Backfill

Backfill is the no-connector path: it reads a folder on this machine, works out what is in it, uploads what it finds and describes it.

Starting an import

Wizard
Command

npx probe-research            # → Your research → Import research work

The wizard is the better door for this, and not only because it has screens. It runs the import in the background, so a large folder does not hold your terminal; it survives a disconnect and resumes after a restart; and it shows you the plan before anything uploads.

Import research work

The picker, the two run modes, and what gets reviewed before it writes.

Existing imports

Watch one, read its result, resume what was interrupted.

probe backfill /path/to/work --project existing-project
probe backfill --transcripts-only

Direct probe backfill is synchronous — it holds the terminal until it finishes.To drive the wizard’s own background lane unattended instead:

probe wizard --action backfill --folder /srv/work/folding --yes
probe wizard --action transcripts --yes

--folder is required headless: without it the wizard opens a picker, which needs a TTY.

Both doors share the same file-coverage records and delivery receipts, so completed uploads are reused whichever one you came through — switching between them costs nothing.

What it reads

Kind	Becomes
Files	Artifacts on the chosen anchor, deduplicated by content
A GitHub checkout	Placement context from bounded commit history, plus the attached code source
Coding-agent transcripts	Standalone sessions in the knowledgebase
Local W&B run directories	Runs and metric history — see W&B

References remain references. A file recorded as a pointer to bytes you keep elsewhere is never silently turned into an upload.Sessions import as standalone. Backfill verifies their native session identity and preserves immutable retries, but it does not infer or create links to projects, experiments or runs. Nothing is guessed.

Reviewing before it writes

Folder imports either review placement before writing, or use the explicit automatic-approval option — which is never selected for you. File and Git reconstruction drafts are saved for explicit publication review, and refreshing the AI summary is a separate step again. The agent’s reading of your folder is a draft until you say otherwise.

Resuming

probe backfill /path/to/work --source-id <id>       # the folder moved, same destination
probe backfill /path/to/work --import-changed       # review files that changed since
probe backfill /path/to/work --import-unverified    # review unresolved legacy matches

Rerun to resume. Coverage of current files is reported separately from pending delivery, so “we read everything” and “everything arrived” are never conflated.

A resume delivers the saved plan and the saved file versions. New or changed files are not silently added to that delivery — that is what --import-changed is for. A retry can never quietly widen its own scope.

Transcripts only

probe backfill --transcripts-only

Imports saved coding-agent histories without touching any folder. The picker detects them independently of which agents you currently have installed.

Protocol-2 transcript imports require a compatible engine, API and tap release. An older combination imports at the earlier protocol rather than failing.

Getting started

Setup wizard

Tracking your work

Python SDK

CLI

Coding agents

Dashboard

Integrations and imports

Deploy and operate

Reference

Starting an import

Import research work

Existing imports

What it reads

Reviewing before it writes

Resuming

Transcripts only

​Starting an import

Import research work

Existing imports

​What it reads

​Reviewing before it writes

​Resuming

​Transcripts only

Starting an import

What it reads

Reviewing before it writes

Resuming

Transcripts only