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plp

Member

Registered: 2013-01-24

Posts: 47

Thea - A simple backup tool for desktop computers

I'd like to introduce to you my backup system, Thea.

Thea essentially a set of shell scripts that wrap around rsnapshot. Its most important function is backup:

% thea-backup
01/05/14 18:06:04: Starting backup
01/05/14 18:06:04: Backup volume /mnt/snapshots is already mounted
01/05/14 18:06:04: Executing backup command (rsnapshot)
echo 4054 > /var/run/rsnapshot.pid 
mv /mnt/snapshots/daily.0/ /mnt/snapshots/daily.1/ 
mkdir -m 0755 -p /mnt/snapshots/daily.0/ 
/usr/bin/rsync -a --delete --numeric-ids --relative --delete-excluded \
    --exclude=/mnt --exclude=/media --exclude=/proc --exclude=/sys \
    --exclude=/tmp --exclude=/run/user --exclude=mnt/snapshots \
    --link-dest=/mnt/snapshots/daily.1/ivernia/ /. \
    /mnt/snapshots/daily.0/ivernia/ 
touch /mnt/snapshots/daily.0/ 
rm -f /var/run/rsnapshot.pid 
do_backup:20: condition expected: 1
01/05/14 18:09:17: Backup complete
01/05/14 18:09:17: Backup volume /mnt/snapshots is mounted
01/05/14 18:09:17: Attempting to unmount
01/05/14 18:09:20: Executing command(s) after unmount
01/05/14 18:09:20: Backup volume has been unmounted

But that's not all. Thea also provides full compare and restore functionality.

To view the backup status of a file or directory, enter:

% thea-summary Makefile 
* File: /home/plp/Documents/Development/Thea/Makefile
* Size: 1522 bytes
* File type: file
* Status summary:
Snapshot  Size in backup        Status
--------  --------------------  ---------------------------------
0         1522 bytes            identical in backup
1         851 bytes             different in backup
2         0 bytes               not in backup
3         0 bytes               not in backup
4         0 bytes               not in backup
5         0 bytes               not in backup
6         0 bytes               not in backup
7         0 bytes               not in backup
8         0 bytes               not in backup
9         0 bytes               not in backup
10        0 bytes               not in backup
11        0 bytes               not in backup
12        0 bytes               not in backup
13        0 bytes               not in backup
14        0 bytes               not in backup

To view the differences between the file and one of its earlier versions in backup:

% thea-diff Makefile 1
* File: /home/plp/Documents/Development/Thea/Makefile
* Size: 1522 bytes
* File type: file
* Snapshot no: 1
* Status: different in backup
* Size in backup: 851 bytes
* Differences:
7c7
< .PHONY: install uninstall
---
> .PHONY: install
23,42d22
< 	@echo "* Thea installed"
< 
< uninstall:
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/share/doc/thea/README.md
< 	rmdir $(PREFIX)/share/doc/thea
< 	cp $(PREFIX)/share/thea/config $(PREFIX)/share/thea/config.bak
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/share/thea/config
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/share/thea/functions
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/sbin/thea-config
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-backup
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-mount
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-umount
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-diff
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-summary
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-restore
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-gui-backup
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-gui-mount
< 	rm $(PREFIX)/bin/thea-gui-umount
< 	@echo "* Thea uninstalled"
< 	@echo "* Your config file has been preserved as $(PREFIX)/share/thea/config.bak"

Finally, to restore from backup:

% thea-restore Makefile 1
* File: /home/plp/Documents/Development/Thea/Makefile
* Size: 1522 bytes
* File type: file
* Snapshot no: 1
* Preserving original version of file in:
* /home/plp/Documents/Development/Thea/preserve.S1JhTXBwXw
* Copying backed up version of file to disk
* Restoration successful

There are a few more tricks Thea can do. For example, it colorizes its output to enhance readability. It can suspend or shut down your PC after backup is complete. And it provides tools for integrating your backup system with your desktop environment.

You can find Thea on GitHub: https://github.com/plp13/thea
Or install it from AUR: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/thea-git

Comments, questions, bug reports, and fixes will be greately appreciated.