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Mackup

Keep your application settings in sync.

Build Status Bitdeli Badge

Quickstart

Install Dropbox first, it's needed.

On OS X, if you want an easy install, you can install Homebrew and do:

# Install Mackup
brew install mackup

# Launch it and back up your files in Dropbox
mackup backup

If not running OS X, or you don't like Homebrew, run on your current workstation:

# Download Mackup
curl -o mackup https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/mackup.py

# Make it executable
chmod +x mackup

# Launch it and back up your files in Dropbox
./mackup backup

You're all set, and constantly backuped from now on.

Next, on any new workstation, install Dropbox and do:

# Download Mackup
curl -o mackup https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/mackup.py

# Make it executable
chmod +x mackup

# Launch it and restore your files from Dropbox
./mackup restore

Done !

Install

# Download Mackup
curl -o mackup https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/mackup.py

# Make it executable
chmod +x mackup

# Copy it to your path
sudo mv mackup /usr/bin/mackup

# Launch it
mackup backup

Upgrade

Same as Install:

# Download Mackup
curl -o mackup https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/mackup.py

# Make it executable
chmod +x mackup

# Copy it to your path
sudo mv mackup /usr/bin/mackup

# Launch it
mackup backup

It will add support for any application you were missing before.

Uninstall

You can revert all your files to their original state.

# Just run this
mackup uninstall

This will move back any file from Dropbox to its original place in your home folder and destroy the Mackup folder in Dropbox.

Usage

mackup backup

Backup your application settings in Dropbox.

mackup restore

Restore your application settings on a newly installed workstation.

mackup uninstall

Revert any synced config file to its original state, and delete the Mackup folder in Dropbox. This will revert your system at pre-Mackup state.

mackup -h

Get some help, obvious...

What does it do ?

  • Backups your application settings in Dropbox
  • Syncs your application settings among all your workstations
  • Restores your configuration on any fresh install in one command line

By only tracking pure configuration files, it keeps the crap out of your freshly new installed workstation (No cache, temporary and locally specific files are transfered).

It also helps you spend more time doing real cool stuff, and less time setting you environment.

Bullsh*t, what does it really do to my files ?!

Let's take git as an example. Your settings for git are saved in your home folder, in the .gitconfig file.

Backup

When you launch mackup backup, here's what it's really doing:

  1. cp ~/.gitconfig ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfig
  2. rm ~/.gitconfig
  3. ln -s ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig

Now your git config is always backup and up to date on all your workstations.

Restore

When you launch mackup restore, here's what it's really doing:

  1. ln -s ~/Dropbox/Mackup/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig

That's it, you got your git config setup on your new workstation.

mackup does the same for any supported application.

Supported Applications

You can add your favorite application by forking it and doing a Pull Request.

I don't understand, how can I get support for my beloved app ?

Open a new issue.

How can I tell Mackup to sync only one or two application ?

In your home folder, create a file named .mackup.cfg and add the application names to allow in the Allowed Applications section, one by line.

# Example, to only sync SSH and Adium:
[Allowed Applications]
SSH
Adium

A sample of this file is available for download:

cd
curl -o .mackup.cfg https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/.mackup.cfg

Be careful, if you download it like this, Mackup will only try to sync SSH and Adium from now on !

I have a custom application that doesn't need to be part of the app, but that I still want to sync. What do I do?

In your home folder, create a file named .mackup.cfg (if you don't already have one) and add an entry like the following:

# Example config to add a custom apps list:
[Custom Applications]
dictionaryFile=~/.mackupCustom.json

Then create the file you referenced in your config and put the application definitions in there:

{
    "MyCoolApp": ["Library/Preferences/my.cool.app.plist",
                  "Library/Application Support/CoolApp"],
    "AnotherApp": ["Library/Preferences/AnotherApp/preferences.plist"]
}

How can I tell Mackup to not sync an application ?

In your home folder, create a file named .mackup.cfg (if you don't already have one) and add the application names to ignore in the Ignored Applications section, one per line.

# Example, to not sync SSH and Adium:
[Ignored Applications]
SSH
Adium

Do you have a sample .mackup.cfg file available?

A sample of this file is available for download:

cd
curl -o .mackup.cfg https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/.mackup.cfg

Be careful, if you download it like this, Mackup will ignore SSH and Adium from now on !

You can also download the sample custom apps file like this:

cd
curl -o .mackupCustom.json https://raw.github.com/lra/mackup/master/.mackupCustom.json

Why did you do this ?!

A while back, I had a talk with Zach Zaro, complaining about the pain it is to reconfigure our Macbook each time we get a new one or install from scratch. That's a talk we already had months ago.

I change my workstation every X months. Each time I either loose the configuration of all the apps I use, or I just waste a bunch of hours getting setup like I was on my old box. I also spent a lot of time reconfiguring the same stuff again on all my workstations (home, work)

Boring...

Some people tried to solve the problem on the application layer, like Github's Boxen, but I feel like it solves a non problem: I don't really spend time installing stuff, mostly downloading: I spend time configuring it.

For years, I've used a personnal shell script that was copying known config files into Subversion, Git or Dropbox, and linked them into my home. But I felt a lot of us had the same problem: Making a more generic tool could help others and I could get help from others to support more apps in the tool.

So here comes Mackup, the little tool that will sync all your application configs to Dropbox.

And it's GPL of course.

What platform is supported ?

  • OS X
  • GNU/Linux

What's up with the weird name ?

Mackup is just a contraction of Mac and Backup, I suck at naming stuff, ok.