Tink vs ext4magic
ext4magic restores deleted ext3/ext4 files 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.
ext4magic undeletes the files. Tink answers “why is this VPS sick?”
Accidental sysadmins land on ext4magic because a free journal undelete looks like insurance. Then the host volume fills, nginx dies, and the last RECOVERED_FILES tree still looks complete — no -r match for host fill. A filling /var is a Tink warning; it is not an ext4magic 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 ext4magic if you already run journal undelete. Use Tink if you run Linux servers and want a mechanic.
| Feature | Tink | ext4magic |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 30 seconds (one curl | sh command) | Hours — unmount the volume, run ext4magic /dev/sdXn -r -d /recovery, pick -a/-b timestamps or -m magic, then a host that still has no mechanic after the last restore finished |
| What you get | Working monitoring, diagnosis, and approved fixes | A journal-undelete CLI. Disk fill, nginx, Postgres, and certs stay your problem until you SSH past the last RECOVERED_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 ext4magic -r looks finished |
| Hidden costs | None — fully managed | A quiet RECOVERED_FILES tree that is not host fill, downtime to unmount the fs, journal-window 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 | ext4magic -r, -f, -a/-b, -m magic scan. ext4magic does not watch a quiet cert or host auth.log after the last undelete session ended |
| Configuration | None after install — heuristics and AI | Which /dev/sdXn to undelete, -r vs -f, journal timestamps vs magic, destination -d, and which failed ext4magic session actually pages you |
| Plain-English diagnosis | Yes — AI explains root cause, impact, and fix | You read the ext4magic log and RECOVERED_FILES, then SSH into the host to change the Linux box ext4magic already undeleted files off |
| Fix execution | Proposes and executes approved commands with an audit trail | Restore inodes from the journal — ext4magic cannot free host disk, rotate a cert, or stop SSH brute-force unless you run ext4magic again |
| Alerting | Built-in across 8 channels | Not an ext4magic job — cron mail from a failed undelete plus a separate monitoring tool have to fire |
| Predictive alerts | Yes — disk fills in ~6 days, memory and CPU trends | Not an ext4magic job — a RECOVERED_FILES date does not forecast a quiet host filling up |
| SSH brute-force detection | Built-in — parses auth.log every scan | Never — ext4magic does not read host auth.log, journald, or firewall state after the last undelete session ended |
| Machine offline detection | Agent presence monitoring with multi-channel alerts | Silence if the host dies after the last ext4magic -r — unless you built a separate uptime check |
| Public status page | Shareable URL with 90-day history | None — ext4magic has no customer-facing status page for the Linux host |
| Weekly fleet digest | Automated Monday digest + daily brief when issues are open | None — a RECOVERED_FILES recap is not a plain-English fleet narrative |
| On-call tracking | Built-in /oncall command + incident acknowledgment | Not included — wire failed ext4magic restores into PagerDuty or another incident tool |
| Conversation interface | Telegram, WhatsApp, web dashboard, CLI | The ext4magic CLI, journal timestamps, and SSH. No mechanic you text when /var filled and the last -r still showed complete |
| Learning curve | None — works after install | Steep — unmount first, -r vs -f vs -m, -a/-b journal windows, destination -d, 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 ext4magic for ext3/ext4 journal undelete, not a sick-VPS mechanic |
When ext4magic is the right choice
Keep using ext4magic when you already want that exact job:
- Journal undelete — you need ext4magic -r, -f, -a/-b timestamps, or -m magic, not a mechanic.
- An existing recovery stack — unmounted ext3/ext4 volumes, journal windows, and a lab LAN matter more than guest nginx, certs, and SSH on a quiet VPS.
- An existing lab or nested setup — ext4magic already runs, RECOVERED_FILES already exists, and someone owns the unmounted disk.
- Hosts that only page on undelete death — you already run failed-restore mail, not a sick-box SSH loop.
The real cost of “just run ext4magic”
ext4magic undeletes files. A working ops loop for five Linux boxes is not:
- A healthy -r pass 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 — ext4magic will stay quiet until the next undelete session
- A single VPS with a dead agent still needs a mechanic, not another ext4magic -r
For a 5-server team, Tink Mechanic at $45/month is cheaper than the engineer who keeps failed-restore notifications alive after a green ext4magic session, and every scan includes a diagnosis a quiet RECOVERED_FILES tree will not type.
No RECOVERED_FILES or journal-window homework. No silent host. One command install.
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