Remote Management & Diagnostics

Remote management helps Files.com maintain an Agent connection and diagnose problems without requiring a host administrator to edit every operational setting. Approving that capability requires understanding which settings remain local and what diagnostic information can leave the host.

Authenticated Management

Agent management requests use the authenticated Files.com connection and signed, short-lived control authorization. A file-transfer URL grants its specific file operation; it does not grant general management access.

Files.com access to a mounted folder also does not confer permission to administer the Remote Server or retrieve its Agent configuration. Review administrative access separately from file permissions.

The optional Direct Transfer listener serves authorized file transfers. Enabling it does not make ordinary transfer clients Agent administrators.

Local Settings and Remote Overrides

The file root, file-operation permissions, private key, approved Compute commands, and update policy are controlled on the host. They are not part of the supported remote configuration overrides.

Selected operational settings can be changed remotely. Depending on the setting and deployment, these include concurrency, health reporting, connection behavior, routing integration types, and update block windows. The Agent validates supported settings and their permitted values before applying changes.

Set disable_remote_feature_flags to true locally to disable these remote configuration changes. This control does not disable software updates, authorized file operations, or the separate diagnostic controls.

Remote overrides can persist across Agent restarts when persistence is enabled. Do not assume restarting the service restores every setting to the value written in the TOML file. When diagnosing a difference, review active operational settings as well as the local configuration and service arguments.

The configuration reference describes the local controls. If a requirement must hold regardless of operational overrides, also enforce it through the relevant host or network permissions.

Log Access and Debug Detail

Logs can contain filenames, paths, network details, and information printed by local programs. Protect them according to the sensitivity of the workflow, and review diagnostic material before sharing it outside the responsible team.

By default, Files.com can retrieve the Agent's local log remotely. Set disable_remote_log_access to true to prevent that remote log-file access.

The Agent also permits requests to temporarily enable debug logging by default. Set allow_remote_debug_logging to false to disable that capability. This setting governs temporary debug requests; the configured log level and supported operational overrides have their own controls.

These settings have different scopes. Blocking remote log retrieval does not stop local logging, routine connection and health reporting, or a host operator from supplying diagnostic files. Disabling temporary debug requests does not erase existing detailed logs.

Retention on the Host

Apply access and retention rules to local logs, temporary transfer files, backups, and returned Compute output. A key stored separately from the configuration still needs protection in backups and troubleshooting collections.

An update, disconnection, or service removal does not guarantee deletion of these copies. Include them in the host's normal information-retention and retirement process, as described in Access Removal & Recovery.