Tink vs ext3grep
ext3grep dumps deleted ext3 names from the journal. That is not a mechanic. Tink installs in one command, watches the Linux host, explains what is wrong, and helps you fix it.
ext3grep recovers the names. Tink answers “why is this VPS sick?”
Accidental sysadmins land on ext3grep because a free journal name dump looks like insurance. Then the host volume fills, nginx dies, and the last RESTORED_FILES tree still looks complete — no --dump-names match for host fill. A filling /var is a Tink warning; it is not an ext3grep job unless you scraped recovery mail and watched it.
Tink is the other job: detect the issue on the machine, say why it happened in plain English, propose the command, and run it only after you approve. Keep using ext3grep if you already run journal name dump. Use Tink if you run Linux servers and want a mechanic.
| Feature | Tink | ext3grep |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 30 seconds (one curl | sh command) | Hours — umount the ext3 volume, run ext3grep --dump-names then --restore-all, wait for RESTORED_FILES, then a host that still has no mechanic after the last journal dump finished |
| What you get | Working monitoring, diagnosis, and approved fixes | An ext3 journal name-dump and undelete tool. Disk fill, nginx, Postgres, and certs stay your problem until you SSH past the last RESTORED_FILES tree |
| Pricing | Free (Scout) / $9 / $29 per machine per month | GPL and free. You still pay the person who owns the VPS after the last ext3grep --restore-all looks finished |
| Hidden costs | None — fully managed | A quiet RESTORED_FILES tree that is not host fill, downtime to umount, --dump-names homework, and a second tool to tell you the box is sick while the last restore still showed complete |
| Monitoring approach | Agent on the server — CPU, disk, services, logs, certs, ports | ext3grep --dump-names, --restore-all, --restore-file, --restore-inode. ext3grep does not watch a quiet cert or host auth.log after the last recovery session ended |
| Configuration | None after install — heuristics and AI | Which ext3 device to dump, umount vs --restore-inode, RESTORED_FILES dir, and which failed ext3grep session actually pages you |
| Plain-English diagnosis | Yes — AI explains root cause, impact, and fix | You read --dump-names and RESTORED_FILES, then SSH into the host to change the Linux box ext3grep already pulled journal names off |
| Fix execution | Proposes and executes approved commands with an audit trail | Replay journal names into RESTORED_FILES — ext3grep cannot free host disk, rotate a cert, or stop SSH brute-force unless you run --restore-all again |
| Alerting | Built-in across 8 channels | Not an ext3grep job — cron mail from a failed restore plus a separate monitoring tool have to fire |
| Predictive alerts | Yes — disk fills in ~6 days, memory and CPU trends | Not an ext3grep job — a --dump-names date does not forecast a quiet host filling up |
| SSH brute-force detection | Built-in — parses auth.log every scan | Never — ext3grep does not read host auth.log, journald, or firewall state after the last recovery session ended |
| Machine offline detection | Agent presence monitoring with multi-channel alerts | Silence if the host dies after the last ext3grep --restore-all — unless you built a separate uptime check |
| Public status page | Shareable URL with 90-day history | None — ext3grep has no customer-facing status page for the Linux host |
| Weekly fleet digest | Automated Monday digest + daily brief when issues are open | None — a --dump-names recap is not a plain-English fleet narrative |
| On-call tracking | Built-in /oncall command + incident acknowledgment | Not included — wire failed ext3grep restores into PagerDuty or another incident tool |
| Conversation interface | Telegram, WhatsApp, web dashboard, CLI | The ext3grep CLI, umount, and SSH. No mechanic you text when /var filled and the last --dump-names still showed complete |
| Learning curve | None — works after install | Steep — umount, --dump-names, --restore-all, --restore-file, RESTORED_FILES, and which failure is the undelete vs the running host |
| Best for | Freelancers, small teams, accidental sysadmins (1-50 Linux servers) | Teams that already run ext3grep for journal name dump, not a sick-VPS mechanic |
When ext3grep is the right choice
Keep using ext3grep when you already want that exact job:
- Journal name dump — you need ext3grep --dump-names, --restore-all, or --restore-file, not a mechanic.
- An existing recovery stack — umounted ext3 volumes, disk images, and a lab LAN matter more than guest nginx, certs, and SSH on a quiet VPS.
- An existing lab or nested setup — ext3grep already runs, RESTORED_FILES already exists, and someone owns the unmounted device.
- Hosts that only page on image or restore death — you already run failed-backup mail, not a sick-box SSH loop.
The real cost of “just run ext3grep”
ext3grep dumps journal names. A working ops loop for five Linux boxes is not:
- A healthy --dump-names still means you SSH into the host and change the box by hand when it gets sick later
- Host fill, nginx, certs, and SSH brute-force never appear unless a separate tool scraped those signals and a rule fired
- A filling /var is a Tink disk warning on every scan — ext3grep will stay quiet until the next recovery session
- A single VPS with a dead agent still needs a mechanic, not another ext3grep --restore-all
For a 5-server team, Tink Mechanic at $45/month is cheaper than the engineer who keeps failed-backup notifications alive after a green ext3grep session, and every scan includes a diagnosis a quiet RESTORED_FILES tree will not type.
No RESTORED_FILES or umount homework. No silent host. One command install.
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