01 Quick start
Pack, look inside, unpack
-method sets the action, everything else is options. Every option has two forms: -name value and --name=value.
A container is an .adn file; -workers 0 puts every core to work, -progress shows progress.
Create a container from a folder
dan -method INTRACT -name photos -src ./photos -dest ./box \
-compress ZSTD -cipher AES256 -password "secret" -workers 0 -progressSee what's inside
dan -method INFO -danube ./box/photos.adn -password "secret"Unpack
dan -method EXTRACT -danube ./box/photos.adn -dest ./restored -password "secret" -workers 0 -progress02 Methods
Seventeen actions on a container
| Method | What it does |
|---|---|
| INTRACT | creates a container from a file or folder |
| EXTRACT | extracts the contents — all of it, or a single node by name or number |
| APPEND | adds a file or folder to a finished container |
| DELETE | removes a node from the container |
| RENAME | renames a node |
| MOVE | moves one or more nodes to another folder of the container |
| MKLINK | creates a symbolic link inside the container |
| SEARCH | searches by name — in a container or in a folder on disk |
| FOLDER | shows a node's full path inside the container |
| INFO | information about the container or a node |
| DETAILED | detailed information about the container or a node |
| COUNT | counts nodes |
| SIZE | calculates data size |
| PARTS | the number of container parts |
| AUTHOR | author details — no password needed |
| ENCRYPT | checks whether the container is encrypted |
| DIAGNOSTIC | checks the container's integrity |
Nodes — the container's files and folders — are addressed by number: -nid 8 or a list -nids "3|4|5".
INFO and SEARCH print the numbers. INFO, DETAILED, COUNT, SIZE
and SEARCH also work on an ordinary folder: pass -src instead of -danube.
03 Options
What you can specify
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Container | |
| -danube | path to the .adn container file |
| -src | the file or folder being packed or added |
| -dest | where to save: a folder on disk or a node number in the container |
| -name | container or node name; for search — the name to look for |
| -password | encryption password |
| -cipher | cipher: AES128, AES192, AES256 |
| -compress | compression algorithm — see “Values” |
| -frameSize | approximate size of one part: B, KB, MB, GB |
| -noedit | forbid further editing of the container |
| Nodes and filters | |
| -nid / -nids | a node number or a list of numbers separated by | |
| -exact | search for an exact name match |
| -absolute | search only inside the given node |
| -whitelist | take only these extensions: "jpg|png" |
| -blacklist | skip these extensions |
| Author | |
| -author | author name |
| -contacts | author contacts |
| -copyright | copyright notice |
| -copypass | a password protecting the copyright details |
| -description | container description |
| Runtime | |
| -workers | number of worker threads; 0 — all cores |
| -optimize | save memory: YES or NO |
| -progress | show operation progress |
| -status | show the work status |
| -maxBox | maximum container size |
| -minFrame / -maxFrame | minimum and maximum data frame size |
| -maxCache | maximum cache size |
| -config | a JSON settings file |
| -formatDate | date format in the output: "%m/%d/%Y %H:%M:%S" |
| -V, -H | program version and help |
04 Examples
Common tasks
A container with author details
dan -method INTRACT -name report -src ./report -dest ./box -compress ZSTD \
-password "secret" -cipher AES128 -author "Jane Smith" -contacts jane@example.com \
--copyright="2026 Example Ltd" -description "Quarterly report" -workers 0 -progressIn 700 MB parts
dan -method INTRACT -name video -src ./video -dest ./box -compress LZ4 -frameSize 700MB -workers 0 -progress
Extract one file by name or by number
dan -method EXTRACT -danube ./box/report.adn -dest ./out -password "secret" -name plan.xlsx dan -method EXTRACT -danube ./box/report.adn -dest ./out -password "secret" -nid 3
Find a file
# by part of the name, by the exact name, only inside folder number 8 dan -method SEARCH -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -name "plan" dan -method SEARCH -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -name "plan.xlsx" -exact dan -method SEARCH -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -name "plan" -nid 8 -absolute
Edit in place
dan -method APPEND -danube ./box/report.adn -src ./notes.txt -nid 8 -password "secret" -progress dan -method RENAME -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -nid 3 -name "summary.txt" dan -method MOVE -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -nids "3|4|5" -dest 8 dan -method DELETE -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -nid 7 -progress
Check a container
dan -method ENCRYPT -danube ./box/report.adn
dan -method AUTHOR -danube ./box/report.adn
dan -method DIAGNOSTIC -danube ./box/report.adn -password "secret" -progress05 Values
Compression and encryption
| Option | Allowed values |
|---|---|
| -compress | NONE LZ4 SNAPPY DENSITY LIZARD ZSTD DEFLATE GZIP BROTLI BZIP2 LZMA |
| -cipher | AES128 AES192 AES256 |
| -frameSize | a number with a unit: 500MB, 4GB |
| -optimize | YES NO ON OFF TRUE FALSE |
NONE stores data uncompressed — for content that is already compressed: video, photos, archives.