# Quarantine and restore

> Where Cloak Watch moves files when it fixes something, what its quarantine manifest records, how to put anything back, and which folders Watch never touches.

Source: https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/quarantine/

Cloak Watch never deletes. When [Fix it](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/inbox/#fix-it-and-fix-all) removes something, Watch moves it into its Quarantine folder, or keeps the original of a file it edits, and writes a manifest so it can put everything back exactly where it was.

## Where files go

Quarantine lives in your Library:

```text
~/Library/Application Support/Cloak Watch/Quarantine
```

Each thing Watch moves or edits gets its own folder, named after the date and time plus a short random ID, with only you able to open it:

- Quarantine/
  - 20261023-091512-4f2a9c1e/
    - manifest.json
    - item-com.user.gh-token-monitor.plist  the moved file
  - 20261023-091513-b7d0e2a4/
    - manifest.json
    - original-settings.json  the original of an edited file

- A **moved** item (`item-…`) is the file or folder itself. Watch clears the executable bit on a moved file so nothing in Quarantine can run by accident.
- A **backup** (`original-…`) is a copy of a file taken before Watch removed one entry from it: a Claude Code hook, an editor task, a shell profile line or an MCP server. The edited file stays where it was.

## The manifest

Every folder has a `manifest.json` that records:

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `id` | The folder name |
| `originalPath` | Where the file was |
| `storedPath` | Where it is now, inside Quarantine |
| `kind` | `moved` or `backup` |
| `sha256` | The file's SHA-256, for a single file |
| `size`, `mode` | Its size and permissions, so Watch can restore them |
| `date` | When Watch moved it |
| `findingID` | The incident it belongs to |
| `reason` | Why, for example `Launch item com.user.gh-token-monitor` or `Before removing a hook` |
| `restored` | Whether it has been put back |

## Put something back

1. Open **Settings › Quarantine**. It lists everything Watch moved or changed, newest first: the original path, whether it was moved or edited, when, and why.

   *[Screenshot: Settings › Quarantine listing four items: a LaunchAgents plist, an edited .claude/settings.json, a node_modules package folder and the npm cache, each with a Put Back button]*

2. Click **Put Back** next to the item. Its row then says **Put back**.

Watch then checks that place again, so if you put back something malicious, the incident comes back too.

You can also undo from where you fixed it: every step in the Fix it sheet, and every item under **Fixed on …** on a fixed incident, has **Undo** and **Show in Finder**.

*[Screenshot: A fixed incident: Fixed on 22 Oct · 4 items in Quarantine, with each item listed with Show in Finder and Undo links]*

| What was quarantined | What Put Back does |
|---|---|
| A moved file or folder | Moves it back to its original path and restores its permissions. If something already exists there, Watch refuses: **Can't restore: something already exists at …**. Move that aside first. |
| The original of an edited file | Writes the original contents back over the edited file. Anything you changed in that file since is replaced. |

From Terminal, [`watchctl quarantine`](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/watchctl/#quarantine) lists the same records and restores one by ID.

## What's never touched

Fix it can only change paths in these places, and refuses anything else, whatever an incident pack or a check asks:

- your home folder;
- `/Library/LaunchAgents`, `/Library/LaunchDaemons` and `/Library/Caches`;
- `/tmp`, `/private/tmp` and `/private/var/folders`;
- `/Users/Shared`, `/opt/homebrew/lib` and `/usr/local/lib`.

Within those, Watch never moves:

- any of those folders as a whole;
- your `~/.ssh` or `~/.gnupg` folders, your Keychains folder, or your Documents or Desktop folders;
- its own folder, `~/Library/Application Support/Cloak Watch`;
- a path written with `..`.

It also leaves pnpm's store alone, because projects link into it.

> **Not everything Watch changes goes to Quarantine:**
> When you connect an AI tool or set a cooldown, Watch keeps a copy of the file it changes next to the file itself, not in Quarantine: `settings.json.cloak-watch-backup` for AI tool settings and, for example, `.npmrc.cloakwatch-backup` for cooldowns. See [Connect your AI tools](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/ai-activity/connections/#undo-a-connection) and [Install Guard](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/install-guard/).

## Clean out Quarantine

Watch doesn't empty Quarantine by itself. Click **Show in Finder** in **Settings › Quarantine** to open the folder. When you're sure you don't need something, you can delete its folder yourself; once deleted, Watch can't put it back.

> **Caution:**
> Files in Quarantine came from incidents. Some may be malware. Don't open or run them; delete them, or put them back only if you know they're safe.

## Related

  - [Home, Inbox and incidents](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/inbox/): Fix it, Fix all and your own steps.
  - [Settings](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/settings/): Every settings page.
  - [Troubleshooting](https://docs.subcloak.com/cloak-watch/troubleshooting/): When a restore fails.