Dir sync by file content with hard link support, plus fast fdupes, and more.
Project description
Overview
lnsync provides sync-by-content of local directories (including hard link syncing), plus other related features.
Features
The main feature is (partial) one-way sync of local directories by only renaming, and linking/delinking on the target directory, without copying or deleting any file content data from source.
This alows quick replication onto the target of arbitrary source renaming/linking/delinking (but not deleting or creating files), and may be used as a preprocessing step for a full sync tool (such as rsync).
Other features include finding duplicate files, checking for file content changes, and listing all hard links to a file.
As with rsync, files may be included or excluded using glob patterns.
File Trees: Online and Offline
The file structure under a directory (or online tree) can be saved to a combined hash/metadata one-file database, comprising: the directory structure, file and dir names, file sizes, and mod dates. These offline trees may be used in most lnsync commands in place of a local directory, e.g. as the source to reorganize a target directory according to a certain pattern.
Via a config file, specfic options may be applied to online trees matching a glob pattern.
File Hashes
Files are identified by their content hash, using either 32-bit or 64-bit xxHash (a fast, non-cryptographic hash function), or other functions (see Hashing Functions below).
Hash values are stored in local databases, on a single file per tree, by default with a name matching lnsync-[0-9]+.db
. Only one such file should exist at each location. At the time of creation, the numeric part is chosen randomly, to avoid overwritting by accident when doing a full sync. Files matching lnsync-[0-9]+.db
as well as the hash database in use are ignored by lnsync operations.
File modification times are used to detect stale hash values. Modification times are not synced to the target.
Hashing Functions
Invoking lnsync32
or lnsync64
selects the 32-bit and the 64-bit version of the xxHash, respectively, while keeping lnsync-[0-9]+.db
as the file hash database location. Otherwise the two commands work the same. lnsync
is equivalent to lnsync32
.
The switches --xxhash=XXHASH32
and --xhash=XXHASH64
select the hashing function, but also change the file hash database location to lnsync-xxhash32-[0-9]+.db
or lnsync-xxhash64-[0-9]+.db
, respectively.
Custom hashing functions are supported. To set a custom hasher: --hasher=<EXECUTABLE>
, where is a path to an executable that takes as single argument a file path and prints out (in decimal) a 64-bit unsigned integer hash value. The file hash location is set to lnsync-custom-[0-9]+.db
.
Finally, the lnsync-nopreset
requires the hashing function must be explicitly selected using one of the preceding switches.
Files, File Paths, and Hard Links
On most current file systems, the same file may be reached via multiple file paths, also called aliases, or hard links. If there is a single hard link to a file, removing that link deletes the file.
lnsync
oprerates on files, not file paths. E.g., if a file has two hard links, it does not count as a duplicate.
Ignored File System Objects
Files which cannot be read are skipped. File ownership and permissions are otherwise ignored.
Symbolic links and any other file system objects are ignored.
Directories
When syncing, directories are created as needed on the target, and target directories left empty and not on the source are removed.
Installing
Install the latest version from the PyPI repository with pip install --user -U lnsync
or else clone the repo with git clone https://github.com/mrsimoes/lnsync.git
and then run python setup.py install
.
Alternatives for Linux
Some of the many tools for syncing with rename detection:
-
There are patches for rsync (see --detect-renamed) that provide renaming on the target, relying on file size and modification time, for matching files in nearby directories. rsync can preserve hard links and sync with remote rsync instances.
-
rclone provides sync-by-rename for local as well as an amazing array of remote clients. It allows caching file hashes, after some configuration. However, it does not preserve hard links.
-
unison and bsync provide network syncing with rename detection, but do not preserve hard links.
-
git itself identifies and stores files by content, and has been adapted for syncing.
-
Support in modern file systems (e.g. btrfs) for snapshots may be adapted for syncing.
In addition to syncing, lnsync allows using the file hash database to search for files according to a variety of criteria.
Usage Scenarios
Syncing
If your photos are at /home/you/Photos
and its backup is at /mnt/disk/Photos
, then lnsync sync /home/you/Photos /mnt/disk/Photos
will sync the target. For a dry run, use the -n
switch.
After syncing, two database files are created, one at the source /home/you/Photos
and another at the target /mnt/disk/Photos
. File hashes are computed, as needed, and stored in those files. The database filenames include a random suffix, to help avoid accidental overwriting when syncing with a tool other than lsync.
To obtain an rsync command that will complete syncing, skipping lnsync
database files, run lnsync rsync /home/you/Photos /mnt/disk/Photos
. If the rsync
options provided are suitable, run the command again with the -x
switch to execute. Alternatively, run lnsync syncr /home/you/Photos /mnt/disk/Photos
to complete those two steps in one go.
Finally, to compare source and target, run lnsync cmp /home/you/Photos /mnt/disk/Photos
.
Other Operations
To find duplicate files, run lnsync fdupes /home/you/Photos
. Use -z
to compare by size only.
Use -H
to treat hard links to the same file as distinct. If this option is not given, for each multiple-linked with other duplicates, a path is arbitrarily picked and printed.
