was-cli 2.0.0

Document Time Machine CLI

WAS — Your Document Time Machine 🕰️

A simple version control tool built just for personal documents and notes. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. Track things • Go back in time • Check what changed with basic terminal

Demo Videos

You can find all the demo videos in the preview/ folder if you clone the repo.

First install walkthrough (done on Debian Linux):

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/63e26887-9df5-4025-aeb0-1cc87f8d92da

Make sure WAS is installed correctly:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4be5777e-46f1-4717-97b0-0fef6fe56a25

Some common uses:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/441581e6-5f9f-4883-b65d-8dc59c89c12b

How to remove it when you're done:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c1b72e6d-ebde-4f12-aee8-26801a4f924c

Note: I ran cd was-cli because the folder was in my home directory. You might need to use a different path depending on where you saved it. Note running around: The ./uninstall.sh removes WAS from your system but leaves the source code in the was-cli folder. Just delete that folder manually if you want to wipe it completely.

Type '''was --help''' anytime to see all available commands.

What Actually Is WAS?

WAS stands for Document Time Machine.It's a time matchine to see the past edits. That is why I took the name WAS according to past tense and first 3 word of my nickname. It's a lightweight version control system made specifically for people who write a lot—students, researchers, writers, whoever tracks changes in Word docs, notes. This project is also inspired from Git (Version Control for codes ). WAS does one thing well: save snapshots of your files so you can go back later without losing anything and do not having to save multiple copies of one file.

Features Without The Fluff

1. Auto-Save Watch Mode - Watches your file, auto-saves every 2 seconds when changes happen. Why It Matters: Don't have to remember to commit manually.

2. Full History Log - Timeline showing every save with timestamps. Why It Matters: Remember why you changed that paragraph three months ago.

3. Instant Rollback - Restore any old version instantly. Why It Matters: Big undo button for your whole workspace.

4. Colorized Diff View - Green for additions, red for deletions in terminal. Why It Matters: See changes at a glance.

5. Custom Tagging - Mark versions like "final-draft" or "exam-ready". Why It Matters: Skip remembering weird commit IDs.

6. Writing Stats - Shows line growth, active days, etc. Why It Matters: Spot your writing habits.

7. Export Old Versions - Pull historical versions to a new location. Why It Matters: Test things out without touching current file.

8. Search History - Search across ALL saved versions. Why It Matters: Where did I write about mitochondria again?

9. Smart Storage - Can clean up old auto-saves, keep important ones. Why It Matters: Save disk space when needed.

10. Multiple Formats - Works with .docx, .odt, .txt, .md, .py, .json, .html. Why It Matters: Mix and match without needing different tools.

Getting It Installed

Fastest Way (One Line)

git clone https://github.com/MDSUWasi/was-cli.git && cd was-cli && chmod +x install.sh && ./install.sh

That's it. Should be working after that. If You Want to Do It Manually

On Linux (Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora)

Make sure Python 3 is there:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y  # Debian/Ubuntu

or use dnf instead of apt for Fedora

Grab the code:

git clone https://github.com/MDSUWasi/was-cli.git

cd was-cli

Run the installer:

chmod +x install.sh

./install.sh

Update your PATH (sometimes it happens automatically):

echo 'export PATH="HOME/.local/bin:HOME/.local/bin:PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

Double-check it worked:

was --help

On macOS

Install Python via Homebrew if missing:

brew install python3

Clone and set up:

git clone https://github.com/MDSUWasi/was-cli.git

cd was-cli

chmod +x install.sh

./install.sh

Update shell config: For Zsh (most Macs these days):

echo 'export PATH="HOME/.local/bin:HOME/.local/bin:PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

source ~/.zshrc

Or bash:

echo 'export PATH="HOME/.local/bin:HOME/.local/bin:PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile

source ~/.bash_profile

Verify:

was --help

On Windows

No native Windows support yet honestly. Two options:

WSL2 (recommended): Install Ubuntu via WSL, follow Linux instructions inside there

wsl --install -d Ubuntu # Run as admin in PowerShell

Git Bash + Python: Download Python from python.org, then try pip installing it

Checking It Works

After install, run a couple quick tests:

was --version

was --help

mkdir ~/test_was_repo && cd ~/test_was_repo

was init

Should say: "Initialized empty 'Was' repository successfully."

First Steps Using WAS

Takes literally 5 minutes to figure out.

Step 1: Initialize a Repo

cd ~/school_notes

was init

Creates a hidden .was/ folder underneath. Stores everything there.

Step 2: Track Something

was save chemistry_notes.docx "Started alkane basics" "Homework Week 1"

You'll see output like:

✅ Saved base state of 'chemistry_notes.docx' as v1a2b3c4d! Base snapshot created. Future saves only trigger if actual changes detected.

