par2deep 1.9.0

Produce, verify and repair par2 files recursively.

par2deep

Analogous to the various *deep commands (md5deep, hashdeep...) this tool serves to create, verify and repair parity files in a file tree.

This tool will generate one parity file (plus a file for the recovery blocks) per file that you protect. This makes it simple to move files if you change your mind on how your file tree must be organized. Just move the par2 files along.

Motivation

I chose to use the old but well tested and well known par2 program to base this tool on, instead of similar tools such as zfec, rsbep or something like pyFileFixity. Some recent forks of par2 have added recursive scanning abilities, but they're generally not cross-platform. They also do not offer an interactive way of diagnosing (parts of) your file tree, and different problem handling for different areas of your file tree.

I use par2deep to secure my photos and music across drives, machines and operating systems, and I intend to keep securing my data this way in the decades to come. I felt that the wide availability of the par2 tool was my best bet.

Install

You can now use pip!

$ pip(3) install par2deep (--user)

Or clone/download this repo and install manually with:

$ python(3) setup.py install (--user)

Or run directly with:

$ python par2deep

On Linux, you may have to install the tkinter module for the version of Python you are using. Consult your distro's repository for installation details (Ubuntu: sudo apt install python3-tk).

Alternatively, if you have installed the cx_Freeze package, you can generate an msi package for Windows. Adapt setup_cx.py to suit your needs (include the par2 executable and, most importantly, the icon of your choice) and then build the .msi file in /dist:

$ python setup_cx.py bdist_msi

Usage

After installation, run with par2deep for the GUI or par2deep-cli if you live in the terminal. Command line options may be enumerated by using the --help option. Note that -q will update, fix or recreate parity files as it sees fit. If unrepairable damage is found, it will recreate parity data. (The old tkinter GUI is unmaintained but available at par2deep-tk.)

An optional par2deep.ini file may be placed in the target directory or as ~/.par2deep defining all the commandline options. For the excludes, separate by comma.

Example par2deep.ini:

excludes = [new, root]
extexcludes = [JPG, jpg]
par_cmd = c:/sync/apps/par/par2.exe

Dependencies

• tqdm
• configargparse
• Send2Trash
• PyQt5
• par2 in path or specify a tool with the same interface.

Changelog

• 2020-04-16: v1.9.0: GUI rewritten in with Qt (PyQt5). Open Issues should be solved for 2.0.0 release.
• 2019-02-15: v1.0.5: Instead of deleting files (os.remove), now Send2Trash is used.
• 2018-12-05: v1.0.4: Gui mode is now shutdownable (threads dont keep running in the background anymore).
• 2018-12-05: v1.0.3. Once again fixed imports. Should now work with local, pip-installed and bundled versions. Gui and cli now show filename during executing actions stage.
• 2018-05-30: v1.0.2. GUI updates: file doubleclick now checkes if string is file, added tooltips to GUI settings, and treeview category headers have a bit for info (nb of files in category). CLI updates: same par2deep import check as GUI.
• 2018-05-25: v1.0.1. Crossplatform doubleclick in treeview. Improved Windows par2 executable finding. New cx_Freeze installer script. Converted relative imports.
• 2016-08-20: Ensured par2 command is called correctly from Windows and other OS in GUI mode. Added NSIS installer script.
• 2016-08-12: Revamped tool. Reset to v1.0.0. Includes Tkinter gui. cli unchanged apart from cosmetics.
• 2016-08-07: Added optional config files, excludes, extensions, and parity completeness check.
• 2016-08-06: Program no longer maps to par2 commandline options but (loosely) to hashdeep tools: run it, and see what has changed and needs to be done with respect to the previous run.
• 2016-03-22: Finish port to Python 3, added setup.py.
• 2016-03-19: Added quiet mode, keep backup files upon unsuccesful repair.
• 2016-03-17: First release