To find all files in Photos which are not in the backup (under any name): lnsync onfirstonly /home/you/Photos /mnt/disk/Photos
. To find all files with jpg extension, lnsync search /home/you/Photos "*.jpg"
.
To have any operation on a subdir of /home/you/Photos
use the hash database at /home/you/Photos
, include root=/home/you/Photos
under section /home/you/Photos/**
of your config file. (See Configuration Files below.)
For example, to sync the subdir /home/you/Photos/Best
to another target, using the hash database at /home/you/Photos
: lnsync sync /home/you/Photos/Best --root=/home/you/Photos /mnt/eframe/
.
Custom Hash Functions
As an example of a custom hashing function, if hashmp3.sh
computes the hash of only the sound content of an mp3 (and not any included metadata), then the following lnsync-mp3.cfg
config file may be used to find duplicate mp3 content:
[DEFAULT]
dbprefix = lnsync-mp3
hasher = ~/bin/hashmp3.sh
[**]
only_include = *.mp3
The second section applies the --only-include="*.mp3"
to ALL online tree locations.
Invoke this mode with lnsync --config <PATH TO lnsync-mp3.cfg> <COMMAND> [<ARG> ...]
.
Command Reference
All lnsync commands are lnsync [<global-options>] <command> [<cmd-options>] [<cmd-parameters>]
.
Specifying the Database Location
By default, the database file corresponding to an online file tree is the unique file located in that directory and with basename matching <PREFIX>-[0-9]+.db
.
To specify another prefix for all following online file trees, --dbprefix <PREFIX>
.
To specify a different database directory possibly for all online file trees where to look for the database file, --dbrootdir DBDIR
. Each online file tree corresponding to a subdir of DBDIR will use the database file at DBDIR.
To specify a directory containing database root directories to be used for any contained onlien tree, --dbrootmounr DBMOUNTSLOCATION
. This is useful e.g. for removable media, which are all mounted at /mnt/user
. Then --dbrootmounr /mnt/user
will use /mnt/user/somedrive
for the online tree at /mnt/user/somedrive/some/subdir/
.
To specify the database file for the following online file tree, --dblocation FILEPATH
.
Syncing
sync [options] <source> <target>
syncs a target dir from a source dir (or offline tree).
First, target files are matched to source files. Each matched target file is associated to a single source file. If either file system supports hard links, a file may have multiple pathnames. lnsync will not complain if the match is not unique or some files are not matched on either source and/or target.
For each matched target file, its pathnames are made to match those of the corresponding source file, by renaming, deleting, or creating hard links. New intermediate subdirectories are created as needed on the target and directories which become empty on the target are removed.
-
-n
Dry-run, just show which operations would be performed. -
-z
Match files by size only. In this case, hash databases are not created or updated. -
-M=<size>
Excludes all files larger than , which may be given in human form, e.g.10k
,2.1M
,3G
. -
--exclude <glob_pattern> ... <glob_pattern>
Exclude source files and directories by glob patterns. There is a corresponding--include
and these are interpreted as inrsync --exclude <pattern> source/ target
(beware, compatability has not been fully tested). -
A file or directory is excluded if it matches an
exclude
pattern before matching anyinclude
pattern. -
An initial slash anchors a pattern to the corresponding file tree root and a trailing slash means the pattern applies only to directories.
-
Each
--exclude
and--include
option applies to all file trees in the command. -
--once-exclude=<pattern>
and--once-include=<pattern>
apply only to the following file tree. -
--only-include <PATTERN> ...
is equivalent to--include="*/" --include <PATTERNS> ... --exclude="*"
. -
, use the hash database at to read and update. If several in the command line are suitable for a location, use the last one given.--root <DIR>
For each online location that is a subdir of -
rsync [options] <tree> <dir> [rsync-options]
Prints an rsync command that would sync target dir from source, skipping lnsync database files. Source may be a dir or an offline tree. Check the default rsync options provided are what you want. To also run the rsync command, use the-x
switch. -
syncr
This convenience command is likesync
, but follows it by executing the command created byrsync
just above.
Creating, Updating, and Accessing the Hash Database
update <dir>
Update the hash database, creating a new database if none exists, and rehashing all new files and those with a changed modification time (mtime). Accepts--exclude=<pattern>
options.rehash <dir> [<relpath>]+
Force rehashing specified files and subdirs.subdir <dir> <relsubdir>
Update the database atrelsubdir
using any hash value already present in the hash database fordir
.mkoffline <dir> <outputfile>
Update database atdir
and create corresponding offline database atoutputfile
. Use-f
to force overwriting the output file.cleandb <dir>
Remove outdated entries and re-compact the database.lookup <tree> [<relpath>+]
Returns (either from db or by recomputing) the hash value for the files, wheretree
may be a a directory or an offline tree.
