asInventory

Manage file-level ArchivesSpace inventories with spreadsheets

Version 2.0 now uses archivessnake

Warning note

This tool has been tested with ArchivesSpace 2.x-4.x. It makes iterative changes through the API. You should always do significant testing on a development instance of ASpace before using it on production data to make sure it acts as you expect.

Installation

Install from GitHub (Recommended)

pip install git+https://github.com/UAlbanyArchives/asInventory.git

Install from local directory

git clone https://github.com/UAlbanyArchives/asInventory
cd asInventory
pip install .

Development mode (for contributors)

pip install -e .

Configuration

ArchivesSnake Configuration

If you don't already have ArchivesSnake configured, create a ~/.archivessnake.yml with your ArchivesSpace credentials:

baseurl: https://your-aspace-instance.edu/api
username: your_username
password: your_password

Repository selection is currently fixed to repository 2 by default.

Base Directory

By default, input, output, complete, dao, and error.log are located relative to the installed package directory (or the EXE location when frozen), which is often not where you want them when installed via pip.

Set the ASINVENTORY_BASE_DIR environment variable to override this default and point the tools at a working directory of your choice:

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:ASINVENTORY_BASE_DIR = "C:\work\asinventory"

# macOS/Linux
export ASINVENTORY_BASE_DIR=/path/to/asinventory

The --base-dir CLI argument, when provided, takes precedence over ASINVENTORY_BASE_DIR.

Required Directories

asInventory requires these directories (will be created automatically when scripts run):

input
output
complete
dao

Running the Scripts

After installation, you can use either the new unified CLI or the existing script entry files.

CLI

asinventory upload
asinventory download <id>
asinventory validate

asinventory download requires the resource id_0 or archival object ref_id as a positional argument since it always runs non-interactively; a 32-character ID is treated as an archival object, anything else as a resource.

Optional path overrides are available for folders that otherwise default relative to the script or EXE location:

asinventory upload --input C:\work\input --complete C:\work\complete --dao C:\work\dao
asinventory download apap185 --output C:\work\output
asinventory validate --input C:\work\input --dao C:\work\dao

If override arguments are omitted, the tools continue to use these default relative folders next to the script or built EXE:

input
output
complete
dao

Existing script and EXE workflow

The original entry files remain supported for direct execution, double-clicked EXEs, and manual PyInstaller builds.

Run scripts as console commands or directly with Python:

# Legacy console commands / optional aliases
asdownload
asupload
asvalidate

# Direct Python scripts
python asDownload.py
python asUpload.py
python asValidate.py

Exporting an inventory

Running asdownload or python asDownload.py with no arguments prompts interactively for the level and ID:

1. Run asdownload or python asDownload.py
2. Select the level to export:
   • Select "Resource" (r) to export a folder list from a collection that has no series
   • Select "Archival Object" (ao) to export a folder list from a series, subseries, or other component
3. Enter the ID for the parent of the folder list you want to export:
   • For Resource, use id_0
   • For other components use Ref ID
4. Click "OK" and a list of files exported will print to the console. This may take some time for large file listings.

Alternatively, pass the ID directly to skip the prompts entirely (used by asinventory download and non-interactive scripting):

asdownload apap185
python asDownload.py apap185

5. If the export is successful, you will be given the option to open the output directory to view the exported file
6. A new spreadsheet file, named after the record's ID (e.g., <id_0>.xlsx or <ref_id>.xlsx), will be placed in the output directory. WARNING: files with the same name in this directory will be overwritten.

Example with an output override:

asinventory download --output C:\work\output

To import an inventory

1. Make a copy of asInventory.xlsx and rename the file to the record's ID: use the id_0 for a resource (collection with no series) or the ref_id for an archival object (series, subseries, or other component). The filename (minus .xlsx) is used as the ID — a 32-character filename is treated as an archival object ref_id, anything else is treated as a resource id_0.
2. Open the spreadsheet and add a folder listing:
   • Column headers must be on row 1, with folder listing content starting on row 2
   • Many columns can be left blank
   • If an ID (column A) is entered, asInventory will find and update an existing record
   • If no ID is entered, asInventory will create a new archival object child
   • If URIs for locations or containers are entered, asInventory will link these records; otherwise, new containers and locations will be created if a label and indicator are listed
   • Accepts up to 5 dates using ISO format (e.g., "1977/1988" or "1903-03-17/1917-01-15")
   • Display dates are optional and are entered in the ASpace Expression field
   • Can make Access Restriction (column T), General Note (column U), and Scope (column V) notes.
   • Can create and link digital objects. This can be a link entered in column W, or the filename of a file placed in the dao directory.
   • 
3. Save the spreadsheet to the input directory
4. Run asinventory upload, asupload, or python asUpload.py — this validates the spreadsheet first and only proceeds with the upload if no validation errors are found
5. The spreadsheet file will be moved into the complete directory after the upload is completed. WARNING: files with the same name in this directory will be overwritten.

Example with folder overrides:

asinventory upload --input C:\work\input --complete C:\work\complete --dao C:\work\dao

Dependencies

Requires Python 3.7+

Dependencies are automatically installed with pip:

• openpyxl (2.6.4)
• archivessnake
• pyyaml

Additional Tools

Validation

asinventory validate, asvalidate, or python asValidate.py will validate all dates entered in all spreadsheets in the input folder. This helps ensure they're compatible with ArchivesSpace to reduce errors during upload.

Example with an input override:

asinventory validate --input C:\work\input

Building Executables (Optional)

Executables can be built with PyInstaller:

pyinstaller --onefile asUpload.py
pyinstaller --onefile asDownload.py
pyinstaller --onefile asValidate.py

The existing .spec files can continue to be used as-is because the original entry scripts were preserved.

Contributing

Comments and pull requests welcome.

Authors

Greg Wiedeman

License

This project is in the public domain