Roots

A root is a directory on a storage device that Canon tracks. Each root is identified by its absolute path and assigned a role.

Roles

Canon distinguishes two root roles:

Source roots contain assets you want to explore, reconcile, or archive. They may be unstructured, incomplete, or contain duplicates. Examples: old backup drives, phone exports, download folders.

Archive roots hold an intentional structure that you maintain. Files archived by Canon are placed here. Examples: your organized photo library, music collection, document archive.

Rules

• Roots may not overlap (one root cannot be inside another)
• A root can be any directory, not just a drive or mount point
• You can have multiple roots of each type
• Roots can be suspended to temporarily hide them from operations

Typical Setup

Source roots:
  /Volumes/OldBackup       (unorganized photos from 2015)
  /Volumes/PhoneExport     (recent phone backup)
  ~/Downloads/Photos       (miscellaneous downloads)

Archive roots:
  /Volumes/Archive/Photos  (canonical photo library)
  /Volumes/Archive/Music   (canonical music library)