Tzar

Simplified compressed archive management.

Features

Minimal CLI options/arguments are required for basic backup operations.
Automatically generated archive names based on the working folder and time.
Use faster compression programs and multiple cores, when available.
Save location-specific options as tzar aliases.
Full command line help using the help sub-command.

Tzar command line overview

For simplicity, tzar does not normally need to have a source file/folder specified. By default it operates on the working folder, but can also be pointed at anything from anywhere. Options are also available to exclude files and folders. Complex option sets can be saved as aliases.

Also for simplicity, Tzar defaults to automatically naming saved archives using the source folder name and a timestamp. It place archives in a ../tzarchive folder relative to the source location. It uses standard compressed archive naming conventions for the file extensions.

For example, the tzar save command creates a timestamped gzip archive of the working folder in ../tzarchive. To use xz compression instead of gzip, add the -m xz option.

Target archive names

Target archive names use the source name plus a suffix. The default suffix format can be overridden with a template that accepts normal characters and time.strftime() format codes for date/time-based names.

The suffix also supports converting an ending '#' character to a unique counter to avoid base file name collisions.

Please note that the '#' character only has special meaning as the last character, and only has an effect when date/time % codes are not being used for unique name generation.

Target path post-processing

"$NAME" environment variables are expanded in the final output path.

Command overview

The commands below are commonly used. Please browse the tzar command line help system for more information about available sub-commands.

tzar help or tzar help COMMAND ... provides top level or sub-command help.
tzar save creates a timestamped gzip archive of the working folder in ../tzarchive.
tzar save -m zip and tzar save -m xz archives the working folder using zip or xz compression.
tzar save -m files uses rsync to copy files into a ../tzarchive sub-folder.
tzar catalog lists timestamps of existing archives of the working folder.
tzar catalog -l lists timestamps and file names of existing archives of the working folder.
tzar delete and tzar prune support clearing out excess saved archives.

Configuration and aliases

For now tzar has no configuration file. The Jiig core supports aliases that allow operations and options to be captured and used. Aliases can be scoped to particular locations, but can also apply globally.

Alias example: creation

The example below demonstrates alias creation with different options for different locations. Each location has its own compression method and exclusions. But the alias name represents a single logical command.

$ cd /my/project1
$ tzar alias set .bkp save -m gz -e __cache__
$ cd /my/project2
$ tzar alias set .bkp save -m zip -e dist -e build

Alias example: usage

The example below demonstrates using a named alias with per-location customizations. It is based on the creation example above.

$ cd /my/project1
$ tzar .bkp
$ cd /my/project2
$ tzar .bkp

Installation (to run from local source repository).

The following examples place Tzar and Jiig under /usr/local and create symlinks in /usr/local/bin, assuming that folder is in the shell execution path.

Alternatively, you can place Tzar and Jiig under your home folder and create symlinks in ~/bin, assuming it is in your shell execution path.

1) Clone Jiig to a local folder and add the `jiig` command to the path.

Jiig is a framework for building multi-command CLI tools. Tzar uses Jiig to implement command line parsing, task execution, and alias management.

See: https://github.com/wijjo/jiig

$ cd /usr/local
$ git clone https://github.com/wijjo/jiig.git
$ ln -s /usr/local/jiig/bin/jiig /usr/local/bin

2) Clone Tzar to a local folder and add the `tzar` command to the path.

See: https://github.com/wijjo/tzar

$ cd /usr/local
$ git clone https://github.com/wijjo/tzar.git
$ ln -s /usr/local/tzar/bin/tzar /usr/local/bin

3) Create the Tzar Python virtual environment.

Run the tzar command. The first run builds a virtual environment. At this point it's ready to use.

wijjo/tzar