WRECK is a Java desktop utility tool to restore the file system timestamp attributes of files using the recorded metadata if possible and rules / heuristics as a backup method on a best-effort basis. (See Caveats for more details on the assumptions made).
The name WRECK is an acronym for Walk, Retrieve, Extract, Correct and Keep.
- Walk a given starting path or a single file
- Retrieve each file or directory encountered
- Extract metadata from it
- Correct the file system timestamps (creation, last modified, last accessed) using embedded metadata. In the absence of any useful metadata, it fallbacks to using rules, heuristics and guesswork for estimating an approximate appropriate timestamp on a best-effort basis (Refer to Caveats).
- Keep the files for archival and preservation
It essentially processes files and directories recursively, extracting embedded metadata from common file formats (e.g. Microsoft Office documents, JPEG photos, MP4 videos, MP3 audio) using a few libraries to maximize success in metadata extraction, work out the appropriate timestamps, correct them in the file system, and finally leaving the files ready for archival and preservation.
For more information, see the Wiki.