Git Local Backup

A CLI tool for copying local files from Git projects to a cloud drive or a backup disk for safekeeping.

- Projects                           - Backup
  - project-1                -->       - project-1
    - .git                               - main.go
    - main.go [modified]
    - utils.go [deleted]
    - README.md [origin]
  - project-2                -->       - project-2
    - .git                               - .env
    - .gitignore                         - index.js
    - .env [forced]                      - README.md
    - index.js [untracked]
    - package.json [origin]
    - README.md [added]

It copies only the files that have been modified since the last backup, including:

• Committed files that are not yet pushed to the remote repository
• Working and staged files that are not yet committed
• Files that are not yet tracked by git add
• Any .gitignored file included via --force-include flag

… basically every unpushed file that can be lost during an incident.

Why?

Most modern editors now have built-in local history feature, so pushing unfinished changes solely for backup purposes seems counter-productive to me. To reduce the risk of accidental data loss in between remote pushing, this tool can provide a layer of protection.

Plus, there's a lot of important files that cannot be committed to VCS, such as .env containing private keys that should be backed up locally with a tool like this.

Prerequisites

• Git is installed and added to the PATH so that it's accessible from anywhere
• Have some sort of a backup solution in place
• Optionally, subscribe to update notifications by selecting Watch > Custom > Releases on GitHub

Usage

Download the latest release and extract (tar -xvzf) the binary to a suitable path.

Here's all the options you can configure:

Flag	Description
--projects-path	Path to the projects directory (required)
--backup-path	Path to an empty backup directory (required) Otherwise, existing files may be removed from that directory.
--remote-branch	Remote name (default: origin)
--force-include	Always include a git ignored file or directory like .git. Specify it multiple times to include multiple items.
--dry-run	Preview changes without modifying the backup directory

Test drive the command

Assuming all your Git projects are in ~/Projects and you want to backup to ~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects:

/path/to/git-local-backup --projects-path "~/Projects" --backup-path "~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects" --dry-run

If you also want to back up Git internals like stashes, or other gitignored files such as .env:

/path/to/git-local-backup --projects-path "~/Projects" --backup-path "~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects" --force-include ".git" --force-include ".env" --dry-run

If you are satisfied with the output, remove the --dry-run flag, and schedule the command to run periodically using the instructions below.

Linux (Crontab)

Run crontab -e and add the following line:

*/15 * * * * /path/to/git-local-backup "~/Projects" --backup-path "~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects"

MacOS (Launchd)

1. Create this plist file in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and configure it your command:

git-local-backup.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>Label</key>
  <string>Git Local Backup</string>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>/path/to/git-local-backup --projects-path "~/Projects" --backup-path "~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects"</string>
  </array>
  <key>StartInterval</key>
  <integer>900</integer> <!-- 900 seconds = 15 minutes -->
  <key>RunAtLoad</key>
  <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

2. Load it via launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/git-local-backup.plist
3. Start it via launchctl start git-local-backup
4. Check the status via launchctl list | grep git-local-backup. A status of zero means a successful run.

Windows (Task Scheduler)

1. Create the following file and configure it with your command. You can also modify it later during import.

Git Local Backup.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.4" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
  <RegistrationInfo>
    <Author>ni554n</Author>
    <Description>https://github.com/ni554n/git-local-backup</Description>
    <URI>\ni554n\Git Local Backup</URI>
  </RegistrationInfo>
  <Triggers>
    <LogonTrigger>
      <Repetition>
        <Interval>PT15M</Interval> <!-- 15 minutes -->
        <StopAtDurationEnd>false</StopAtDurationEnd>
      </Repetition>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    </LogonTrigger>
  </Triggers>
  <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
      <LogonType>S4U</LogonType>
      <RunLevel>LeastPrivilege</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
  </Principals>
  <Settings>
    <MultipleInstancesPolicy>StopExisting</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>false</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>true</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
    <AllowHardTerminate>true</AllowHardTerminate>
    <StartWhenAvailable>false</StartWhenAvailable>
    <RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>false</RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>
    <IdleSettings>
      <StopOnIdleEnd>true</StopOnIdleEnd>
      <RestartOnIdle>false</RestartOnIdle>
    </IdleSettings>
    <AllowStartOnDemand>true</AllowStartOnDemand>
    <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    <Hidden>false</Hidden>
    <RunOnlyIfIdle>false</RunOnlyIfIdle>
    <DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>false</DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>
    <UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>true</UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>
    <WakeToRun>false</WakeToRun>
    <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT0S</ExecutionTimeLimit>
    <Priority>7</Priority>
  </Settings>
  <Actions Context="Author">
    <Exec>
      <Command>\path\to\the\git-local-backup.exe</Command> <!-- Replace with your executable path -->
      <Arguments>--projects-dir "~/Projects" --backup-dir "~/OneDrive/Backup/Projects"</Arguments>
    </Exec>
  </Actions>
</Task>

2. Open Task Scheduler and import this task via Action > Import Task from the top menu bar
3. Check both Run whether user is logged on or not and Do not store password option. Otherwise, a terminal window will pop up on each run.
4. To test it, manually run the task from ni554n folder
5. Refresh the task list and check the Last Run Result column to see if it's a successful run

Information

Author: Nissan Ahmed (@ni554n)

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