{"id":150,"date":"2026-10-12T14:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scmgalaxy.com\/tutorials\/2009\/10\/06\/ssarc-utility-ssrestor-utility\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:02:28","slug":"ssarc-utility-ssrestor-utility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/ssarc-utility-ssrestor-utility\/","title":{"rendered":"SSARC and SSRESTOR in Visual SourceSafe: Safe Archive and Restore Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published on 2009-10-06; fully revised and updated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide explains how to use Microsoft Visual SourceSafe command-line utilities SSARC<\/strong> (archive) and SSRESTOR<\/strong> (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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SSARC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What SSARC and SSRESTOR are for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Visual SourceSafe, these utilities support command-line archive and recovery operations outside the GUI wizards in VSS Administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

    Recommended archive and restore workflow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    For operational safety, run archive jobs in non-destructive mode first, validate the archive, and only then consider deletion-oriented runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nflowchart TD\n    A[Choose project scope] --> B[Run SSARC with no delete]\n    B --> C[Validate archive with list or test]\n    C --> D{Need to remove items from VSS}\n    D -- No --> E[Keep archive as backup]\n    D -- Yes --> F[Run SSARC with delete mode]\n    E --> G[Store archive securely]\n    F --> G\n    G --> H[Use SSRESTOR for recovery]\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    SSARC vs SSRESTOR at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Utility<\/th>Primary purpose<\/th>Input<\/th>Can change VSS contents<\/th>Notable behavior from source<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    SSARC<\/td>Create archive files from VSS files\/projects or version ranges<\/td>VSS path(s) such as $\/Project<\/td>Yes, if -D<\/code> is used<\/td>Archive file size over 2 GB is described as unsupported in the source<\/td><\/tr>
    SSRESTOR<\/td>Restore from existing archive files<\/td>.ssa archive + optional target items\/project<\/td>Yes, writes restored items into the destination database<\/td>Restore fails on duplicate project\/file names; includes list and test modes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Syntax reference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    SSARC syntax<\/h3>\n\n\n
    ssarc [-C][-D][-I-][-O][-S][-V][-X][-Y] <archive<\/span> file<\/span> to<\/span> create<\/span>><\/span> <files<\/span>\/projects<\/span> to<\/span> archive<\/span>><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    SSRESTOR syntax<\/h3>\n\n\n
    ssrestor<\/span> [-C]<\/span>[-I-]<\/span>[-L]<\/span>[-O]<\/span>[-P<project>]<\/span>[-S]<\/span>[-T]<\/span>[-X]<\/span>[-Y]<\/span> <archive<\/span> file<\/span> to<\/span> restore<\/span>> [files\/projects]<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Notation reminder: values in <...><\/code> are required arguments, [...]<\/code> are optional, and options with spaces in their values should be wrapped in quotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Important options and operational impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Option<\/th>Utility<\/th>Effect<\/th>When to use<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    -D<\/code><\/td>SSARC<\/td>Deletes archived items from the VSS database<\/td>Data-pruning jobs only, after validated backups<\/td><\/tr>
    -D-<\/code><\/td>SSARC<\/td>Do not delete archived items (or avoid prompt-driven deletion)<\/td>Normal backup runs<\/td><\/tr>
    -I-<\/code><\/td>Both<\/td>No interactive prompting<\/td>Scheduled\/automated runs<\/td><\/tr>
    -V...<\/code><\/td>SSARC<\/td>Archive up to a version\/date\/label (inclusive behavior is described in source)<\/td>History slicing before cleanup<\/td><\/tr>
    -L<\/code> \/ -LA<\/code><\/td>SSRESTOR<\/td>List archive contents without restoring<\/td>Pre-restore verification<\/td><\/tr>
    -T<\/code><\/td>SSRESTOR<\/td>Test archive for corruption without restore<\/td>Integrity check before recovery<\/td><\/tr>
    -P<project><\/code><\/td>SSRESTOR<\/td>Restore under a specified destination project<\/td>Relocation or cross-database restore<\/td><\/tr>
