CLI Syncing Utility (data management tool)
CLI Syncing Utility
CLISU is a solution to the problem of synchronizing between computer and external media.
After venturing into the world of cloud-based streaming, having forsaken the old way, the bugs and limitations of the new way drove me to return to having a locally-owned collection. File management was one of the pain points that drove me to try the new way, so in returning to the old I am taking it upon myself to create an alternative that works best for me.
After spending a couple of months trying to do everything at once (and failing), I scaled the code way back. Now that it functions usefully I will slowly add the bells and whistles that I envisioned for it. For this first release, all the program does is basically clone a directory (including subdirectories) from one location to another. The program will ignore files and subdirectories that begin with ‘.’ (Ex. ‘/sys/path/.file.mp3’). If the file already exists at the desired sync location, it will ignore it. If it exists at a different location, it will default to the one in the master.
The program will change dramatically, in both form and function, in the future, so as updates are applied, make sure to check back. Or don’t, it’s your life.
Using CLISU is easy.
There are three methods to launch the program: directly, with terminal prompts or using a profile. All methods involve the command-line. If this is your first time, quickly look at the CLI section below before continuing.
Using the ‘-h’ or ‘—help’ flags will launch the help.
NOTE: CLISU is still being developed. While chance for error is currently very low, please use at your own discretion.
If you just want to point the program to the desired locations and let it work, use the ‘-r’ or ‘—run’ flag, including the FROM directory, then the TO directory.
Example: ‘./clisu.py -r /FROM/ /TO/‘
Note: Keep in mind that the directories are case-sensitive and if there are any sub/directories with a space in the name, include the whole directory in quotes. ‘/from/path/of directory’
If you want the program to guide you, simply use the ‘-t’ or ‘—terminal’ flag.
# Example #./clisu.py -t
If you want to stop the program, simply enter ‘x’.
For the full list of flags and options, use ‘[-p | —profile] help’
Profiles exist to save you the time of typing the full program path every time you run CLISU.
First, you must have a profile created:
./clisu.py --profile add
To run the profile:
./clisu.py --profile run [NAME]
You can also list the names using ‘-p list’
To use a command-line interface program (for the most part and including here), you need to load up your terminal or command prompt. The user will type the name of the program file (in this case ‘./clisu.py’), the ‘flag’ of the function (something like ‘-x’ or ‘—xyz’, typically), and any necessary/optional information after.
An example is:./clisu.py --help
‘./clisu.py’ is the program file and ‘—help’ is the flag.
Currently the code only does the one thing.
I wasted a few days of my life trying to get the program to interact with the protocol known as MTP and gotten nowhere, so for the time being the program will not sync with an MTP-connected device. I hope to fix this eventually.
This program is being developed on and for Linux, so cross-platform capability isn’t guaranteed at this time.