Finding Files and Paths
These commands operate on files, as opposed to paths. To instead operate on paths, use the --hard-links
switch on these commands. To operate on files, but print all hard links, instead a of picking one, use --all-links
.
cmp <tree1> <tree2>
Recursively compares two file trees. Accepts--exclude=<pattern>
.fdupes [-h] [<tree>]+
Find files duplicated anywhere on the given trees.onall [<tree>]+
,lnsync onfirstonly [<tree>]+
,lnsync onlastonly [<tree>]+
Find files as advertised. Some options:-M
prunes by maximum size;-0
prunes empty files;-1
prints each group of files in a single line, separated by spaces and with escaped backslashes and spaces, likefdupes
;-s
sorts output by size.search <tree> [<globpat>]+
Find files one of whose relative paths matches one of the given glob patterns (which are as in--exclude
).
Other Commands
check [<tree>] [<path>]*
Recompute hashes for given files and compare to the hash stored in the database, to check for changes/bitrot.
Configuration Files
Optional command-line arguments are read from an INI-style configuration file. (The format is not very suitable to store default options, at most one entry per key.)
Unless otherwise specified, the config file is searched at at ./lnsync.cfg
, ~/lnsync.cfg
, or ~/.lnsync.cfg
location may nbe specified. By default, it
Entries are key = value
, the key
can match the short or long option name (n
or dry-run
).
For options taking taking multiple values (e.g. exclude
), separate them by line breaks.
Options in the DEFAULT
section apply as if given at the beginning of command line input.
For each location in the command line, options are read from all sections whose name glob-matches that location (directory or offline file). These options apply as if given just before that location.
For example, to have an option applied to all locations, include it in a section[**]
.
To specify another configuration file altogether, --config FILENAME
. To not load any config file: --no-config
.
Origin, Status, and Future Development
This package started as a learning project. I've found it useful enough to polish for publication, but as with any work in progress, it should be used with adequate caution.
Feedback, suggestions, comments, and corrections are very welcome.
You can support this project with bitcoin at 17HS828pkQMiXZGy7UNbA49TYCz7LAQ2ze.
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions. See the GNU General Public Licence v3 for details.
Caveats and Limitations
-
Linux only.
-
Local directories only.
-
Depends on mtime to detect file content changes.
-
If source files A, B, C (with pairwise distinct contents) are renamed on target in a cycle to C, A, B, sync is currently not supported.
-
Only readable files and readable+accessible directories are read. Other files and dirs, as well as symlinks, pipes, special devices are ignored.
-
Minimal support for case-insensitive but case-preserving file systems like vfat: if a target file name differs from source match in case only, target is not updated.
Release Notes
- v0.7.5: New lnsync64 and lnsync32 entry points. Non-zero return value to indicate failed searches. Small improvements and bug fixes.
- v0.7.4: New
--dbrootmount
option. - v0.7.3: Ignore all files matching
lnsync-*.db
. Bug fixes, notably on handling 64-bit xxhash values. - v0.7.2: Support for 64-bit hashing functions. Option
--dbdir
renamed to--dbrootdir
. Internal changes: use xxhash over pyhashxx, refactoring, bug fixes. - v0.7.0: Custom hashing functions, better command line argument parsing, custom db location, bug fixes.
- v0.6.1: Thread improvements and bug fixes.
- v0.6.0: Threaded hashing and tree scanning for much better performance. Internal refactoring.
- v0.5.3: New
syncr
. Changedmkoffline
syntax. More output options (--all-links
). Hard link-awarecheck
andcmp
, improvedsearch
. - v0.5.2: Search files by file path glob pattern. Multiple patterns on --exclude. More powerful configuration files.
--root
now allowed inmkoffline
andrehash
. Major rewrite of the command line and config file parsers. Optimize onfirstonly and sync to do less hashing. Fix bugs in--root
,cmp
,check
, and more. Wildcards in config section names. - v0.4.0: Drop Python 2 compatibility. Add config files. Bug fixes.
- v0.3.8: Less hashing on
onfirstonly
. Sort file search output by size. Adjust user output levels. - v0.3.7: Bug fix on reading offline trees. Change output levels and some messages.
- v0.3.6: New: --include and --include-once options. Bug fix: wrong exit code.
- v0.3.5: Bug fix: not excluding dirs in offline mode.
- v0.3.3: Python 3 support.
- v0.3.2: New --root option to allow reading and updating a root tree database when querying subtrees.
- v0.3.0: Exclude files by glob pattern in sync and other commands. Better terminal output. Major code overhaul.
- v0.1.9: Improved sync algorithm. Remove directories left empty after sync.
- v0.1.0: Initial version.
Possible Improvements
- Support the newer xxhash3 hashes, or other, including 128-bit hashes.
- Better configuration file format.
- More parallel hashing, multiprocessing instead of threads.
- More output options, e.g. sort by name or mtime.
- Make
--include
and--exclude
patterns more compatible withrsync
. - Store Unicode file names in offline database to support other operating systems. Currently stored as-is.
- Detect renamed directories for a compact sync schedule.
- Partial hashes for quicker comparison of same-size files.
- Check for duplicates by actual content, not just content hash.
- Update target mtimes.
- Support argparsecomplete.
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