    -X<\/code> \/ -X-<\/code><\/td>Both<\/td>Controls deleted-item handling\/selection<\/td>When deleted and undeleted items share names<\/td><\/tr>
    -Y<user>,<pwd><\/code><\/td>Both<\/td>Credentials for command execution<\/td>Required for scripted runs<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Practical command examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Create a full archive without deleting anything<\/h3>\n\n\n
    SSARC -d- -yadmin,password archive.ssa $\/<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Backs up the full default VSS tree into archive.ssa<\/code> and leaves database contents unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Archive using a label selector and write a log<\/h3>\n\n\n
    SSARC -d- \"-vlProduction Release\"<\/span> -yadmin,password -olog.txt archive.ssa $\/Test<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Archives versions associated with the label expression and writes command output to log.txt<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Archive deleted items and remove them from VSS<\/h3>\n\n\n
    SSARC -d -x -yadmin,password archive.ssa \"$\/Project Global Domination\"<\/span> $\/OtherProject<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    This is a destructive operation because -d<\/code> is used. Validate archive recoverability before using this mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    List and test an archive before restore<\/h3>\n\n\n
    SSRESTOR -la -yadmin,password archive.ssa $\/\nSSRESTOR -t -yadmin,password archive.ssa<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
    The first command lists archive contents; the second tests the archive file without restoring data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Restore to another project path or database context<\/h3>\n\n\n
    SSRESTOR \"-p$\/Test 2\"<\/span> -sD:\\newfolder\\ -yadmin,password backup.ssa $\/Test<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Restores $\/Test<\/code> from backup.ssa<\/code> into $\/Test 2<\/code> using an alternate SourceSafe configuration path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Automation example for scheduled backups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    The following Windows batch example runs SSARC in non-interactive, non-destructive mode and generates a dated archive filename.<\/p>\n\n\n
    @echo<\/span> off\nset SSARC_EXE=C:<\/span>\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\Common\\VSS\\win32\\ssarc.exe\nset ARCHIVE_DIR=C:<\/span>\\Backups\nset VSS_USER=admin\nset VSS_PASS=password\n\nfor \/f %%i in ('powershell -NoProfile -Command \"Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd\"'<\/span>) do set DATESTAMP=%%i\n\n\"%SSARC_EXE%\"<\/span> -i- -d- -y%VSS_USER%,%VSS_PASS% \"%ARCHIVE_DIR%\\ARCHIVE-%DATESTAMP%.ssa\"<\/span> $\/<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
    Best practices for legacy VSS maintenance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    • Default to -D-<\/code> for routine backups; use -D<\/code> only with explicit cleanup intent.<\/li>
    • Validate archives before recovery with SSRESTOR -L\/-LA<\/code> and SSRESTOR -T<\/code>.<\/li>
    • If you see "Only ADMIN can run this utility," verify admin credentials and -Y<user>,<pwd><\/code> formatting.<\/li>
    • Quote options that include spaces, for example "-p$\/Project A"<\/code> or "-vlProduction Release"<\/code>.<\/li>
    • The source states a 2 GB archive\/restore limit; split very large trees into subprojects if needed.<\/li>
    • Keep archive files off-host and retain logs for audit and rollback.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      A practical guide to archiving and restoring Visual SourceSafe projects with SSARC and SSRESTOR. Learn safe workflows, key options, and command examples for legacy VSS maintenance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3238,1122,3113,919,593,938,3239,3230,3240,3232,3231,3241,3233,213,1302,3237,368,3236,1452,3234,3235],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-archive-vss-project","tag-guide","tag-how-to","tag-instructions","tag-process","tag-reference","tag-restore-vss-project","tag-ssarc","tag-ssarc-tutorial","tag-ssarc-utility","tag-ssrestor","tag-ssrestor-tutorial","tag-ssrestor-utility","tag-tutorial","tag-utility","tag-visual-source-safe","tag-vss","tag-vss-project","tag-ways","tag-what-is-ssarc-utility","tag-what-is-ssrestor-utility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78998,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions\/78998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}