SSARC and SSRESTOR in Visual SourceSafe: Safe Archive and Restore Guide

Originally published on 2009-10-06; fully revised and updated.

This guide explains how to use Microsoft Visual SourceSafe command-line utilities SSARC (archive) and SSRESTOR (restore). It is aimed at teams maintaining legacy VSS databases and shows safer backup-first workflows, option behavior, and practical commands. For historical context, see the original post.

What SSARC and SSRESTOR are for

In Visual SourceSafe, these utilities support command-line archive and recovery operations outside the GUI wizards in VSS Administrator.

• SSARC: Archives files/projects (or selected historical versions). It can optionally delete archived items from the database.
• SSRESTOR: Restores items from an archive file back into a VSS database.
• Both utilities: Support standard VSS options like credentials, non-interactive mode, and output redirection.

Recommended archive and restore workflow

For operational safety, run archive jobs in non-destructive mode first, validate the archive, and only then consider deletion-oriented runs.

flowchart TD
    A[Choose project scope] --> B[Run SSARC with no delete]
    B --> C[Validate archive with list or test]
    C --> D{Need to remove items from VSS}
    D -- No --> E[Keep archive as backup]
    D -- Yes --> F[Run SSARC with delete mode]
    E --> G[Store archive securely]
    F --> G
    G --> H[Use SSRESTOR for recovery]

SSARC vs SSRESTOR at a glance

Syntax reference

SSARC syntax

ssarc [-C][-D][-I-][-O][-S][-V][-X][-Y] <archive file to create> <files/projects to archive>Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

SSRESTOR syntax

ssrestor [-C][-I-][-L][-O][-P<project>][-S][-T][-X][-Y] <archive file to restore> [files/projects]Code language: CSS (css)

Notation reminder: values in <...> are required arguments, [...] are optional, and options with spaces in their values should be wrapped in quotes.

Important options and operational impact

Practical command examples

Create a full archive without deleting anything

SSARC -d- -yadmin,password archive.ssa $/

Backs up the full default VSS tree into archive.ssa and leaves database contents unchanged.

Archive using a label selector and write a log

SSARC -d- "-vlProduction Release" -yadmin,password -olog.txt archive.ssa $/TestCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Archives versions associated with the label expression and writes command output to log.txt.

Archive deleted items and remove them from VSS

SSARC -d -x -yadmin,password archive.ssa "$/Project Global Domination" $/OtherProjectCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

This is a destructive operation because -d is used. Validate archive recoverability before using this mode.

List and test an archive before restore

SSRESTOR -la -yadmin,password archive.ssa $/
SSRESTOR -t -yadmin,password archive.ssa

The first command lists archive contents; the second tests the archive file without restoring data.

Restore to another project path or database context

SSRESTOR "-p$/Test 2" -sD:\newfolder\ -yadmin,password backup.ssa $/TestCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Restores $/Test from backup.ssa into $/Test 2 using an alternate SourceSafe configuration path.

Automation example for scheduled backups

The following Windows batch example runs SSARC in non-interactive, non-destructive mode and generates a dated archive filename.

@echo off
set SSARC_EXE=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\VSS\win32\ssarc.exe
set ARCHIVE_DIR=C:\Backups
set VSS_USER=admin
set VSS_PASS=password

for /f %%i in ('powershell -NoProfile -Command "Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd"') do set DATESTAMP=%%i

"%SSARC_EXE%" -i- -d- -y%VSS_USER%,%VSS_PASS% "%ARCHIVE_DIR%\ARCHIVE-%DATESTAMP%.ssa" $/Code language: CSS (css)

Best practices for legacy VSS maintenance

• Default to -D- for routine backups; use -D only with explicit cleanup intent.
• Validate archives before recovery with SSRESTOR -L/-LA and SSRESTOR -T.
• If you see "Only ADMIN can run this utility," verify admin credentials and -Y<user>,<pwd> formatting.
• Quote options that include spaces, for example "-p$/Project A" or "-vlProduction Release".
• The source states a 2 GB archive/restore limit; split very large trees into subprojects if needed.
• Keep archive files off-host and retain logs for audit and rollback.

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

I publish technical articles at DevOps School, travel stories at Holiday Landmark, stock market insights at Stocks Mantra, health and fitness guidance at My Medic Plus, product reviews at TrueReviewNow, and SEO and digital marketing strategies at Wizbrand.