archiver-tool/).
Python tool to automatically archive social media posts, videos, and images from a Google Sheets, the console, and more. Uses different archivers depending on the platform, and can save content to local storage, S3 bucket (Digital Ocean Spaces, AWS, ...), and Google Drive. If using Google Sheets as the source for links, it will be updated with information about the archived content. It can be run manually or on an automated basis.
But **you always need a configuration/orchestration file**, which is where you'll configure where/what/how to archive. Make sure you read [orchestration](#orchestration).
Docker works like a virtual machine running inside your computer, it isolates everything and makes installation simple. Since it is an isolated environment when you need to pass it your orchestration file or get downloaded media out of docker you will need to connect folders on your machine with folders inside docker with the `-v` volume flag.
3. run the docker image locally in a container: `docker run --rm -v $PWD/secrets:/app/secrets -v $PWD/local_archive:/app/local_archive bellingcat/auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml` breaking this command down:
1.`docker run` tells docker to start a new container (an instance of the image)
2.`--rm` makes sure this container is removed after execution (less garbage locally)
3.`-v $PWD/secrets:/app/secrets` - your secrets folder
1.`-v` is a volume flag which means a folder that you have on your computer will be connected to a folder inside the docker container
2.`$PWD/secrets` points to a `secrets/` folder in your current working directory (where your console points to), we use this folder as a best practice to hold all the secrets/tokens/passwords/... you use
3.`/app/secrets` points to the path the docker container where this image can be found
4.`-v $PWD/local_archive:/app/local_archive` - (optional) if you use local_storage
1.`-v` same as above, this is a volume instruction
2.`$PWD/local_archive` is a folder `local_archive/` in case you want to archive locally and have the files accessible outside docker
3.`/app/local_archive` is a folder inside docker that you can reference in your orchestration.yml file
4. run it with your orchestration file and pass any flags you want in the command line `auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml` if your orchestration file is inside a `secrets/`, which we advise
You will also need [ffmpeg](https://www.ffmpeg.org/), [firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/) and [geckodriver](https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver/releases), and optionally [fonts-noto](https://fonts.google.com/noto). Similar to the local installation.
<details><summary><code>Legacy instructions, only use if docker/package is not an option</code></summary>
Install the following locally:
1. [ffmpeg](https://www.ffmpeg.org/) must also be installed locally for this tool to work.
2. [firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/) and [geckodriver](https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver/releases) on a path folder like `/usr/local/bin`.
To setup an auto-archiver instance create an `orchestration.yaml` which contains the workflow you would like. We advise you put this file into a `secrets/` folder and do not share it with others because it will contain passwords and other secrets.
The structure of orchestration file is split into 2 parts: `steps` (what **steps** to use) and `configurations` (how those steps should behave), here's a simplification:
All the `configurations` in the `orchestration.yaml` file (you can name it differently but need to pass it in the `--config FILENAME` argument) can be seen in the console by using the `--help` flag. They can also be overwritten, for example if you are using the `cli_feeder` to archive from the command line and want to provide the URLs you should do:
Use this to make sure you help making sure you did all the required steps:
* [ ] you have a `/secrets` folder with all your configuration files including
* [ ] a orchestration file eg: `orchestration.yaml` pointing to the correct location of other files
* [ ] (optional if you use GoogleSheets) you have a `service_account.json` (see [how-to](https://gspread.readthedocs.io/en/latest/oauth2.html#for-bots-using-service-account))
* [ ] (optional for telegram) a `anon.session` which appears after the 1st run where you login to telegram
* if you use private channels you need to add `channel_invites` and set `join_channels=true` at least once
* [ ] (optional for VK) a `vk_config.v2.json`
* [ ] (optional for using GoogleDrive storage) `gd-token.json` (see [help script](scripts/create_update_gdrive_oauth_token.py))
* [ ] (optional for instagram) `instaloader.session` file which appears after the 1st run and login in instagram
* [ ] (optional for browsertrix) `profile.tar.gz` file
The recommended way to run the auto-archiver is through Docker. The invocations below will run the auto-archiver Docker image using a configuration file that you have specified
```bash
# all the configurations come from ./secrets/orchestration.yaml
docker run --rm -v $PWD/secrets:/app/secrets -v $PWD/local_archive:/app/local_archive bellingcat/auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml
# uses the same configurations but for another google docs sheet
# with a header on row 2 and with some different column names
# notice that columns is a dictionary so you need to pass it as JSON and it will override only the values provided
docker run --rm -v $PWD/secrets:/app/secrets -v $PWD/local_archive:/app/local_archive bellingcat/auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml --gsheet_feeder.sheet="use it on another sheets doc" --gsheet_feeder.header=2 --gsheet_feeder.columns='{"url": "link"}'
# all the configurations come from orchestration.yaml and specifies that s3 files should be private
auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml --gsheet_feeder.sheet="use it on another sheets doc" --gsheet_feeder.header=2 --gsheet_feeder.columns='{"url": "link"}'
To use Google Drive storage you need the id of the shared folder in the `config.yaml` file which must be shared with the service account eg `autoarchiverservice@auto-archiver-111111.iam.gserviceaccount.com` and then you can use `--storage=gd`
The first time you run, you will be prompted to do a authentication with the phone number associated, alternatively you can put your `anon.session` in the root.
When integrating with [Atlos](https://atlos.org), you will need to provide an API token in your configuration. You can learn more about Atlos and how to get an API token [here](https://docs.atlos.org/technical/api). You will have to provide this token to the `atlos_feeder`, `atlos_storage`, and `atlos_db` steps in your orchestration file. If you use a custom or self-hosted Atlos instance, you can also specify the `atlos_url` option to point to your custom instance's URL. For example:
This sheet must also have specific columns (case-insensitive) in the `header` as specified in [Gsheet.configs](src/auto_archiver/utils/gsheet.py). The default names of these columns and their purpose is:
Inputs:
* **Link** *(required)*: the URL of the post to archive
* **Destination folder**: custom folder for archived file (regardless of storage)
Outputs:
* **Archive status** *(required)*: Status of archive operation
* **Archive location**: URL of archived post
* **Archive date**: Date archived
* **Thumbnail**: Embeds a thumbnail for the post in the spreadsheet
For example, this is a spreadsheet configured with all of the columns for the auto archiver and a few URLs to archive. (Note that the column names are not case sensitive.)
Now the auto archiver can be invoked, with this command in this example: `docker run --rm -v $PWD/secrets:/app/secrets -v $PWD/local_archive:/app/local_archive bellingcat/auto-archiver:dockerize --config secrets/orchestration-global.yaml --gsheet_feeder.sheet "Auto archive test 2023-2"`. Note that the sheet name has been overridden/specified in the command line invocation.
Note that the first row is skipped, as it is assumed to be a header row (`--gsheet_feeder.header=1` and you can change it if you use more rows above). Rows with an empty URL column, or a non-empty archive column are also skipped. All sheets in the document will be checked.
Tests are split using `pytest.mark` into 'core' and 'download' tests. Download tests will hit the network and make API calls (e.g. Twitter, Bluesky etc.) and should be run regularly to make sure that APIs have not changed.
Tests can be run as follows:
```
# run core tests
pytest -ra -v -m "not download" # or poetry run pytest -ra -v -m "not download"
# run download tests
pytest -ra -v -m "download" # or poetry run pytest -ra -v -m "download"
