bit-inspector
"Bit Inspector" (Bir) is a tool to manage files.
- It is inspired by Git, but its goals are slightly different.
Features
- Tracking hash sum of files
- Backing up directory to another location (local, FTP(S), SFTP, HTTP(S), S3, Bir server
- Optionally you can set a password to protect your files (if a not trusted external location like FTP or S3 is used)
- Detecting bit rots (to keep your files forever) - found bit rots can be repaired.
- Files are handled in a "Bir repository"
- You can clone a remote repository
- You can save your local repository to a remote repository.
- Your files are versioned. You can travel in history and return to an older version of the whole repo or only a directory or one file.
What is not supported:
- Conflict resolution is not supported. "Bir" is not intended be used by more users at once.
- Several people changing one Bir repository must be avoided.
- One Bir repository can be used by more users, but only one user can change it.
- Branches are not supported
Requirements
Requirements to run "Bit Inspector":
- Java 19
How to build "Bit Inspector" on your own
Requirements to build "Bit Inspector:
- Java 19
- Maven
git clone https://code.nanoboot.org/nanoboot/bit-inspector
cd bit-inspector
mvn clean install
How to setup your environment on Linux
Add to your .bashrc:
alias bir='java -jar {path to bit-inspector jar with dependencies file}/bit-inspector-0.0.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar'
Syntax
bir {command} [{arg1} {arg2} {argn}]
Example:
bir clone dir=/home/johndoe/mydir url={local path or s3 bucket or FTP server or website url}
Arguments
dir={path to directory}
- default:. (current working directory)
Bir repository
To use Bir, a Bir repository is needed.
You can:
- clone a remote Bir repository
- or use an existing local Bir repository
- or create a new empty Bir repository
- or create a new Bir repository using an existing directory
Cloning a remote repo
Local
bir clone {path to local directory = Bir repository}
S3
bir clone s3://http[s]://{endpoint url}/{bucket name}
Then you will be asked for access key and secret key.
FTP/FTPS/SFTP
bir clone {protocol}://[{user}:{password}]@{host url}:{port}/{directory}
HTTP/HTTPS
bir clone http[s]://[{user}:{password}]@{host url}:{port}/{directory}
Bir server (via Rest api)
bir clone bir:://[{user}:{password}]@{host url}:{port}/[path to repository/]{repository name}
Using an existing Bir repository
Creating a new empty Bir repository
Go to wanted directory or use argument dir={path to wanted directory} and run:
bir init [dir to wanted directory]
Creating a Bir repository using an existing directory
Go to wanted directory or use argument dir={path to wanted directory} and run:
bir init [dir to wanted directory]
Commands
init
Init commands creates new directory .bir with its structure
bir init [dir={path to directory}]
bir – object storage – local/s3/ftp
bir remote add {remote name} bir clone {remote name} bir save bir push {remote name} bir fetch bir pull bir status
directories: .bir .bir objects
Table FILE – add new columns – linux_rights, owner, group
Structure of .bir directory
.bir .bir/objects .bir/bir.sqlite3 ... an SQLite database .bir/.bir.sqlite3.sha512 ...last calculated hash sum of file ".bir.sqlite3".
File .birignore
You can create file .birignore containing the names of the files/directories you wish to ignore
- each line should contain exactly one name
- lines starting with # are skipped
- you may use Unix shell-style wildcards
Detection of bit rots
If the file last modification date in database and on the disk are the same, but the calculated checksum is different, then a bit rot was is probably detected.
New files are added to the database, deleted files are removed from the database.
This program cannot restore files with bitrot.
- You have to backup up your files (do snapshots).
It is inspired by:
Todo
New tables: FILE_HISTORY