jackup

A simple, personal backup tool. Backs up source directories into compressed snapshots (.tar.zst) and lets you extract them to any target path when you need them.

Features

• Add source directories with per-source exclude patterns
• Incremental detection — only re-archives sources where files have changed
• Compressed snapshots via zstd (one .tar.zst per source)
• Cross-OS path recovery — handles both Unix and Windows source paths on extraction
• Conflict resolution on extract — newer file wins when two sources share a path

Installation

Build from source:

cargo build --release

Note: cargo install jackup is not available yet — not published to crates.io.

Usage

Initialize a repository

jackup init

Prompts for a device name and a repository path. Creates:

• <repo>/workspace/ — manifest files (per-run state)
• <repo>/snapshots/ — compressed backup archives
• ~/.jackup/config.toml — configuration
• ~/.jackup/.jackupignore — global ignore patterns

Source management

jackup add <path> [--name <label>] [--exclude <pattern>] [--follow-symlinks=<bool>]

Registers a source directory. Options:

• -n, --name — display name (defaults to folder basename)
• -e, --exclude — glob pattern to exclude; repeatable
• --follow-symlinks — follow symlinks (default: false)

jackup remove <source> [--purge] [-y]

Removes a source from config. --purge also deletes its snapshot and manifest. -y skips the confirmation prompt.

jackup enable <source>
jackup disable <source>

Toggles whether a source is included in jackup run.

jackup update <source> [--name <label>] [--exclude <pattern>] [--follow-symlinks=<bool>]

Updates a source's metadata. --exclude (repeatable) replaces the entire exclude list.

Viewing sources and status

jackup list [--verbose] [--sort name|created|updated]
jackup ls                   # alias

Lists configured sources. --verbose shows all fields including ID, excludes, and timestamps.

jackup info

Shows global configuration (device name, repository path, all sources).

jackup status

Shows backup health for every source: last backed-up time, file count, and archive size on disk. Sources that have never been backed up show (never).

jackup peek <source>

Lists all files inside a source's latest backup (reads from the manifest — no decompression).

Running backups

jackup run [--dry-run] [--force]

Backs up all enabled sources. For each source:

1. Compares current files against the manifest (mtime + size)
2. If nothing changed, skips the source
3. If changed, archives all files into <repo>/snapshots/<uuid>.tar.zst and updates the manifest

Options:

• --dry-run — show what would be backed up without writing
• --force — skip change detection and always re-archive

Extracting backups

jackup withdraw <target> [--source <name>] [--dry-run]

Extracts backup files to <target>, preserving original path structure:

When multiple sources share an output path, the file with the newer mtime wins.

Options:

• -s, --source — extract only one source (name or ID prefix)
• --dry-run — preview without writing

Verifying backups

jackup verify [--source <name>]

Opens each .tar.zst and checks:

• All files listed in the manifest are present in the archive
• File sizes in the archive match the manifest

Exits with a non-zero status if any source fails. Run this after jackup run on critical backups.

Configuration

Config file: ~/.jackup/config.toml

version = 1
id = "your-uuid"
device = "your-device-name"
repository_path = "/path/to/repo"

[[sources]]
id = "uuid"
path = "/absolute/path"
name = "source name"
enabled = true
follow_symlinks = false
exclude = ["*.tmp", "build/"]
created_at = "2026-03-15T00:00:00Z"
updated_at = "2026-03-15T00:00:00Z"

Ignore file: ~/.jackup/.jackupignore

*.DS_Store
Thumbs.db
node_modules

Patterns without a / match at any depth (e.g. node_modules excludes any directory with that name).

Release Checklist

1. Update README.md and DEVLOG.md.
2. Update CHANGELOG.md with version and date.
3. Bump version in Cargo.toml.
4. Run: cargo fmt && cargo build && cargo test
5. Commit, tag, and push: git tag v0.x.x && git push && git push --tags

Roadmap

• Initialize repository
• Add / remove / enable / disable / update source directories
• List sources with sorting and verbose output
• Run backups with incremental change detection
• View backup status and file listings
• Extract backups with cross-OS path mapping
• Verify archive integrity against manifests
• Snapshot history — keep N previous archives per source for rollback
• Restore to original paths (for non-system files)
• Tests