Step 3: Turn On Auto-Protection Keep watching while you edit:

was watch chemistry_notes.docx

WAS monitors every 2 seconds, auto-commits changes. Hit Ctrl+C when done. Messages appear like:

Modification detected at 2026-06-28 14:23:41. Processing change...
Auto-saved version v5f9e8g7h6 for chemistry_notes.docx!

Step 4: Check What Changed Later Status check:

was status chemistry_notes.docx

Shows:

🟡 File 'chemistry_notes.docx' is Modified (Unsaved: +12 insertions, -3 deletions).

View full timeline:

was log chemistry_notes.docx

Output looks like:

=== TIMELINE LOG ===
Commit ID: v5f9e8g7h6 [Tags: exam-ready]
Date:      2026-06-28 14:23:41
File:      chemistry_notes.docx
What:      Added mechanism for dehydration reactions
Why:       Prof mentioned in lecture

Commit ID: v1a2b3c4d
Date:      2026-06-25 09:15:00
File:      chemistry_notes.docx
What:      Started alkane basics
Why:       Homework Week 1

Step 5: Fix Mistakes Deleted stuff by accident? No problem. See recent changes:

was diff chemistry_notes.docx

Gets you colorized diff output showing exactly what changed. Go back to an older version:

was checkout chemistry_notes.docx v1a2b3c4d

Done. File restored. Any unsaved current edits get overwritten though, so be careful. Step 6: Bookmark Important Versions Use tags instead of memorizing commit IDs:

was tag chemistry_notes.docx v5f9e8g7h6 "midterm-final"

Then restore easily:

was checkout chemistry_notes.docx midterm-final

Step 7: Find Text Across All Versions Remember writing something somewhere but forgot where?

was search "photosynthesis"

Gives results like:

🔍 Found 'photosynthesis' in the following historical backups:

Version: v3c2d1e0f | File: biology_report.txt | Date: 2026-06-20 11:42:00
Lines matched: 47, 52, 89
Save context: "Added chloroplast diagrams"

Dependencies:

Literally zero external packages. Python 3.6+ only, uses standard library modules: os, json, time, shutil, subprocess, uuid, fcntl, zipfile, xml.etree, collections.Counter, difflib This means it runs almost anywhere without fighting package managers.

Typical Use Cases

1. Writing Academic Papers
2. Working on thesis with co-authors:

cd ~/thesis_drafts/paper_v1

was init

was save paper.docx "Initial submission draft" "Sent to advisors June 15"

was watch paper.docx  # Running while editing

was diff paper.docx   # Compare against starting point before resubmitting

was tag paper.docx v28f4a1b2c "committee-approved"

was export paper.docx committee-approved ../archives/pre_review.docx

Student Notes During Finals Studying for exams:

cd ~/study_materials/histology

was init

was save organ_systems.odt "Created cardiovascular overview" "Chapter 3 prep"

was watch organ_systems.odt  # Leave running through study session

was stats organ_systems.odt   # Review daily progress

Stats output example:

📊 STUDY ANALYTICS FOR organic_chemistry.odt

Total Versions Stacked:  23
High Activity Day:       Wednesday (8 saves)
Baseline Line Count:     420 lines
Current Line Count:      891 lines
Document Line Growth:    +112%

Protecting Novel Manuscripts Editing creative writing:

cd ~/novel_manuscripts/chapter7

was init

was save chapter7_final.docx "Opened for heavy revision" "Editing marathon"

was watch chapter7_final.docx

Oops deleted 5 pages?

was rollback chapter7_final.docx

was checkout chapter7_final.docx yesterdraft

was search "metaphorical silence echoes louder than noise"

Security Best Practices (Production Environments)

WAS doesn't encrypt by default. If you want encryption yourself: Backup and encrypt:

cp -r .was .was.backup

rm -rf .was

gpg -c .was.backup && rm .was.backup

Decrypt when needed:

gpg -d .was.backup.gpg > .was.temp && mv .was.temp .was

Simple workaround until proper encryption gets added.

Contributing

Happy to accept contributions

License

MIT License. Free forever basically. Copyright (c) 2026 Md. Shafi Un Wasi Standard MIT terms apply—you can do pretty much whatever. See LICENSE file for full text. But use at your own risk.

Credits

1. Made by me for students, writers, Researchers, really anyone who wishes their documents had better memory.
2. Git-inspired but simplified heavily. Power users can stick with Git; this is for folks who value simplicity over feature bloat.

"Your words deserve a time machine."

Need Help?

Read this file thoroughly first 😄 Issues or discussions: GitHub Issues / Discussions tab on the repo P.S. Made this thing because I hated losing work constantly. Hope it helps someone else deal less headaches.

Built with actual effort for better digital memory Stargazers ❤️ Stars Forks Forks