Terminology
Define the update, selection, recovery, sign-in, and notification terms that appear throughout the Outpost documentation.
Access Token
A key that a script or app sends to call the API, made of outpost_ and 43 random characters. Each one has a name, one or more scopes, and an optional expiry, and Outpost stores only a hash of it.
Cycle
One pass over all selected containers, or over one container checked from the dashboard or the API, producing one report. The schedule, Check when Outpost starts, the API, or the dashboard starts it, the dashboard calls it a check, and only one cycle runs at a time.
Destination
A place Outpost sends alerts to, such as an ntfy topic, a Telegram chat, or an email inbox, set up on the dashboard's Notifications page. Each one has a name, a service, its own fields, and the notification events it listens to.
Encryption Key
The key file keys/installation.key in the data directory, which encrypts the authenticator app's secret, the secret fields of notification destinations, and the passwords of private registry sign-ins in the database. Outpost creates it on the first start, and if the file goes missing, makes a new key, turns off the authenticator app, and removes those secret fields and passwords.
Label Mode
How Outpost picks containers. opt-out updates every container unless it is labeled off, and opt-in updates only containers labeled on.
Monitor-Only
Reporting available updates without recreating containers. It can be turned on for every container or for single containers with a label.
Notification Event
Something Outpost can send an alert about, such as Containers updated, Update failed, or Sign-in locked. Each destination chooses its own events, and one check sends at most one alert per event.
Passkey
A sign-in kept by your device or password manager that replaces the username, the password, and the authenticator code. It works only at the address it was added on, which has to be a domain name over HTTPS, or localhost.
Recovery Code
One of ten single-use codes, such as 7KQ2M-XW9PD, shown once when you turn on the authenticator app. It stands in for an authenticator code at sign-in, and Outpost stores only a hash of it.
Recreation
Stopping a container, starting an identical one on the new image, and removing the old one once the new one is up. Settings, volumes, and networks carry over.
Remote Digest
The manifest digest the registry reports for an image tag. Outpost compares it with the digest of the running image to decide whether an update exists without pulling.
Report
The per-container results of a cycle, along with what started it. Each container is updated, available, up-to-date, skipped, rolled-back, or failed.
Rollback
Removing a failed replacement and restarting the previous container under its original name. It happens when any step of the swap fails, from stopping the old container to removing it, including when the new container stops, turns unhealthy, or doesn't become healthy in time.
Scope
What an access token is allowed to do: status:read reads the status, updates:run starts checks, and metrics:read reads the Prometheus metrics. A token can hold several scopes, and none of them includes another.
Secret Field
A destination field, such as a token, a password, or a webhook URL, that Outpost seals with the encryption key when you save it. Neither the dashboard nor the API shows it again, and a lost encryption key removes it.
Settle Period
How long a container without a healthcheck must keep running before an update counts as successful. It is set with Settle time on the Settings page.
Setup Code
The one-time code, in three groups of five characters such as K7Q2M-XR9TD-P4W8N, that Outpost prints to the container log while no dashboard account exists. It creates the account, works for 30 minutes, and is replaced by a new code each time Outpost starts.